One of the best things you can do to prepare for your initial consultation is to write down questions you want to ask your Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Make some notes about what you want to bring up with your lawyer. You also need to be prepared to answer some of the attorney’s questions as well. For them to evaluate your case, they need to get all the information.
Your free, initial consultation isn’t going to be very long. You’re going to have a half-hour to explain your story to your attorney. This isn’t a lot of time. Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer must decide if your case has merit. If it does, they’ll need to get an idea of what it’s worth. This is the only way they can determine if your case is worthy of filing a lawsuit.
Make Sure You’re Upfront and Honest
One of the most important things for you to do is to be honest with your lawyer. You don’t want to hold back certain pieces of information. Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer is going to find everything out eventually. It’s better that they hear it from you.
Some of the questions your attorney will ask may seem invasive. They may need to ask you questions about your past medical history. They’ll need to find out if you have a history of filing auto insurance claims. They’re doing this for your own good. They need to find out these things before the defendant’s attorney does.
Bring as Much Documentation as Possible to the Meeting
It’s a good idea to send as much information as possible to your Atlanta personal injury lawyer ahead of your meeting. Fax it over or send pictures through email. Some of the information you’ll want to share with them includes:
- A copy of the accident report, incident report or police report
- Copies of any correspondence from the defendant, their lawyer or their insurance company
- Pictures of the accident scene
- A copy of your medical records if possible
If your lawyer has this information ahead of time, they can review it early. This way, you won’t have to waste time during your consultation.
Be Careful Not to Embellish or Exaggerate
Sometimes, when people want to convince their lawyer that they have a good case, they exaggerate. Don’t do this. You need to be honest. Be honest about your injuries. Be honest about what happened. You don’t need to dress your story up for your Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Just lay the facts out as they occurred.
One area in which a lot of clients tend to exaggerate has to do with their role in their accident. Some drivers fear that, if they’re partially responsible, they won’t be able to collect damages. The truth is that, in Atlanta, you can still collect even if you’re partially at fault. Talk to your attorney and let them decide how this impacts your case. The last thing you want to do is make your lawyer’s job harder down the road.
Your Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Needs to Make a Fair Evaluation of Your Claim
Schedule Your Free, Initial Consultation with a Skilled Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer
A lot of people are afraid to meet with their Atlanta personal injury lawyer for the first time. They just as nervous as they’d be going to a job interview. This is normal. In a way, this is like a job interview. You’re interviewing the attorney to see if you want them to handle your case. At the same time, your Atlanta personal injury lawyer is interviewing you to see if they want to represent you. That’s why it’s so important that you be upfront and honest in your meeting.
Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer may be the only person who has your back during the lawsuit. You need to be able to trust them. Their goal is to get you compensation for your injuries. However, they can only work within the parameters of the law. If you fail to tell them something and they find out down the road, it may be too late for them to recover. Rather than have that happen, just be forthcoming at all points of the legal process.
In order to get things started, call our office and schedule your free consultation. Meet with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer who can review your case and give you an idea of what it’s worth. The consultation is free, and you don’t pay anything until your case is resolved.
