Claim chronology builder

Purpose

Assemble a source-grounded timeline for one claim so every event, obligation, notice, payment, and response can be traced to a document or record. Keep fact, allegation, and unresolved contradiction distinct.

Scope

Include the claim notice, policy or contract, adjuster correspondence, invoices, payment ledger, incident report, witness statement, and evidence register. Excluded: legal conclusions, liability determinations, settlement negotiation, and contacting witnesses.

Data basis

• Claim file with claim_id, event_date, received_date, sender, recipient, event_type, amount, document_id, and page.
• Governing policy or contract with notice, deadline, and obligation clauses.
• Correspondence, incident, invoice, payment, and evidence records.

Result

Produce a chronology sheet with one row per event and a brief covering sequence, deadlines, amounts, disputed facts, and evidence gaps.

The sheet is the working record: preserve document identifiers, page references, original amounts, and the status of each event so a reviewer can reconstruct the claim history without relying on narrative shorthand.

Quality criteria

• Every event has an event date or an explicit unknown value.
• Every factual row cites document ID and page, section, or record ID.
• Document date, receipt date, and event date remain separate.
• Contradictory dates and duplicate correspondence are visible.
• Allegations are labelled as allegations, not facts.

Instructions

Order events by event date, then use document date and received date only as tie-breakers. Do not infer an incident date from a filing date. Deduplicate identical correspondence while retaining every source reference. Calculate elapsed days only when both endpoints are known. Preserve original currency and claim amount; do not infer liability from chronology. Put each deadline beside the clause or notice that creates it.

Adapt before use

• Add the applicable policy, contract, or claims-handling procedure.
• Define the date format and deadline-counting convention.
• Map claim, document, and payment identifiers.
• Name the audience for the chronology brief.