If you’ve been hurt as a result of someone else’s negligence, you’ll have the power to file legal action against them. If all goes well, you should be able to win compensation for any harm you experienced, including property damage, medical bills, and lost wages.
But before all that, you’ll need to hire a personal injury lawyer, and that usually means having an initial consultation with them, so they can better understand you and the details of your case.
How exactly are you supposed to prepare for this initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer?
How Personal Injury Lawyers Work
Most personal injury lawyers work in similar ways with similar processes, though of course, there are some nuances in each individual approach. Generally, personal injury lawyers have an initial consultation with you so they can better understand the nature of your case and decide whether it makes sense to move forward with legal action.
At this stage, they will typically recommend either moving forward with legal action or discontinuing consideration – and they may or may not be in a position to take on your case at all. If you decide to move forward with legal action, they will list the next steps, which typically include formally hiring the lawyer.
From there, you’ll proceed with filing the initial lawsuit, gathering evidence and discovery, and engaging in negotiations. Your lawyer will represent you throughout all of these matters and try to win you a mutually agreeable settlement. The majority of personal injury cases are settled out of court, but in very rare cases, a matter may end up going to trial.
Why You Should Be Prepared
Why should you be prepared for the initial consultation when it’s such a small part of the process?
- Confidence and stress mitigation. Litigation can be stressful. This is a big, complicated legal matter, and it’s not totally predictable. At the same time, you may be struggling with serious injuries, medical bills, mounting debts, and even more uncertainty in your personal life. Being better prepared for your consultation will give you confidence and help you feel less stressed.
- Better evaluations. The more knowledge and experience you have going into a consultation, the better you’ll be able to evaluate prospective candidates. Does this lawyer seem competent? Are they asking good questions?
- Case analysis and progress. Not every personal injury matter is a good fit for legal action. If you’re armed with better information going in, your lawyer will be able to make a stronger recommendation about whether or not it makes sense to move forward.
- Good questions to ask. Going into a consultation prepared also means having lots of good questions to ask, so you can learn more and walk away better informed. Most personal injury attorneys will be happy to answer any and all questions you have about how personal injury cases work or about your individual case.
How to Prepare for a Consultation With a Personal Injury Lawyer
These are some of the best strategies to adequately prepare for your first consultation:
- Do your homework. You don’t need to study the law yourself, but you should be familiar with some of the basics of personal injury cases like yours. It also pays to have a cursory understanding of negligence.
- Gather as much evidence as possible. Many types of evidence can help you in a negligence case. These include photos, videos, dash cam footage, witness statements, and much more. You should also maintain documentation related to your medical records. Gather as much evidence as possible, so you’re prepared for the meeting.
- Do some research on the firm. You should have some knowledge about this firm or this individual. How do they work? What types of cases do they usually take on, and what types of results have they gotten in the past? Do you have any specific questions for them?
- Understand your own goals and objectives. You can also prepare by understanding your own goals and objectives. Many personal injury lawyers will ask you what you hope to win in terms of compensation, and this can help guide both your initial conversation and your eventual strategy.
- Prepare some questions. Finally, keep a running list of all the questions that you have. Even if you don’t have any now, you’ll likely discover several in the course of your research and preparation. Although your lawyer will handle most important matters on your behalf, it pays to be involved in and knowledgeable about the process.
Next Steps
After following the advice in this article, you should be thoroughly prepared for your first consultation with any personal injury lawyer. Chances are, you’ll have many candidates to review and choose from, so consider all the possibilities carefully before proceeding.
