What Happens During an Initial Consultation with a Personal Injury Lawyer?

After a serious injury, victims often find themselves turning to a personal injury lawyer for help.  However, many injured people have never worked with an attorney before or never had to go through the insurance claims process.

We always offer free and confidential case evaluations to all injury victims.  This allows you to understand the circumstances surrounding each case and lets potential clients know how we may be able to help them.  In this article, we will explore what will happen during your initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer and what information is helpful to provide us with.

Introductions and Explanations of the Facts of the Accident

As previously mentioned, your initial consultation with us is always free and allows us to collect basic facts about your case.  We will ask some questions about your accident to determine the cause of the accident.  Then, we will collect information about your injuries to determine the amount of compensation you may be entitled to.  The more information you can share with us at your initial consultation, the more helpful and informative it will be.

When you meet with your attorney for your initial consultation, it is helpful to have:

• Any accident report or reports that you might have
• Police reports from the accident if you have them
• Incident reports and whatever other paperwork there might be linked to your injury
• Medical bills
• Any property damage or repair costs linked to the accident
• Any photographs you have that may help us better understand your accident and the severity of your injuries.

If the injury or accident was recent, you may not have some or all of this information.

The consultation exists to answer two questions.

1. Do you have a valid claim?

During the consultation, your attorney will review the information that you have provided, discuss the facts and issues surrounding your case, and make a determination if you have a valid claim.  At this point, we may be able to let you know if you have a case worth pursuing.  Sometimes additional investigation is required before we can make that determination.

2. Do you want to hire this attorney?

Hiring an attorney is a personal decision that is entirely up to the injured person.  You should feel comfortable and confident in your attorney’s ability to successfully resolve your case.  It is important to ask if he or she has handled cases similar to yours (for example, do they have a track record of handling complex premises liability cases if you were injured as a result of negligent security?).  Do they have the resources to dedicate to your case?  Are you comfortable with the communication process?  Is the attorney board certified?  Most doctors are board certified.  Most lawyers are not.  Has that attorney received awards reflecting his or her high degree of competency?

Of course, it is also important to discuss the issue of the cost of their services.  We handle our injury cases on a contingency fee basis.  This means that there is never a fee or charge of any kind until we win your case.

We Make Sure That Your Initial Consultation, And All Consultations After That, Take Place Wherever It Is Most Convenient For You.

We can meet with you at our offices.  If you are unable to travel because of your injuries, we are happy to meet with you at your home, at the hospital or anywhere convenient for you.

Virtual visits via Zoom have become very popular.  If you prefer a virtual consultation, just let us know and we will send you a Zoom link.

If you prefer to simply discuss your case by telephone, we can do that as well.  We have obtained many great settlements for our clients where all consultations were conducted by phone.

No matter how you choose to meet with us, we will always leverage all of our experience to obtain the best outcome possible for every client.

Need to Speak to An Attorney?

If you or a loved one were injured anywhere in Wisconsin and need to speak to an attorney or schedule an initial consultation, we can help.  At Mingo & Yankala, S.C., we are ready to listen to you and thoroughly explain your legal options and answer any questions you might have.  Call today, your consultation is free and confidential.