Meeting a Durham car accident attorney for the first time can be intimidating. It is even more nerve-wracking when you are recovering from injuries sustained in a recent North Carolina accident. Ease your nerves by being well prepared for your initial consultation. The four items listed below provide answers to many of the questions your personal injury attorney is likely to ask. The more prepared you are, the easier and quicker your Personal Injury Attorney can assist you in bringing your claim.
• Accident Report. When injuries occur in public, someone is usually nearby to take a report. If you slipped and fell in a convenience store, the store clerk will likely complete an incident report. If the injury occurs on a public roadway, the report will be taken by a police officer. A personal injury attorney can quickly analyze your accident report and decipher its typically confusing language.
• Correspondence with the Insurance Company. If you reported your accident to the insurance company yourself, an insurance adjuster has likely contacted you. Often times, their initial letter to you requires your signature on several documents and requests a recorded statement of how the accident occurred. Never sign any document, or provide any statement, without consulting an attorney first.
• Medical Records. After you were injured, you likely sought immediate medical treatment. The discharge paperwork from your initial evaluation is extremely important. This paperwork identifies your diagnosis and whom you should follow-up with, should your symptoms persist or worsen. If you do not know how to find follow-up care, your attorney may be able to help.
• Insurance Information. If you were injured in a car accident, bring both your auto insurance and health insurance information. Your personal auto policy may provide coverage should your damages exceed the limits of the defendant’s insurance coverage. If you have health insurance, your attorney must document and evaluate the possibility of a subrogation claim. If you do not have health insurance, and cannot afford to pay for medical treatment out of pocket, ask your attorney about treatment on a lien basis.
In addition to these four things, if you took pictures on the scene, got any witness statements, or any other documentation related to your accident, it is better to bring too much to your consultation than not enough. Your Durham Personal Injury Attorney at Wallace Pierce can help sort through all of your information and determine the probability of success and amount of damages you’re entitled to.
If you have questions, or concerns, about your accident report or do not know where to go for medical treatment, contact Wallace Pierce Law. Our attorneys will evaluate your documents and provide legal advice at no charge to you.