What You Should Prepare for Your Lawyer After a Slip and Fall

If you’ve been involved in a slip and fall accident and have decided to hire a lawyer to fight your case, the next steps can seem overwhelming. It’s important to be prepared, even before your first meeting with your lawyer. To get the most out of your first meeting you will need copies of records and documentation among other things. Being as prepared as possible will help you save time and money while dealing with your case.

Before you meet with your lawyer about your slip and fall

Before you meet with your lawyer, he or she may have you fill out a questionnaire about your accident. If they do, be sure to be a thorough as possible. Also make sure to bring the following items to your meeting whether they ask you to or not:

  • copies of police reports or accident reports from the incident
  • copies of records from health care providers, emergency medical services, primary care physicians and physical therapists, including details regarding your diagnosis and prognosis, and
  • anticipated future medical care
  • copies of bills from medical care providers
  • information regarding insurance coverage for your medical bills, including any notice of lien sent to you from your insurer
  • details on any work you missed as a result of your injury, and documentation of any other lost income
  • a calendar, with all the important dates (date of injury, dates of surgery or other treatment and so forth)
  • copies of any correspondence with insurance companies
  • copies of any claims already filed in connection with the incident
  • any photographs related to the incident, including pictures of the scene, your injuries, property damage, and anything else that might be relevant

Questions to ask your personal injury lawyer

You should also make a list of questions you want to ask your lawyer before you meet. This way nothing gets left out or forgotten. Good questions to ask include:

  • How many personal injury claims have you handled? Have any of those claims gone to trial? Of those, how many were decided in favor of the plaintiff?
  • What percentage of your practice is devoted to personal injury cases like mine?
  • How long have you been in practice?
  • Do you usually represent injured people or people who are being sued?
  • What problems do you foresee with my case?
  • What are my options as far as insurance claim versus lawsuit?
  • How long will it take to bring the matter to a conclusion?
  • How does the law firm/lawyer charge for services?
  • What types of experts would the lawyer use to help bolster your case?
  • What is the time by which you must have the case settled the lawsuit filed?
  • Would the lawyer handle the case personally or would it be passed on to someone else in the firm? If other lawyers or staff may do some of the work, can you meet them?