What Documents to Bring When Meeting Paul Galm About Your Car Accident Case

Each year thousands of Oregonians are involved in car accidents, causing serious injuries that lead to hospitalization, time missed from work, and emotional distress. Most of these car crashes can be satisfactorily resolved by the insurance companies representing the involved parties. However, there are times when it’s best to seek legal help in order to ensure that your interests are properly represented and that you receive fair compensation for any damages incurred.

Each car accident in Oregon is different in its own way, but all cases require as much information and documentation as possible to best assist your car accident lawyer in constructing a solid legal case. Furthermore, providing your lawyer with all available information will help the judge and/or jury who will ultimately hear the case at trial. Here is a list of the documents you should bring when meeting Paul Galm to discuss your car accident case, and details about the steps that take place after the initial consultation.

Documents to Bring

1. All correspondence with both your insurance and the negligent driver’s insurance – It’s vital that you bring any copies of letters and forms exchanged between the two insurance companies and transcripts of any phone conversations you have held with either insurance carrier. This correspondence will likely have contact information for insurance representatives, and will help your car accident lawyer determine what information each party knows or believes to be true.
2. Health insurance information – Bring copies of your health insurance card and plan policy; as well as reports or paperwork you received from the hospital or doctor after receiving treatment.
3. Police reports – It’s important to bring your accident report to the initial consultation, as this is usually the first document created after a car crash  It also provides the name, badge number, and contact information for the police officer at the scene.
4. Witness information – If you were lucky enough to have witnesses of the accident and got their contact information, bring those details to your consultation. Paul will eventually want to follow up with these individuals and may possibly call them to testify at trial about what they saw.
5. Photos and Videos – Any pictures or videos of the accident and the area where it occurred, the vehicles involved and what they looked like before being towed, and your injuries the day of the accident and several days afterward should be provided to Paul Galm. Pictures and video are valuable evidence at trial, and will help to prove the validity of your case.
6. Health Care Provider list – Bring a list with the names, official titles, contact information, and visit details of all doctors, surgeons, and specialists you have seen for the injuries you sustained.
7. Bad driver contact information – Paul will need the contact information for the negligent party involved in the accident, as well as their license plate number, their auto insurance company, and their insurance company’s contact information.

After the Initial Consultation

1. The most important step of the process comes after the initial consultation: focusing on your treatment and healing. Stressing over your case won\’t help you heal and can make matters worse. Please take care of yourself!
2. Paul Galm and his team will prepare Attorney Letters of Representation and send them out to all applicable parties so you will stop receiving several harassing calls each day from the insurance company. We will take care of all direct communication so you can focus on you.
3. We will ensure that the auto insurance companies have the documents and information necessary to process and pay medical bills (if you have personal injury protection (PIP) coverage).
4. As your car accident attorney, Paul Galm will investigate the facts of the accident by retrieving police reports, determining if video of the accident is available, providing evidence preservation letters if applicable, and sending an investigator to speak with witnesses while memories are still fresh.
5. After you’ve healed and finished medical treatment, we will collect all medical records to use as evidence.
6. Our next step is to prepare a demand letter and send it to the negligent party’s insurance company.
7. The final step is to file suit.

The aftermath of a car crash can be frightening and life-changing, and it often requires extensive medical treatment. If your car accident was caused by a negligent driver, by hazardous road conditions, or by a malfunctioning vehicle, a Portland personal injury attorney like Paul Galm can help you get justice and the monetary recompense to which you’re entitled. Paul Galm offers all clients a free consultation and charges no fees unless the case is won.

If you have been in an accident and need legal advice from a car accident attorney in Portland, Oregon, contact Paul Galm Law today.