To obtain the best service possible, there are certain documents you should bring to your free consultation with a personal injury lawyer. Providing as much information as possible will enable your lawyer to fully assess the merits of your claim and advise on potential risks.
If you have no information about the car accident aside from the date and location, our team is still happy to meet with you; but if you do have any of the following documents, we encourage you to bring them.
What you Should Bring to Your Free Consultation With a Personal Injury Lawyer?
Aside from enabling the lawyer to better advise on your claim, providing the following documents will expedite the file opening process and ensure that your claim is started in a timely and efficient manner.
Your driver’s license
- Why you should provide this – Lawyers have a duty to document and identify their clients. We also need to ensure that you held a valid licence at the time of the accident.
Alberta Health Services card
- Why you should provide this – We will need your health care number to request medical documents both after the accident and throughout the claim.
Social insurance number
- Why you should provide this – the Law Society of Alberta mandates that lawyers register their clients. To do so, we require your social insurance number.
Your insurance information
- Kindly provide the name of your auto insurance provider, policy number, claim number, name of your adjustor, and contact information for your adjuster.
- Why you should provide this – after a car accident, your auto insurance provider is responsible for covering treatment costs. To ensure that you get the treatment you need, we require your insurance information.
Name of the at-fault driver
- Why you should provide this – before we launch a claim against the at-fault driver, we need their name. This enables us to notify their insurance company of the claim.
Insurance information for the at-fault driver (same information as for your insurance – to the extent that you have this information)
- Why you should provide this – as the at-fault driver’s insurance company will be compensating you for your injuries, we need the above information to “put them on notice” and open your claim.
Police file number
- Why you should provide this – to get a full account of the accident, we need to request the full police investigative file. The police will not release this information without the file number.
Written wittiness statements, names/numbers of wittiness, and accident pictures (if any)
- Why you should provide this – if there is any question or debate about who caused the accident, witnesses are critical. Your lawyer will need to speak with an independent third party to confirm your description of the accident.
Collision report
- The Alberta Accident Collision report is a critical document as it contains the name of the at-fault driver, their insurance provider, policy number, location of the accident, and time of the accident. Your lawyer will need all this information to launch a claim.
Name of your family doctor, clinic name of your family doctor, and name of your physiotherapy clinic
- As noted above, your lawyer will need to request medical documents throughout the claim. These medical documents form the evidence needed to prove your injuries. Without adequate medical evidence, your lawyer cannot secure fair and full compensation for your injuries.
Getting Results with James H. Brown and Associates
Since 1993, James H. Brown and Associates have helped accident victims and their families with award-winning injury law services. Our experienced team of injury lawyers understands firsthand the toll a serious injury can take, and have a proven record of success navigating settlement claims for our clients.
With over 250 years of combined experience, James H. Brown and Associates has built an unrivalled reputation for results with accident claims, settlement negotiations, and full jury trials. We’ve successfully helped our clients recover some of the largest injury settlements ever achieved in Alberta while continually setting new precedents in Western Canadian injury law. We invite you to compare our record to any other law firm in Alberta today.
Read more about our results here.
*Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The amount recovered and other litigation outcomes will vary according to the facts in individual cases.
