Personal Injury Consultation Quick Guide

– Bring police reports, photos, insurance letters, medical paperwork, and any settlement offers.

– Write down accident details, witness names, symptoms, missed work, and questions.

– Do not sign releases or give recorded statements before getting legal advice.

– Schedule a consultation even if you do not have every document yet.

A Personal Injury Consultation Checklist

How to Prepare for Your Initial Consultation with Slavey & Shumaker PLLC

An initial consultation is the first real chance to talk with a lawyer about what happened, how you were hurt, and what should happen next. If your situation involves a car wreck, truck crash, motorcycle accident, pedestrian injury, fall, or another personal injury claim, a little preparation can make that first conversation much more useful.

You do not need to have every document in perfect order before you contact Slavey & Shumaker PLLC. Many injured people call while they are still getting medical treatment, waiting for a police report, or trying to understand insurance paperwork. That is normal. The goal of this personal injury consultation checklist is to help you gather the information that will make the meeting clearer, faster, and more productive.

If you are ready to schedule a consultation, use the contact Slavey & Shumaker PLLC page. If your case involves a vehicle collision, you may also want to review the firm’s car accident lawyers page before the meeting. For broader injury claims, start with the Morgantown personal injury lawyers page.

What the Initial Consultation Is For

The consultation is not just a formality. It helps the lawyer understand the basic facts, identify urgent issues, and decide what evidence may need to be preserved. It also gives you a chance to ask questions about the claim process, insurance communications, medical bills, deadlines, and what the firm may be able to do.

For a car wreck or personal injury claim, the lawyer will usually want to know how the incident happened, who was involved, where it happened, what injuries you suffered, what medical care you received, what insurance companies are involved, and whether anyone has contacted you about a statement or settlement.

You should also use the consultation to decide whether the firm feels like the right fit. Good communication matters. You should understand who will handle your case, how updates work, what information the firm needs from you, and what steps may happen next.

Bring what you have. If something is missing, say so. A lawyer can often help request reports, records, insurance information, and other documents after the representation begins.

Basic Information To Have Ready

Start with the basic details. Write down your full legal name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address, and the best way to contact you. If someone else is helping you because of the injury, bring that person’s name and contact information too.

For the accident itself, write down the date, time, and exact location. If it was a car wreck, include the road, intersection, mile marker, nearby business, or landmark. If it was a fall or property injury, include the business name, property address, area of the building or parking lot, and what condition caused the injury.

Make a short timeline while the facts are still fresh. Include where you were coming from, where you were going, what you saw, what you heard, what happened immediately before the incident, and what happened afterward. Do not worry about writing a perfect statement. A simple timeline can help the lawyer ask better questions.

If anyone witnessed the incident, bring their names, phone numbers, email addresses, or social media contact information. Witnesses can be important in disputed claims, especially when an insurance company argues that you were partly at fault.

Documents To Bring After a Car Wreck

If the consultation involves a car wreck, bring the crash report if you have it. If the report is not ready, bring the report number, responding agency, officer name, or any paperwork law enforcement gave you at the scene.

Bring photographs and videos. Useful images may include vehicle damage, license plates, the roadway, traffic signals, skid marks, debris, weather conditions, visible injuries, damaged personal items, and the other driver’s insurance card or registration. If you took screenshots from a dash camera, doorbell camera, business camera, or phone video, mention that too.

Bring all insurance information. This includes your auto insurance declarations page, the claim number, adjuster name, adjuster phone number, emails or letters from the insurance company, and the other driver’s insurance information. If you received a denial letter, settlement offer, medical authorization, or request for a recorded statement, bring it.

If your vehicle was towed, repaired, inspected, or declared a total loss, bring towing receipts, repair estimates, total loss paperwork, rental car receipts, and photos of the vehicle before repairs. Vehicle damage evidence can help explain the force of the crash, especially when the insurance company tries to minimize the injury.

If the collision involved a commercial truck, delivery vehicle, rideshare driver, company vehicle, government vehicle, or uninsured driver, tell the lawyer. Those details can change the investigation and the available insurance coverage.

For more information about vehicle claims, visit the firm’s West Virginia car accident settlement page and the page about the West Virginia car accident statute of limitations.

Medical Information To Bring

Medical information is one of the most important parts of a personal injury consultation. Bring discharge papers from the emergency room, urgent care records, hospital paperwork, imaging reports, prescriptions, physical therapy referrals, specialist notes, and any instructions your providers gave you.

If you do not have the full medical records yet, bring the names and locations of every provider you have seen. Include ambulance services, emergency rooms, hospitals, urgent care centers, primary care doctors, orthopedic doctors, neurologists, chiropractors, physical therapists, imaging centers, pain management providers, surgeons, and mental health providers if emotional symptoms are part of the injury.

Write down your symptoms. Include pain, stiffness, numbness, headaches, dizziness, memory problems, sleep issues, anxiety, limited range of motion, weakness, swelling, scarring, and anything that has changed since the accident. If symptoms have moved or worsened, note when that happened.

Bring a list of medications, braces, crutches, walkers, wound-care supplies, or medical equipment you have needed. Keep receipts for prescriptions and out-of-pocket medical costs.

It also helps to explain your medical history honestly. Preexisting conditions do not automatically ruin a claim. In many cases, an accident aggravates a prior injury or makes a manageable condition much worse. The lawyer needs accurate information so the insurance company cannot use incomplete medical history against you later.

