Information from Client
Tuesday, 04 August 2009 10:39
Your California Attorney will be asking you questions such as these as he develops your case
Personal
· All names, if any, used in past and dates you used them
· Residence addresses, last five years and when you lived there
· If Injured Party is a Minor
o Father’s Name
§ Address
§ Day Phone
§ Night Phone
§ Cell Phone
o Mother’s Name
§ Address
§ Day Phone
§ Night Phone
§ Cell Phone
§ Client Referred by (be precise here to see what person or exact advertising client came by.)
· Personal Status
o Spouses name, date of birth occupation
o Were you in military
§ With whom
§ Inclusive Dates
§ Nature of Military Discharge
§ Children, as to each
o Name
o Age
o Whether Claimed as Dependent
§ Other Dependents
o Name
o Age
o Relationship to Client
o Does client receive any public assistance benefits (AFDC, etc.)
§ Type
§ Amount
· Educational Background
o Name & location of each school or vocational institution attended, starting with High School
o Dates of Attendance
o Highest grade level completed
o Degrees/diplomas received
· Present employer (this will overlap CIR to some extent)
o Name
o Address
o Job Description
o Beginning date of employment
o Rate of Pay
§ Gross
§ Net
§ Other Employment Compensation
§ Bonuses
§ Health Insurance
§ Vacation Pay
§ Pension/Profit Sharing
§ Other
o Dates lost from work because of this injury
o Total amount of employment compensation lost to date because of injury
· Former employers, last ten years
o Name
o Address
o Job Description
o Inclusive dates of employment
Driver’s License
· Regarding client’s driver’s license
o What state
o Does it required you wear glasses
§ If so, wearing your glasses at the time of the accident.
§ All states in which you have held driver’s license
§ Has license ever been denied, revoked or suspended
§ At time of accident, any other permit or license for operation of motor vehicle
Client’s vehicle, if it was the one involved in the accident
o Are you the owner of the vehicle
§ If not, who
o At time of accident, were you insured
§ Make, model, year, color
§ License #
§ Registered owner
§ Legal owner
§ Kind of coverage
§ Name of insurance company
§ Name/ Address/ Phone number of each named insured
§ Limits of coverage for each type of coverage contained in the policy
§ Whether controversy or coverage dispute exists between you and your insurance company over coverage
§ Ever been denied auto insurance or had your auto insurance cancelled
§ Did your company take a written, recorded or telephonic report from you
o If so, when, who took it and what was substance of report
§ Did you receive driver’s education in school
§ Has a court ever ordered or otherwise authorized you to attend any driver’s class or classe
Prior Accidents
· Ever been driver in prior auto accident
o If so where, when, circumstances, injuries, settlements, law suits.
o What is your driving experience.
Course and Scope (this is generally when they have an accident while on the job)
· At time of accident were you acting as an agent or employee for any person or entity
o The name address and phone number of that person/entity
o A general description of your duties
o What your duties specifically were on the day of the accident
Physical/Mental Condition
· Ever had any medical condition, at any time, which would, in any way potentially effect or impair your ability to drive
· Ever had any medical condition, at any time, which, in any way temporarily or permanently effect vision
· Consume alcohol within 24 hours of accident. (Tell them we must ask the following because if and when their deposition is taking the defense may ask the same questions)
o Consume marijuana within seven days of the accident
o Consume prescription drug within 24 hours of the accident
o Consume non-prescription within 24 hours prior to the accident
o How many hours sleep did you have on the night prior to the accident
o How many meals had you eaten on the day of the accident (describe time and kind)
o How far had you driven on the day of the accident
o How far did you still have to drive on the day of the accident
o From the time you got up on the morning of the accident until the accident, describe any physical activity in which you engaged
o Just before the accident were you physically fatigued
o Just before the accident were you mentally fatigued
o Did you have any emotional or relationship problems troubling you just before the accident
Felony Convictions
· (Tell them we must ask this because the Defense will ask it if and when deposition taken) Ever been convicted of a felony. For each conviction state:
o City and state where convicted
o Date of conviction
o Offense
o Identity of court you went before
Ownership of Vehicle
· Owner of the vehicle you were driving or a passenger in (Name/ Address/ Phone number. Many of these questions and other questions may be answered in police report, but we want their statement)
Property Damage
· Was the vehicle you were in damaged in the accident
o If repaired, repair costs
o If not repaired, estimated damages
(General Note For Preparation of a Client who was rear-ended)
Note: If our client’s deposition is being taken and they were rear-ended, the more they can truthfully testify to the below points the better, because such answers contribute to an accident condition that would produce the maximum damages to our client. In preparing our client for a deposition (if they were the victim of a rear-end collision) they should be aware of these points; you may lead them a little bit on these question.
