Show the current position before retelling the event
Many people contact counsel after they have already notified an insurer, sent records, made a statement, or received an offer. If the claim is already underway, the useful next step is a clean handoff of the claim as it stands today. Make a short file showing what happened, what has been sent, what has been signed, and what question now needs legal review. S&S Law may evaluate whether an appropriately licensed Ohio lawyer can take a Mason matter. Sending the file for review does not by itself create representation or pause any deadline.
Identify every open claim conversation
Start a cover sheet with the incident date and location, each insurer or claims administrator that has contacted you, every claim number, and the name and contact information of the person assigned to it. Separate a property claim from an injury claim even when the same event generated both. Record the date and method of your last communication, the question asked, and whether you owe a response. Attach the actual letter or message, not just your memory of it. If an adjuster called an amount “final,” keep the exact wording and any written follow-up. A prospective lawyer needs to know what position the process has reached before proposing a new one.
Mark items already delivered: photographs, medical authorizations, bills, work records, a recorded statement, or a signed form. Use one row per item with the recipient, date, method, and proof of delivery if you have it. Do not alter an earlier statement to make it match a later account. Note the discrepancy and preserve both versions. This differs from an ordinary evidence checklist because the next lawyer must see the commitments and disclosures already made, not merely the facts that might support a new demand.
Put signatures and open offers in a separate sleeve
Collect the complete text of any authorization, repair payment document, settlement offer, release, or agreement with earlier counsel. A payment for one category of loss may have different paperwork from another, but the effect of an actual signature depends on the document and facts. Do not assume a form was harmless because it was short, or that an unsigned offer remains available indefinitely. On the cover sheet, write “signed,” “received but not signed,” or “not located.” A lawyer can then decide what the document does and whether another decision is still possible.
If you had prior counsel, identify the lawyer and the last known status, then ask how the existing file can be obtained. Ohio Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16 addresses steps to protect a client’s interests when representation ends, including treatment of client papers and property subject to applicable law. Do not presume that a new firm automatically receives the old file or becomes responsible for a scheduled event. A written handoff confirmation is more useful than an assumption that someone else called.
Bring dates as questions, not as guarantees
Ohio Revised Code 2305.10 includes a general two-year period for many bodily injury claims, with specific accrual and exception provisions that require case-by-case analysis. Other claim types and parties can involve different rules. Put the incident date, any later injury discovery, insurer notice, filed case number, and upcoming response date on the sheet. Label the source of each date. Do not treat an insurer’s review, a pending consultation, or a claim number as proof that a court filing period has been protected. Ask qualified counsel to determine the applicable time rules promptly.
Ohio Rule 1.18 recognizes a prospective client who consults about possible representation and imposes duties concerning information learned in that consultation. It does not mean every consultation becomes an accepted case. Before sending highly sensitive material, ask how the firm wants to receive it and whether a conflict check should occur first. Provide enough to identify the matter accurately, then follow the firm’s secure intake instructions. Retain your originals. A responsible handoff has a clear response on whether the firm accepted, declined, or needs more information.
Ask for the first decision after the handoff
End the cover sheet with a single question that prompted the change: Is the offer still open? Did a signed document resolve anything? Which allegation or missing record matters next? Does the case need a filing decision? The lawyer can then request what is missing instead of repeating the entire history from memory. If S&S Law accepts the matter, the scope and the person responsible for the next step should be confirmed in writing. If it does not, keep the handoff sheet for the next consultation and continue to protect any date requiring prompt attention.