How do you talk to a personal injury lawyer about your case?

Share the case details with your attorney and tell them everything you can about what happened and why it happened. Provide accurate information and include even small details, like what you saw a driver doing before an accident or what a medical provider told you.

What evidence should you provide to a personal injury lawyer?

Provide all the evidence you have, including the true extent of your injuries, any preexisting conditions, any missed doctor’s appointments or care you did not seek, documentation from text messages or statements from providers about the incident, and witness accounts and details you have from them.

Should you be honest with a personal injury attorney even if you contributed to the accident?

Yes. Be as honest and upfront as possible, including when and where the accident occurred, any factors you may have caused (such as intoxication or reckless behavior), and any statements you made to insurance companies or the at-fault party. Under Rhode Island’s pure comparative negligence law (RI Gen. Laws § 9-20-4), you can still seek compensation even if you hold some fault, but compensation is reduced by the percentage of fault attributed.

What should you discuss with your personal injury lawyer about how the accident affected your life?

Talk about the real impact the accident is creating in your daily life and document how you feel physically and emotionally. Discuss your ability or new limitations in how you work, emotional health impacts such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression, pain you have now that you did not have before, impacts on relationships and intimate relationships, fears and insecurities from losses, impacts on your career path and the types of work you can do, and activities you can no longer engage in due to your injuries, including hobbies.

What should you bring to an initial consultation with a personal injury attorney?

Bring a clear timeline. Document when the incident happened and what happened after it, and include steps you took before the accident. For medical malpractice claims, document appointments, statements, treatments, and procedures. For a car accident, detail the time, weather conditions, and what you were doing prior to it.

Tips for Talking to a Personal Injury Lawyer

An injury victim talking to his personal injury lawyer. How to talk to a personal injury lawyer?

Learning how to talk to a personal injury lawyer can go a long way in the success of your case. For those who are facing serious injuries and financial devastation from the actions of others, seeking a personal injury claim is your right.

The process can include numerous legal requirements, and in every situation, you hold the responsibility of proving fault and your losses. Talking to a Providence personal injury lawyer is often necessary and beneficial to you, as the victim.

How to Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer: Provide All the Evidence You Have

It may be important to share the case details with your attorney. Telling them everything you can about what happened and why it happened can lead to a better outcome in many situations.

The more detail you offer, including in areas such as the following, the more likely they are to build a robust claim for you:

The true extent of your injuries
Any preexisting conditions you had prior to the accident
Any missed doctor’s appointments or care you did not seek
Documentation from text messages or statements from providers about the incident
Witness accounts and details you have from them

Be honest and open about what you remember and what you do not when talking to a personal injury lawyer. You should always provide accurate information, but be sure you detail even the small things, like what you saw the driver of a car doing before the accident or what a medical provider told you before the procedure. These details matter.

Our frequently asked questions section has more information.

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Always Be Honest

Your personal injury attorney is there to guide and advocate for you. They are not going to criticize you or treat you improperly in any way (and if they do, they are not the attorney for you).

However, to truly help you, be as honest and upfront with the attorney as possible about everything you are facing and the concerns you have.

This includes:

When and where the accident occurred
Any factors that contributed to it that you may have caused, such as intoxication or reckless behavior
Any statements you made to insurance companies or the at-fault party about the incident
Why the incident occurred, or why your injuries are severe
The type and level of care you need and what you sought

Even if you contributed to an accident, you may still have the legal right to pursue compensation for your losses under Rhode Island’s pure comparative negligence law (RI Gen. Laws § 9-20-4). Under this law, you can still seek compensation even if you hold some of the fault in your claim, even if you are substantially at fault. The compensation owed is reduced by the percentage of fault attributed.

Talk About the Implications to Your Health and Life

Another important part of the process is being able to talk to your personal injury attorney about the real impact this accident is creating in your daily life.

Take the time to create a journal and document how you feel physically and emotionally, the implications for your ability to work, and even how it impacts your relationships.

Some of the most important factors to discuss with your attorney include:

Your ability or new limitations in how you work
The impact on your emotional health includes post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression
The pain you have now that you did not have before
Your ability to engage in relationships and intimate relationships with others due to injuries and losses
Your fears and insecurities from the resulting losses
The impact on your career path and the types of work you can do
Activities you can no longer engage in due to your injuries, including hobbies

Outline all of the changes this accident creates for you and your future because of the injuries and other losses you have suffered. Your personal injury lawyer will use this information to help build a strong claim for you, one that offers truly fair damages for the losses you experienced.

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Provide a Clear Timeline to Start

Another way you can facilitate a better outcome from that initial consultation with a personal injury attorney is by bringing a timeline with you. This is important in cases where there are numerous interactions or lost opportunities. For example, if you are pursuing a medical malpractice claim, document all appointments, statements, treatments, and procedures in your case.

Document when the incident happened and what happened after it. Be sure you have a clear timeline of the steps you took before the accident. If you were in a car accident, detail the time, weather conditions, and what you were doing prior to it, such as working or out with friends.

A timeline can help your personal injury attorney create a path to find evidence and more clearly explain what occurred. In most situations, it can also provide a clear picture to the insurance company and, if necessary, the courts when deciding on your case. Be as detailed as possible, as it only benefits your case. Review our client case results to see our success stories.

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Talk About Expectations and Costs

Your consultation should also include a frank and open conversation about your needs with your attorney. This should include any questions you have, with detailed answers.

Some of the factors to talk about include:

The strength of your case
The cost of using the attorney, including the contingency fee basis, is applicable
The costs for legal services needed beyond attorney fees
Expectations of what your case may be worth
Factors that could complicate your claim

Discuss with your attorney the likelihood that your case will go to court. You will also need to ask questions about what you can do to make sure this claim moves through as smoothly as possible. A good conversation can change your outlook.