The first piece of important information to share is the date of the accident—whether it occurred the day before, the month before, or the year before. The date serves primarily to let your attorney know how much may have happened between the accident and present day, as well as whether the accident is within the statute of limitations.

You should also tell your attorney what has transpired since the accident happened, whether you’ve already taken the opportunity to get medical care, and whether you’re still within the personal injury protection (PIP) claim period, which requires you to seek treatment within 14 days.

Your personal injury attorney will also want to know the facts of the accident, such as:

1. How did the accident happen?
2. Did your airbags deploy?
3. What was your role in the accident? (Driver, passenger, bicycle rider, pedestrian, etc.)
4. If you were in a vehicle, were you wearing a seatbelt? A seatbelt has two parts, so you should tell your attorney whether you were wearing just the lap belt or both the lap belt and the shoulder harness, because that can make a difference.
5. Did the opposing party make any statements at the scene of the accident? For instance, did they admit fault? Did they say they were sorry for running a red light (or whatever the case may be)?
6. Were there pictures taken of the vehicles involved and the scene where the incident happened? If you have visible injuries, do you have any photos of your injuries? Obviously, you want to get those photos to your attorney as soon as possible.
7. Were the police called to the scene? If so, which police agency was it?
8. Did the fire department or EMS arrive? Were you transported by an ambulance to the hospital? Which hospital were you transported to?
9. What injuries are you suffering from? Did you hit your head? Did you have any injuries in the past that would be relevant to this accident (i.e., prior motor vehicle accidents, other slip and falls, etc.)?
10. Have you received any treatments so far? If so, what treatment have you received and when? Your lawyer needs to know all of the details concerning your treatment.
11. Does the other person have insurance? Do you have insurance? If so, do you know what the limits of your policy are?
12. Do you have health insurance? If so, what type of health insurance do you have?
13. Where is your vehicle located? Were there any mechanical defects that had anything to do with the incident?

Those are definitely things you want to make sure you remember and communicate to your attorney so that the details can be put in the file and used later on, if necessary, in a lawsuit. There are several other things that an attorney may follow up with you on based on your specific case.

For more information on Information to Share with Your PI Attorney, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (727) 490-8712 today.