· Our Client/Driver was stopped.
· If stopped, our Client/Driver had his foot down hard on the brake, anticipating the impact which he/she saw coming in the rear-view mirror.
· Head and body moved violently backward and then head and body whipped forward.
· Was there a headrest; was it fixed or adjustable and was it up?
Accident Reports
· Police Report Taken
o If so, by what agency
o Report Number, if known
o Does client have copy of report (if so, furnish immediately, if not we will get it)
Accident Scene, General
· General location of the accident
· Date of Accident
· Time of Accident
· General weather conditions at the time of the accident
· Topography of the are in which accident occurred
· Location of any pedestrians at time of accident
· Nature and location of any traffic signs or signals in the area of the accident
· The straightness or curvature of the roads in the area in which accident occurred
· General condition of the road surface
· What was the speed limit where you first saw Defendant
· On a scale of one to ten, one being extremely light and ten being extremely heavy, how would you characterize traffic conditions at the scene of the accident
Obstructions to Vision
· Location of the sun at the time of the accident
· Describe the lighting conditions at the time of the accident
· Nature and extent of any permanent obstructions to your visibility in the area (buildings, trees, etc)
· Were any vehicles obstructing your visibility at the time of the accident
· Was anything obstructing your vision at the time of the accident
· Was anything obstructing the traffic signs or signals in the last 200 yards before the accident
· Was anything obstructing the traffic signs or signals at the scene of the accident
· Was anything obstructing the traffic signs or signals in the last 200 yards before the accident
· Any conditions impairing your ability to see outside the vehicle
o Fogged or frosted windshield or side windows
o Ineffective windshield wipers
o Passengers or objects blocking the driver’s vision
o (If accident occurred at night) Existence of street lights or other lighting sources
Accident Scene, Vehicles
· Describe the route that you followed from the beginning of your trip to the location of the accident, state the location of each stop, other than routine traffic stops, during the trip leading up to the accident.
· Direction in which parties were traveling immediately prior to accident
· Do you know of any malfunction or defect in any vehicle which may have contributed to the accident
· Nature, dimensions, color, and other characteristics of vehicles and other objects involved in the accident
· Were your headlights on
· Were Defendant’s headlights on
· Were your taillights functions
· Were Defendant’s tail lights functioning (if observed)
· Was your seat belt on
· What type of seat belt were you wearing (lap, shoulder, etc.)
· If there were other people in your car, did they all have their seat belt on
o If some had belt off, who were they.
