If you are reading this a day or a week after a collision, you are past the part where the advice columns tell you to breathe and check for injuries. What matters now is what is still in your hands. A surprising amount is, even if the scene has come and gone. This guide walks you through the decisions that shape a personal injury claim in Alberta, in roughly the order they come up.
At the Scene
If you are still at the scene, the first job is safety. Move the vehicles out of live traffic only if it is safe to do so and no one is seriously hurt. If anyone is injured, call 911. Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act, RSA 2000, c T-6 requires police involvement any time there are injuries or a fatality, and police attendance is also required for damage above the property damage reporting threshold.
That threshold is currently $5,000 in combined damage to all vehicles and property involved, confirmed unchanged for 2026. Below that amount, with no injuries, you can report through Alberta’s Report My Collision service or at a police station or collision reporting centre. Above that amount, or with any injury, police must be notified. If you damage a traffic safety device, railway sign or signal, parking meter, or other public property, you must report to police regardless of the dollar value.
Exchange information with the other driver: name, address, phone number, driver’s licence number, licence plate, and insurance details. Take photos of the vehicles from multiple angles, the plates, the positions of the cars before they are moved, debris, skid marks, and the wider intersection. Note the names and phone numbers of any witnesses. Memories fade within days, so capture what you can at the scene even if you feel fine.
In the First 48 Hours
Seek medical attention even if you think you are not hurt. Adrenaline masks pain, and soft tissue injuries, concussions, and whiplash symptoms frequently do not show up until a day or two later. A contemporaneous medical record is one of the most valuable pieces of evidence in any personal injury claim. Without it, you are asking an insurer or a judge to take your word for when your pain started.
Report the collision to your own insurer. Alberta’s Standard Automobile Policy (SPF No. 1), issued under the Insurance Act, RSA 2000, c I-3, requires prompt written notice of any accident involving loss or damage to persons or property. Do not delay this call. You can report while still gathering facts, and you should.
Write down what you remember while it is fresh. Where you were going, the light conditions, the weather, the road, what the other driver did, what you did, what was said at the scene. Keep it in your own file. Do not post it on social media. Anything you say publicly can be used against you later.
Since January 1, 2022, Alberta has operated a Direct Compensation for Property Damage (DCPD) system. For vehicle damage, you claim against your own insurer regardless of fault, and your insurer pays out to the extent you are not at fault.
In the First Month
This is where the personal injury claim takes shape.
Section B accident benefits. Under Section B of the SPF No. 1, every Alberta auto policy includes no-fault accident benefits that apply regardless of who caused the collision. Medical and rehabilitation expenses are covered up to $50,000 per person for reasonable expenses incurred within two years of the accident. That covers necessary medical, chiropractic, dental, hospital, psychological, physical and occupational therapy, massage, acupuncture, professional nursing, and ambulance services, plus equipment or home and vehicle modifications your attending physician and the insurer’s medical advisor agree are essential. There are sub-limits within the $50,000, including roughly $1,000 for chiropractic and $350 each for massage and acupuncture. Section B also provides weekly disability income replacement for earners who cannot work. Your insurer will have forms (the AB-1 and related) to open the file.
Medical records. Keep every record, every receipt, every prescription. Track your appointments, your symptoms, your pain levels, and the days you missed work. If you run out of benefits and the claim moves to litigation, the documentary trail is what proves the injury.
Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer without legal advice. Your own insurer will ask for a statement as part of your claim, and that is part of the process. The at-fault driver’s insurer is a different matter. Their adjuster’s job is to limit the company’s exposure, and statements given casually in the first few weeks have a way of reappearing months later in a very different light. A short call with a lawyer before you speak to the other side’s insurer is almost always worth the time.
Understanding the Minor Injury Cap
The Minor Injury Regulation, Alta Reg 123/2004, places a cap on non-pecuniary (pain and suffering) damages for injuries classified as “minor” under the Regulation. Minor injuries mean sprains, strains, and whiplash-associated disorders (WAD I and II) that do not result in a “serious impairment” as defined in the Regulation.
Two things about the cap are worth knowing.
First, the cap applies only to pain and suffering damages. It does not cap your claim for lost income, medical expenses, or future care costs. Those are assessed separately on the evidence.
Second, the cap amount is adjusted each year. The 2026 figure is $6,306 (effective January 1, 2026, set by the Superintendent of Insurance under the Minor Injury Regulation), up from $6,182 in 2025. The amount changes annually using the Alberta escalator, so the figure that applies to your claim is the one in force on the date of your collision. For the current figure, check the Superintendent of Insurance bulletin at alberta.ca.
Whether your injury is “minor” is a legal and medical question, not an insurance company opinion. An adjuster who tells you your claim is capped is stating a position, not a fact. Injuries that at first look like a simple sprain often turn out, on proper assessment, to fall outside the cap.
The Limitations Clock
The Limitations Act, RSA 2000, c L-12, gives you two years to start a lawsuit for a personal injury claim, measured from the date you knew or ought to have known that you had a claim against the other driver (section 3, the discovery rule). There is also an outside limit of ten years from the date the injury-causing act occurred, regardless of discovery.
For most collisions, the discovery date is the date of the accident. You knew you were hit, you knew who hit you, and you knew you were hurt. The clock starts that day. There are exceptions for minors and for injuries whose extent is not apparent for some time, but those are narrower than people assume. Do not rely on them.
Two years sounds like a long runway. It goes quickly once you are dealing with treatment, adjusters, and records. A claim not filed within the limitation period is barred outright, no matter how strong it was on the merits. If the second anniversary of your collision is approaching and nothing has been filed, get legal advice immediately.
What Is Changing in 2027
Alberta is transitioning to a “Care-First” auto insurance model effective January 1, 2027 under the Automobile Insurance Act (Bill 47, SA 2025), which received Royal Assent on May 15, 2025. For collisions on or after that date, most injured Albertans will receive enhanced medical, rehabilitation, and income benefits directly from their own insurer, and the ability to sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering will be removed for most injuries. The current tort system continues to apply to collisions that occur before January 1, 2027. If your collision is close to the transition date, the applicable regime depends on the date of the collision, not the date of your claim, and you should get advice specific to your situation.
If You Want a File Reviewed
A short review with a lawyer early in the process often changes what a claim is worth. That is particularly true where injuries have been labelled “minor” by the insurer, where liability is disputed, or where the limitation clock is running. Contact Aboh Legal to discuss your file, or read more about the firm’s personal injury practice.