What the First 90 Days of a Case Look Like at Sidhu Personal Injury Lawyers Calgary

If you’ve just hired Sidhu Personal Injury Lawyers Calgary, or you’re thinking about it, the biggest question is usually the same: What happens now?

The first 90 days of a personal injury case are not passive. They’re strategic. This is where evidence is locked down, mistakes are avoided, insurers are put on notice, and the foundation for your compensation is built or lost.

Here’s exactly what the first three months look like at Sidhu Law Firm. You’ll see what we handle, what we need from you, and why early decisions matter more than most people realize.

Quick Overview After Our First Call

Day 1–7	Intake, immediate safety/medical, preserve evidence, notify insurers, and sign a retainer. (This is triage + preservation.)
Week 2–4	Investigation ramps up. Chart collection, police/collision reports, speak to witnesses, order records, and early liability analysis.
Week 4–8	Assemble a demand package. We often push for a pre-litigation resolution; insurers usually respond within a few weeks.
Day 30–90	If the settlement won’t resolve the claim, we consider litigation steps while continuing negotiations. Alberta’s limitation clock is two years, so early action matters.

Day 1–7: Intake and Lockdown of Evidence

You’ll see a prompt call or meeting, an explanation of our retainer and fee arrangement, and immediate steps you can take (and we’ll help with).

Evidence Preservation

Take photos, save damaged property, gather witness contact details, and obtain the police/collision report. We will advise on immediate steps to preserve physical evidence and get copies of police/collision reports. The Alberta collision report system is usually the first place to get the official account.

Obtaining the Alberta Collision Report

In Alberta, any collision resulting in death, injury, or combined property damage over $5,000 must be immediately reported to police under the Traffic Safety Act. The Government of Alberta provides two types of collision reports through its official system:

• Driver copy: Available free through Alberta’s Report My Collision portal. This is sufficient to begin your insurance claim, but contains limited information.
• Police copy: Contains the full collision details and can be ordered through Alberta eServices for a $15 fee. Note that it does not include witness statements or photographs taken by enforcement, or confirm whether charges have been laid. Those must be obtained separately from the relevant police agency.

Notifying Insurers and Why Lawyers Should Handle All Contact

You are contractually obligated to report a loss to your own insurer promptly. However, contact with the at-fault party’s insurer should go through us from the outset. Anything you say to an adjuster can be used to minimize your claim. Insurers are trained to ask open-ended questions designed to elicit admissions about pre-existing conditions, comparative fault, or the severity of your symptoms. Once we’re retained, we take over all insurer communications so that your legal position is never inadvertently compromised.

Week 2–4: Investigation and Building the Factual File

During this time, you’ll see our team gathering documents and building the file. Your role is to keep attending appointments, keep receipts for expenses and lost wages, and forward any new notes, treatment plans, or specialist letters to us as soon as you get them.

We Obtain Records and Bills

We request full charts, referral notes, test results, therapy records, and invoices. Many cases hinge on the detail found in a single chart note.

We Collect Third-Party Evidence

We also collect: official police file documentation, witness statements (while memories are still fresh), requests for private CCTV or dashcam footage, scene photographs, and expert engineering assessments where the mechanics of the collision are contested. If the damaged vehicle has not yet been repaired, we advise preserving it for independent inspection. From the first week, Sidhu lawyers will be assessing how a court would evaluate your claim.Two Supreme Court of Canada decisions are particularly relevant and guide how we build the early file:

Week 4–8: Put the Demand Together (The Demand Package)

At this stage, we’ll review a draft demand with you, plus a plan for negotiation. A demand package usually contains:

• A clear narrative of the accident (with supporting evidence).
• Complete health records and a medical chronology.
• Loss schedule: lost income, out-of-pocket expenses, therapy, care needs.
• Photography, police reports, and witness statements.
• A legal framework explaining liability and causation, and a concrete damages figure (often with a range)

Many insurers take 2–4 weeks to acknowledge and respond; complex files take longer. We try to time the demand so it waits until the entire picture is clear enough to value the permanent impacts (often when you’ve reached or are near Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)). 