· Where were you going just before the accident
· Was anything distracting you immediately preceding the accident
· Within the last ten seconds preceding the accident, what were you doing
· What was Defendant doing when you first saw him
· How far from Defendant were you, when you first realized you were in peril of an accident
· Where were you when you first realized you were in peril of an accident
· What was the color of your traffic light when you first saw Defendant
· What was the color of your traffic light when you collided with Defendant
· The nature, length, and direction of any skid marks left by the vehicles
· Where were the vehicles when you first saw Defendant vehicle
· How fast were you going when you first saw Defendant vehicle
· How fast was Defendant going when you first saw Defendant
· Was anything distracting you just before you first saw Defendant vehicle
· What evasive action, if any, was taken to avoid the accident
· How long after you saw Defendant were the brakes applied on your vehicle
· On what part of each vehicle did your vehicle and Defendant vehicle make contact
· The nature of the damage to each vehicle
· The location of the vehicles at the moment of collision
· The location of the vehicles following the collision
Accident Scene, Persons
· Who was in your vehicle at time of the accident (relationship, address, phone, why were they in vehicle)
· Who was in Defendant vehicle at time of the accident
Immediately After Accident
· Name all persons you spoke with at scene of accident
· (Note: do thorough cross-examination of everything Plaintiff heard Defendant say; including Defendant appearance, physical complaints, etc.)
· Name all persons who witnessed the accident
· Name all persons who made statements at the scene of the accident
· Name all persons who heard any statements made by any individual at the scene of the accident
· Except for expert witnesses, whom you believes or may have knowledge of the accident
· Anyone who said anything at the time of the accident
As to each
· Name/ address/ telephone number
· What you said
· What they said
· Defendant
· Any other occupants of your vehicle
· Defendant Passenger(s)
· Witness(s)
· Police officer
· Anyone else
· Who called police
· How long did it take for police to arrive
· What did you tell police
· What did Defendant tell police
· What did witnesses tell police
· What did anyone else tell police
· How long were you at the accident scene from the time of the accident until you left
Investigation; General
· Other than persons from our law firm, has anyone else interviewed any individual concerning the accident.
o Who was interviewed
o When were they interviewed
o Who interviewed them
· Has anyone obtained from you or any passengers in your vehicle written or recorded statement
o Who gave statement
o When
o Who requested statement
· Do you have any photographs, films, or videotapes depicting any place, object, or individual concerning the accident.
o What are they. We must have them
Your Injuries (This should be very, very thorough)
· What physical, mental or emotional injuries as a result of the accident
o Identify each injury
· Any treatment from health care provider for such injuries
o Ambulance Company
§ Address
§ Type of consultation, examination or treatment
§ Ambulance bill amount
o Hospitals
§ Dates of admission, release
§ Any insurance benefits paid
§ Anticipate any future hospitalization
§ Explain
§ Address
§ Still treating?
§ Total charges to date
o Medical Doctors (as to each)
§ Date first saw Doctor. for this injury
§ Still seeing this Doctor
§ Any insurance benefits paid
§ Anticipate future treatment from Doctor
§ Explain
§ Total charges to date
o Chiropractors (as to each)
§ Date first saw Chiropractor for this injury
§ Still seeing this Chiropractor
§ Any insurance benefits paid
§ Anticipate future treatment from Chiropractor
§ Explain
§ Total charges to date
o Physical Therapists (as to each)
§ Date first saw Physical Therapist for this injury
§ Still seeing this Physical Therapist
§ Any insurance benefits paid
§ Anticipate future treatment from Physical Therapist
§ Explain
§ Total charges to date
o Other Health Care Providers (as to each)
§ Date first saw Other Health Care Provider for this injury
§ Still seeing this Other Health Care Provider
§ Any insurance benefits paid
§ Anticipate future treatment from Other Health Care Provider
§ Explain
§ Total charges to date
o Other Special Damages (e.g. for prosthetic devices, medicines, private nurses, extra household help, automobile renal).
§ Charges to date
§ Anticipate future chares
· Your Illness/Accident /Litigation History
o Major Illnesses to date
o Hospitalizations to Date (other than those discussed above; indicate dates, name of hospital and treatment)
o You suffered injuries in the present accident. Have you ever suffered injury to the same part of your body before or since the accident.
o Have you every filed a prior claim (whether or not you saw an attorney) of any kind for property damage or personally injury including but not limited to lawsuits. (Thoroughly discuss here including:
§ Injuries or other damages claimed
§ Circumstances of claim
§ How was claim resolved; how much money was paid