Work, Income, and Daily Life Information

A personal injury claim is not only about medical bills. If the injury affects your job, bring information about your employer, job title, schedule, rate of pay, missed work dates, paid time off used, disability paperwork, and any written work restrictions from a doctor.

If you are self-employed, bring invoices, calendars, tax documents, job estimates, contracts, or notes showing work you missed because of the injury. Self-employment losses can be harder to document, so the sooner you organize the proof, the better.

Write down how the injury affects ordinary life. Can you drive? Sleep? Lift groceries? Care for children? Cook? Clean? Walk stairs? Work a full shift? Sit at a desk? Stand for long periods? Enjoy hobbies? These details help explain the real impact of the injury.

If family members or friends have had to help with transportation, household chores, childcare, medication, bathing, dressing, or appointments, make note of that. Serious injuries often create burdens that do not show up on a medical bill.

Insurance Communications and Settlement Offers

Bring every letter, email, text message, voicemail, claim number, and form you have received from an insurance company. This includes your insurer, the other driver’s insurer, health insurance, workers’ compensation, disability insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, or any medical payment coverage.

If an adjuster asked for a recorded statement, tell the lawyer whether you gave one. If you signed a medical authorization, settlement release, property damage release, or any other form, bring a copy. If you have not signed anything yet, wait until you understand what the document does.

Bring any settlement offer, even if it seems small or informal. Early settlement offers can be risky because they may not include future medical care, wage loss, long-term pain, or the full effect of the injury. Once you sign a release, the claim is usually over.

If you are not sure what something means, bring it. It is better to review too much paperwork than to miss a document that affects your rights.

Photos, Videos, and Digital Evidence

Photos and videos can be powerful evidence. Bring the original files if possible, not only screenshots. Original files may preserve dates, times, and other useful details. If the files are on your phone, keep them there and back them up.

Useful digital evidence may include dashcam footage, doorbell video, business surveillance clips, text messages, emails, social media messages, GPS data, phone records, ride-share receipts, delivery app records, or calendar entries showing where you were and what happened.

If you believe a business, apartment complex, government agency, trucking company, or nearby homeowner may have video, tell the lawyer as soon as possible. Video is often overwritten quickly. A lawyer may need to send a preservation request before the footage disappears.

Do not post about the accident, your injuries, or the case on social media. Insurance companies may look for posts they can use out of context. Even a smiling photo at a family event can be misused if the insurer wants to argue that you are not hurt.

Questions To Ask During the Consultation

Bring your questions in writing. It is easy to forget important things when you are in pain, stressed, or dealing with medical appointments. Good questions include:

• What deadlines apply to my claim?
• Should I speak with the insurance adjuster?
• What should I do if I receive a settlement offer?
• Who pays medical bills while the claim is pending?
• What evidence should be preserved now?
• What happens if the insurance company blames me?
• How does the firm communicate with clients?
• What are the next steps after the consultation?

You can also ask about experience with similar claims, how attorney fees work, what costs may be involved, and what information the firm will need from you. The goal is to leave the consultation with a clearer plan, not more confusion.

What If You Do Not Have Everything Yet?

Do not delay calling just because your file is incomplete. Many clients do not have the crash report, medical records, final bills, or wage documents at the first meeting. That is expected.

The most important thing is to contact a lawyer before deadlines pass, evidence disappears, or you sign something that harms the claim. Slavey & Shumaker PLLC can explain what documents matter most and what can be requested later.

If you are missing something, make a list. Write down which hospital treated you, which police department responded, which insurance company called, and what documents you are still waiting for. That gives the lawyer a starting point.

How This Page Connects to Your Claim

This consultation checklist is designed to support our firm’s personal injury and car accident resources. If you are still learning about your rights, read our West Virginia personal injury lawyer page. If you were hurt in or near Morgantown, review our Morgantown personal injury lawyers page. If your injury came from a collision, start with our car accident lawyers page.

If you want to know what clients have said about the firm, visit our client reviews page. When you are ready to talk, use the contact Slavey & Shumaker PLLC page to request a consultation.

Initial Consultation Checklist

Bring as many of these items as you can:

• Your contact information and preferred way to reach you
• Date, time, and location of the accident
• Names and contact information for witnesses
• Police report, incident report, or report number
• Photos and videos of the scene, vehicles, injuries, or hazard
• Insurance cards, claim numbers, adjuster names, and letters
• Medical discharge papers, bills, referrals, and provider names
• Prescription receipts and out-of-pocket expense records
• Wage loss documents, work restrictions, and missed work dates
• Vehicle repair estimates, towing receipts, and rental car paperwork
• Settlement offers, releases, authorizations, or forms
• A written timeline of what happened
• A list of questions you want answered

Again, do not worry if you do not have every item. The consultation is the beginning of the process, not a test you have to pass.

Schedule an Initial Consultation With Slavey & Shumaker PLLC

If you were injured in a car wreck or personal injury accident, preparation can help you make the most of your first conversation with a lawyer. The right documents can help clarify what happened, who may be responsible, what insurance coverage exists, and what losses need to be documented.

Slavey & Shumaker PLLC helps injured people and families in Morgantown, North Central West Virginia, and across the state. Bring what you have, write down your questions, and contact the firm before giving statements or accepting a settlement you do not fully understand.

Use the contact Slavey & Shumaker PLLC page to get started.