Some personal injury claims settle quickly after a demand; others need more medical development or expert reports. If a file is likely to need experts (orthopedics, neurology, life-care planners, vocational experts), we’ll say so early and budget time to obtain those reports.

Day 30–90: Negotiation Intensifies or Personal Injury Litigation Begins

This is a crucial time, and you’ll most likely still see continued negotiations. If settlement stalls, you’ll see papers filed or litigation steps begin.

Common litigation triggers in this window:

1. Insurer refuses to engage reasonably, and the evidence supports moving to court; or
2. The insurer makes a lowball offer, and further medical/testing proves the claim is worth more; or
3. Pre-litigation time limits mean we need to commence a claim to protect your rights. In Alberta, limitation periods under the Limitations Act give you two years, but taking early, practical steps is necessary for evidence and strategy.

Important exceptions: The two-year period is suspended for minors until they reach age 18. However, courts have no discretion to extend the limitation period once it has begun in standard circumstances. The deadline is absolute. For collisions involving municipal property (e.g., a sidewalk or road defect), the Municipal Government Act may impose notice obligations as short as 21–30 days.

If litigation starts, the immediate steps are:

Draft and File a Statement of Claim	Alberta’s Rules of Court and Practice Notes set out timing and service rules.
Preservation Motions	Or expedited orders if evidence may be lost.
Discovery/Examinations (if necessary)	We also schedule expert reports.
Ongoing Settlement Discussions	Even after filing, most cases still settle without trial.

Filing does not remove the need to be ready to negotiate. Often, the strongest settlements happen after an exchange of focused expert reports or an examination that clarifies an important issue (liability or the extent of permanent impairment).

Checklist for Sidhu Clients (First 90 Days)

• Get and keep all notes, specialists’ referrals, invoices, and receipts.
• Take photos of injuries, vehicles, the scene, and damage (multiple angles, if possible)
• Keep a symptom diary: pain levels, sleep issues, daily limitations. This helps quantify non-economic loss.
• Save proof of lost income (paystubs, employer notes) and out-of-pocket expenses.
• Forward any insurer letters, emails, or recorded statements to us immediately. Don’t respond without us.

Work with Calgary’s Trusted Personal Injury Law Firm from Day 1

The first 90 days of a personal injury case are about control. Controlling evidence before it disappears. Controlling the narrative before insurers define it for you. And controlling timing so your claim is positioned for real value.

While you focus on recovery, the accident lawyers at Sidhu Personal Injury Lawyers Calgary will focus on building your case properly. Strong cases don’t happen by accident. They’re built early, deliberately, and with experience. If you understand what the first 90 days are meant to accomplish, you know why choosing our Calgary personal injury lawyers from day one makes such a measurable difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a wrongful death claim handled differently in the first 90 days?

Yes. Wrongful death claims in Alberta proceed under the Fatal Accidents Act, RSA 2000, c F-8, and require estate representation, dependency loss analysis, and a distinct set of damages categories not available in standard personal injury claims. Lawyers handling these files must move quickly to secure records, income documentation, family impact evidence, and specialist opinions about future dependency. These cases carry significant complexity, and the evidentiary file must be assembled with particular care from the outset.

Are there common personal injury law myths that cause problems early on?

Yes. One common myth is that “minor injuries aren’t worth pursuing.” Another is believing insurers will calculate fair compensation on their own. These personal injury law myths always lead to an under-settled personal injury claim, especially in car accident cases involving soft-tissue or brain injuries.

Can I change my personal injury lawyer if I feel things aren’t moving properly?

Yes. If communication is poor or you feel your case is being rushed or ignored, you can switch personal injury law firms. Timing matters, though. Changing counsel early in the personal injury claim process is usually easier than doing so after litigation steps begin.