So, you have been injured in a car crash, you called an attorney and got set up with an intake; but you want to prepare for this meeting to ensure that you are able to have a smooth and productive meeting.  

Good, I can help with this.  We are going to go through a hypothetical example to make clear what information is of the type that you should prepare for your meeting.  

Hypothetical: 

Carry Crutches was on her way back to Eugene from a weekend trip to Odell Lake with her family.  While passing through Oakridge a man named Bud Wiser crossed the center line and crashed his car into Carry causing serious injuries.  Carry blacked out for just a moment, but when she awoke, Bud was standing at her driver’s door asking if she was ok.  “Call an ambulance please” Carry said and Bud called 911.  She could smell alcohol but had not been drinking and when the ambulance arrived, so did the police.  As EMT’s tended to Carry, ultimately transporting her by ambulance to Sacred Heart, she overheard the EMT’s say something about Bud drinking nearby at the corner and she saw him doing field sobriety tests. 

 The police visited Carry in the ER where she found out her leg was broken.  The police let her know that her car had been taken in as evidence, and they gave her a card with the lead officer’s contact information and a police report number for the case against Bud.  She asked “what does all this mean? Will my insurance get me a rental car?  What about these medical bills? Am I going to be called as a witness in a criminal case?” and the police officer politely explained that he could not answer those questions or give legal advice.  So, Carry called Hunking Law (because this is where we can help).  Shortly after the crash, she was getting peppered with calls from insurance companies and an investigator of some type, but she directed them all to give her the chance to speak with an attorney.

The scene is set, and even though Carry gave preliminary information to the Intake Specialist at Hunking Law, she was hurt, without a car, and facing rising medical bills and lost wages from missing work. Carry feared for her future.  Her appointment with Attorney Jack was set for 10 am tomorrow morning and she wanted to be sure she was as prepared as she could be.  

The Attorney’s Perspective:

First, it is important that you understand where the attorneys are coming from.  Yes, we need to know the facts about what happened, but we are not robots.  We are real people who care about our community and a situation like what happened to Carry requires that we really understand where she is coming from and how we can help.  It is why we went to law school and why we do what we do, because we care about our community and the people in it and we want to help.  

The attorney first and foremost just wants to hear your story and understand what you need help with.  Some of the help we can provide directly (like legal advice) some we can’t help with ourselves (like fixing Carry’s broken leg).  We are knowledgeable enough and smart enough to know that there are plenty of records out there that Carry does not have yet and that is certainly true in part because those records have not been created yet (like the court record in the criminal case for Bud and the estimate for the damage to Carry’s vehicle, etc.). So, to properly prepare, in part, just understand that the attorney is there to hear your story to get to know you and to see how we can help.  

What to Prepare:

 In a much more mechanical sense, we send an email once a consultation is scheduled, requesting a reply with any records. We want to get as many records as we can for the attorney to review prior to the consultation so that the attorney is as prepared as possible.  In our hypothetical fact scenario, the following would be helpful:

• Any pictures of the scene 
• But Carry probably did not get any, so we will get that later from the police.

• A copy of the Card given by the police officer 
• So that we know which agency responded, and we can track down the case.

• Any discharge paperwork from Sacred Heart or the ambulance 
• Again, we can get this later when we request medical records.

• A copy of your insurance card, or the name of the company and the policy number 

In an ideal world all the following information is helpful (even if it doesn’t seem that way)

• The conversation about Bud drinking at the corner
• Because we know that “The Corner” is a bar in Oakridge, we would send them a Dram Shop notice (as well as probably any other bars in Oakridge) because they likely had no idea this crash happened and they need the chance to be aware of it and to know to preserve evidence they may have in the case.  

• The name of the ambulance company
• While it is easy to assume the Oakridge Fire & EMS responded, if we knew for certain which ambulance company responded it will make gathering records much easier when the time comes.

• Which insurance companies called
• While it will be easy to track down your insurance company and they will help us track down Bud Wiser’s insurance company, if another insurance company called, we would want to know that to investigate further.  

• The name of the investigator who called and who they are working on behalf of
• Some investigators are working for insurance companies and some work for police departments, and some work for criminal defense attorneys.  If we know who it was that called, we can likely track down the remainder of the information, but if we knew who they worked for, that would help us get the name.  If nothing else, we might be able to look through your call logs and reverse engineer who owns that phone number and track the person down that way.  

• The name (or existence) of any witnesses who may have seen the crash. 
• It is surprising sometimes, but juries seem to prefer the perspective of a witness who was uninvolved in the crash.  

What if I prefer to meet with the attorney over the phone?

Because we are trying to be helpful to people who call us, we are more than happy to meet people in a way that is most comfortable for them.  Our typical process (because it seems most convenient for most people) is to have the person call in and speak with the attorney over the phone.  

That said, we have and do meet people:

• At the ER
• In person in any of our physical offices (Albany, Corvallis, Eugene) 
• Via Zoom 
• At their house
• Pretty much anything else you could imagine.  

If you prefer to meet in a particular way, just let intake staff know, and we will do what we can to make the meeting as painless for you as possible.  

To Recap (because this was a pretty long blog):

1. Gather what information you can and send it to us in the email response thread.
   
2. Let us know how you prefer to meet.  
   
3. Remember that your attorney is a person who just wants to know your story.  
   
4. Be prepared to tell the story, and hear from the attorney what (if anything) we can do to help.
5. Try and relax. We know it is stressful and you are hurt.  If you let us know your story, we will do what we can to help. All you have to do is be ready to tell your story and help us help you get the peace of mind and the compensation you deserve.   

 If you find yourself injured in a car crash in Oregon, call us at Hunking Law (541-HUNKING) and see what we can do to help.  Remember, Don’t Fear Your Future.