10 Documents to Bring to Your First Meeting With an Injury Lawyer

Bring the crash or incident report, your photos, medical records and bills, insurance paperwork, proof of lost pay and a written timeline. Those 10 items let a lawyer judge fault, damages and available insurance in the first meeting.

Don't delay the meeting to collect everything. A lawyer can request most records later, but what you bring shapes how useful the first hour is.

1. The police or crash report

The report shows who the officer thought was at fault, the other driver's insurer and any citations. How you get it depends on the agency that wrote it.

In Texas, buy it online through TxDOT's Crash Report Online Purchase System (CRIS) for $6, or $8 for a certified copy. Transportation Code §550.065 limits buyers to people involved, vehicle owners, their insurers and their authorized representatives, among others.

For a California Highway Patrol report, send form CHP 190, Application for Release of Information, to the CHP Area office that wrote it. The fee is $10 for 1 to 25 pages, paid by check or money order, with a copy of your photo ID. In Florida, §316.066(2) keeps crash reports confidential for 60 days, but you and your lawyer can get one early by signing a sworn no-solicitation statement.

If the report isn't ready, bring the report or incident number and the officer's card.

2. Photos and videos

Bring every photo of the vehicles, the scene, road conditions and your injuries. Share the original files, not screenshots, so the date and time stamps come with them.

Injury photos taken over time are the most persuasive. A bruise on day 1, day 7 and day 30 shows healing, or the lack of it, better than any description. Include dashcam or doorbell footage if you have it.

3. Medical records and bills

Bring the ER discharge papers, visit summaries, imaging reports and itemized bills from every provider. A list of each provider with the dates you were seen is almost as useful as the records.

You have a federal right to your records. Under HIPAA, a provider must act on your request within 30 calendar days, with one 30-day extension if it explains the delay in writing.

Dates matter in no-fault states. Florida PIP pays medical benefits only if you got initial care within 14 days after the crash, under §627.736(1)(a). Your first treatment record proves you met that deadline.

4. Your health insurance card and EOBs

Bring your health insurance card, plus Medicare or Medicaid cards if you have them. Also bring every Explanation of Benefits (EOB) your plan has mailed since the injury.

An EOB lists what the provider billed, what the plan paid and what you owe. A plan that paid your bills may have a right to be repaid from your settlement, so your lawyer needs the totals early. Our guide to medical liens explains how that repayment works.

5. Your auto policy declarations page

The declarations page is the summary at the front of your policy. It lists each coverage you bought and its limits, including uninsured motorist, MedPay or PIP.

This matters when the other driver carries only the minimum. California's minimum is $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for injuries under Insurance Code §11580.1b. If your damages exceed that, your own underinsured motorist coverage may pay the rest. Download the page from your insurer's app if you can't find the paper copy.

6. Every letter and email from an insurance company

Bring everything from both insurers: claim numbers, adjuster names, requests for a recorded statement, medical authorization forms and any denial or offer. Don't sign an authorization before the meeting.

The dates on these letters can show whether the insurer followed the rules. In California, an insurer must acknowledge a claim within 15 calendar days under 10 CCR §2695.5(e). It must accept or deny within 40 days of receiving proof of claim under §2695.7(b).

7. Proof of lost income

Bring pay stubs from the 2 or 3 months before the injury and your most recent W-2 or tax return. If you're self-employed, bring your last 2 returns with Schedule C, plus invoices or bank deposits showing your usual income.

Ask your employer for a short letter on company letterhead. It should state your pay rate, usual hours, the dates you missed and any sick or vacation time you used.

8. Witness names and contact information

Write down every witness's full name, phone number and what they said at the scene. A phone number is worth more than a name alone, since a lawyer can't find "the woman in the red car."

Include people who saw you after the injury, such as a coworker who drove you home. The crash report may list witnesses too, so compare it against your own notes.

9. Receipts for out-of-pocket costs and mileage

Keep receipts for prescriptions, braces, co-pays, parking at the clinic and rides to appointments. Add a simple mileage log listing the date, the provider and round-trip miles.

For reference, the IRS medical mileage rate is 20.5 cents per mile for January 1 through June 30, 2026, and 23.5 cents from July 1. That rate sets a tax deduction, not what an insurer must pay. It still gives your log a documented dollar figure.

10. A timeline and pain journal

Write a 1 page timeline with the injury date, first treatment, each appointment, missed workdays and any follow-up calls from insurers. The injury date starts the filing deadline, which is 2 years in both California (CCP §335.1) and Texas (Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003).

A short daily journal helps prove pain and suffering. Rate your pain from 1 to 10, note what you couldn't do and name events you missed, such as a child's game on May 9.

What to do if you're missing some of these

Bring what you have and a list of what you don't. For each missing item, write down who holds it, such as "ER records, county hospital, visit on March 3" or "crash report, Houston Police Department, case number."

At the meeting, ask the lawyer 3 things. Which records will the firm request for you? Who pays the copy fees? What should you keep tracking from now on? The 12 questions to ask before hiring cover fees and case handling. If you haven't picked a firm yet, compare options in our city rankings.