If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, you may be looking to file a personal injury lawsuit. This is one of the best ways to recover money for your medical expenses and the money you lost due to your inability to work. Hiring an auto accident attorney can be beneficial in this situation. The attorney will be able to file the paperwork for you, obtain evidence, and help guide you toward getting the medical documentation you need to substantiate your claims. Before an attorney will agree to take on your case, they will have a meeting with you, called a consultation. This is both your and the lawyers opportunity to get to know one another and decide if you want to work together. If you have a consultation, you may be wondering what questions the attorney will ask. Here are three questions an auto accident attorney may ask during a consultation. 

Have You Filed a Personal Injury Claim in the Past? 

One of the questions that an auto accident lawyer may ask you is if you have filed a personal injury claim in the past. If you have filed a claim in the past for the same body part, the amount of money you may be entitled to may be reduced. This is because that body part may have already been injured and may not have been in the same condition as someone who has not suffered an injury. You will be entitled to any further damage that the accident caused, but your baseline will be determined by medical records that show how much permanent damage was suffered.  An attorney needs to know this information so they can pull your past medical records and show what your baseline was and what new damage was caused by this accident. 

Do You Think You Had Any Fault in the Car Accident? 

Another key question an auto accident attorney will ask is whether you feel you had any fault in the accident. It is important to be honest. Witnesses, police reports and even camera footage from local businesses may all be able to show if you had fault in the accident. If you did have fault, your settlement may be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you were fifty percent at fault and the other driver was fifty percent at fault, the other driver only has to pay fifty percent of your medical bills and lost wages as you are responsible for the other half. 

Do You Have a Black Box, Tracking Device or Camera in Your Car? 

Lastly, an attorney may ask you if your car has a black box, a tracking device used by insurance companies to track your good drive habits or a camera that was recording at the time of the accident. Any of these items may be used to help your case or hinder your case. An attorney needs to know if they were present and review the information to help determine if your case is one that they should take on. 

When you have a consultation with an auto accident attorney, they will ask you about the details surrounding the crash and what parts of your body are injured. However, they will also want to know if is any other information that can complicate the case or help the case. If you are meeting with an attorney, you should be prepared to answer the questions listed above, as well as basic questions about the accident and your injuries.