Below is a guide questionnaire to help you in answering possible questions that your lawyer may want to ask and information they may want to know upon your first meeting.

Questionnaire

Your lawyer will ask you when exactly you were injured. If you can’t recall the exact time of the day when it happened, an approximate time may be alright for starters. However, there are other injuries when the exact day may not be as clear such as if the injury is caused by a prolonged exposure to a certain chemical or substance. For accidents or other injuries when the day is very specific, it is important to get this date right, especially for the purposes of determining if the statute of limitations has not run.

Read the following questions carefully. Not all questions apply to everyone, so you only need to answer those that are applicable to your specific case.

1.         Does your legal claim arise out of a disease rather than an injury?

_______Yes                _______No

2.         When did you discover that you were, in fact, injured?

_____________________________________________

3.         If you suffered more than one injury, did they occur on different dates?

_______Yes                _______No

4.         If you answered “Yes” to Question 3, on what dates did your injuries occur?

First injury                   __________________________

Second injury              __________________________

Third injury                 __________________________

5.         If you were injured in an accident involving a product or some equipment, when did you learn the identity of the manufacturer?_______________________________________________

6.         If you were injured in an accident involving a product or some equipment, when did you first learn that the product was defective, or that the manufacturer was negligent in designing or manufacturing the product?_______________________________________________________

7.         If you were injured by a long-term exposure to a substance, chemical, or product, when was the last time you were exposed to it?  ____________________________________________

8.         When you bought the product or equipment, did it come with any express warranties?  (An express warranty is a specific promise about the product.  It is not a general promise that it is “merchantable” or “fit for a particular purpose.”)

_______Yes                _______No

9.         If you answered “Yes” to Question 8, did the manufacturer break that promise?

_______Yes                _______No

10.       When you bought the product or equipment, did it come with any promise about its future performance?

_______Yes                _______No

11.       If you answered “Yes” to Question 10, did the product live up to that promise?

_______Yes                _______No

12.       Did the product or equipment have a concealed defect?

_______Yes                _______No

13.       When you were injured, were you:

a.         Under age 18?             _______Yes                _______No

b.         Not in your right mind?          _______Yes                _______No

c.         Severely ill?     _______Yes                _______No

d.         In jail?             _______Yes                _______No

14.       If you answered “Yes” to Question 13(b) or Question 13(c), please explain the circumstances.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

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15.       At the time you were injured did anybody else do something that contributed to causing the accident or your injury?

_______          Yes                  No_______

If you answered  “Yes” please explain how:   _________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

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