Step 1 – Free Consultation

At Chinook Law, consultations for car accident claims are always provided free of charge. During your consultation, we will listen to your side and inform you as to whether you have a case, explain to you the strengths and weaknesses of your case, and outline your available options without pressure. The entire consultation may be done remotely.

You can contact us at any time using the following channels:

  • Phone Call
  • Text Message
  • Email Form

Step 2 – Retaining Our Services

After your consultation and if you decide to retain us to represent you in your car accident injury claim, the next step is to schedule an appointment to visit our office for your client intake interview. This interview is expected to take between 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Be sure to bring the following documents with you:

  • Your Driver’s Licence or another government issued ID
  • Your vehicle insurance information
  • Your Alberta Health Care (AHS) number
  • Collision Report or Police File number if available
  • The other driver’s contact information if available
  • Pictures and video of the accident if available
  • Any other documents you believe may be important to your case

Step 3 – Investigation

We will begin work on your claim by conducting our investigation into your car accident to determine fault and liability. This may include the following:

  • Obtaining the full Police Report
  • Obtaining witness statements
  • Obtaining the opposing party’s version of events
  • Obtaining transcripts of any calls made to emergency services
  • Obtaining any video footage of the accident
  • Retaining the services of private investigators
  • Retaining the services of collision reconstruction engineers
  • Conducting legal research
  • Negotiating with the at fault party’s insurance company
  • Scheduling and conducting questioning under oath on the issue of liability

Step 4 – Documentation

Depending on the nature and severity of your injuries, you may need to visit various medical practitioners over the course of your claim. We will periodically request the relevant records from the following applicable practitioners:

  • Hospital emergency room attending physician
  • Family doctor/general practitioner
  • Medical imaging/radiologist (X-Rays, MRI, CT, Ultrasound, etc.)
  • Dentist/Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction specialist
  • Psychologist/psychiatrist
  • Optometrist/ophthalmologist
  • Physiatrist/chronic pain specialist
  • Neurologist/Neuropsychologist
  • Audiologist/otolaryngologist
  • Physiotherapist
  • Registered Massage Therapist/Chiropractor/Acupuncturist

Step 5 – Correspondence

As you continue to attend treatment from the healthcare providers outlined in Step 4 in an effort to recover from your injuries, we will remain in constant contact with the at fault party’s insurance company throughout the course of your claim to provide them with documentation as they become available, as well as to update them regarding your circumstances in the following areas:

  • Injuries as diagnosed by your various healthcare professionals
  • Progress of the treatment for your various injuries
  • Ongoing symptoms you are still experiencing despite treatment
  • Anticipated future treatment needs
  • Loss of wages or income due to injuries and treatment attendance
  • Continued difficulties with work, school, training and daily living
  • Status of ongoing litigation
  • Documentation and records as they become available to us
  • Any other inquiries the opposing party may have

Step 6 – Settlement Demand

Once you have reached the point of maximum medical improvement, we will obtain all of your updated medical and financial records and use them to draft our settlement demand package addressed to the at-fault party’s insurance company.

The amount of compensation we will be seeking in our settlement demand package will be a calculated amount based on the applicable Alberta legislations, regulations and past cases that had come before a Judge in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta and the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa. The total demand will be the total of the following categories:

  • Pain & suffering
  • Future expected medical needs
  • Past loss of income & future expected loss of earning opportunity
  • Past housekeeping expenses & future expected housekeeping needs
  • Out of pocket expenses
  • Pre-Judgement interest

Step 7 – Negotiations

The at-fault party’s insurance company will review our demand letter, your medical and financial records, and provide us with a counteroffer outlining a settlement amount they are willing to reach in an effort to resolve and their reasoning supporting their counteroffer.

We will bring their counteroffer to you for your acceptance or refusal. If you are unhappy with their counteroffer, you may instruct us to provide a counteroffer back to the at-fault party’s insurance company outlining our position and new demand.

This process may repeat several times with the at-fault party’s insurance company requesting for more documentation and medical records in order to justify our demand until an agreement is reached where both sides are satisfied. If a Settlement Agreement is reached, we will discontinue our claim against the fault party’s insurance company in exchanged for the agreed upon settlement funds.

Step 8 – Litigation

In Alberta, well over 90% of all personal injury claims are settled out of Court. However, should we fail to reach a negotiated settlement with the at fault party’s insurance company, we will prepare the necessary steps to bring your matter to Trial. These may include:

  • Filing the Statement of Claim with the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta
  • Serving the Statement of Claim on the at-fault driver and insurance policy owner
  • Requesting a Statement of Defence
  • Serving the Affidavit of Records
  • Scheduling and conducting Questioning under oath for Discovery
  • Producing undertakings made during Questioning under oath for Discovery
  • Undergoing Independent Medical Examinations (IMEs)
  • Undergoing Alternative Dispute Resolution

Step 9 – Alternative Dispute Resolution

Trial is both expensive and time consuming. The average duration between the date of the accident and trial judgement of the 10 most recent motor vehicle accident personal injury cases that have been tried in the Alberta Court of King’s Bench is 9 years and 7 months. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADRs) are meant to be alternative methods of reaching settlements should the parties fail to reach a negotiated settlement by themselves. There are two types of ADRs:

  • Mediation – an impartial mediator sits with the parties and their lawyers to try to bring the parties to an agreement on some or all of the issues being disputed. The mediator’s impartiality, expertise, and training helps to keep the parties focused on settling their disputes quickly and fairly.
  • Judicial Dispute Resolution – JDR is similar to mediation except that the mediator is a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench. During a JDR, the mediating judge may give indications of how they would decide if the matter were to proceed to Trial. This information is intended to allow the parties to reach a negotiated settlement, thereby avoiding Trial.

Step 10 – Trial

If the above steps fail to result in a satisfactory negotiated settlement for you, we will request a trial date from the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. Civil trials can vary in complexity and duration, and the purpose of a trial is to provide a fair and impartial forum for the parties to present their cases and receive a legally binding judgement.

During trial, the lawyers of both sides will give take turns presenting evidence such as medical reports and call witnesses. Expert witnesses may also be called to give their opinions before the judge, and may be examined by either side. Following the presentation of the evidence from both sides, the Judge will hear from the lawyers on their client’s point of view, as well as consult the relevant legislation, regulation, and case law before making their decision.

If the Plaintiff prevails and is awarded damages, the Plaintiff’s lawyer will need to take further legal action to enforce the judgement and collect the awarded amount from the defendant.

Step 11 – Resolution

A negotiated settlement can be reached at any time from when you were first injured to during trial. However, should the parties fail to reach a mutually acceptable settlement, and the trial proceeds to completion, the presiding judge will make a judgement that is binding on the parties.

  • Settlement Agreement – A settlement agreement is a voluntary and contractual agreement reached between the parties involved in a legal dispute to resolve their differences without having to go to trial, which is both time consuming and expensive. In a personal injury matter, the Settlement Agreement will typically involve a negotiated sum of damages that the defendant is willing to pay the plaintiff in exchange for discontinuing their claim against the defendant and releasing the defendant from future lawsuits stemming from the same accident.
  • Judgement – If the Plaintiff prevails and is awarded damages at Trial, the Plaintiff’s lawyer will need to take further legal action to enforce the judgement and collect the awarded amount from the defendant.