If you’ve recently been involved in a car accident, it’s vitally important that you connect with an experienced attorney as soon as you can. Even if you’re not yet ready to make “big decisions” about pursuing legal action, taking an hour or two of your time to seek legal guidance now could help to ensure that you’re empowered to make truly informed decisions about your options whenever you’re ready. Additionally, acting quickly can help to ensure that any evidence that may be important to your case is preserved, your legal options are protected, and someone experienced is available to speak with insurance representatives on your behalf.
As an experienced car accident attorney can confirm, most personal injury attorneys offer free consultations, so you won’t need to invest anything in the process of exploring your legal options save for your time. Making this effort now can potentially save you serious stress, effort, time, and money down the road. So, although you’re likely – and very understandably – overwhelmed at the moment, managing this task in the wake of suffering an injurious car crash is an effort that your future self (and your family) will almost certainly thank you for.
Gathering Your Thoughts and Supporting Information
One of the most important things you can do to prepare for a legal consultation is to write down all of your questions and concerns. While this may seem like an extraneous use of your time, it can be one of the most valuable investments of it. Once you’re sitting with an attorney, you’ll be engaged in a back-and-forth conversation. You’ll ask questions and so will they. You may lose your train of thought or strain to remember what you needed to ask. The last thing you’ll want to do is leave the lawyer’s office with unanswered questions. Writing them down for easy reference will help you make the most of your time in front of an attorney.
The other important effort you’ll want to make in preparation for a legal consultation is to gather any and all information that will better help a lawyer to understand the nuanced ins and outs of your situation. Lawyers can only provide personalized guidance and assistance to the extent that they understand what you’re going through. By providing a copy of your police report, discharge papers from a hospital, photos and video from the scene of the accident, contact information for insurance providers, witnesses, and others involved in the crash, etc., you’ll better ensure that the counsel you receive is uniquely tailored to your situation.
Finally, take a few moments to write down your account of what happened to you. Your brain starts working to protect you from trauma as soon as it happens. By writing out or taping your story for your lawyer’s reference, you’ll provide them with the clearest possible sense of what happened, even as your brain starts to mute some aspects of your experience in a protective capacity.
