Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyers Calgary
Alberta traffic accident statistics cite the leading causes of motor vehicle accidents in Alberta are due to impaired driving, speeding, distracted driving, following too closely, running off the road and disobeying traffic signals. Having basic automobile insurance, both accident benefits and $200,000 in third party liability, is required by provincial law. Insurance coverage such as collision, or comprehensive (ie. covering theft, vandalism, weather damage) is not.
As of 2004, the Alberta government introduced the Minor Injury Regulation (MIR), which puts a limit on the total damages recoverable for any minor soft tissue damages. These injuries are defined as any injury or condition that does not result in a serious or long-term impairment, such as a sprain, strain, or whiplash-associated disorder. This limit is adjusted annually for inflation. While the government has put a cap on how much one can recover for a minor injury, that limit does not affect your ability to claim loss of income, cost of care, or other kinds of damages.
For most people, the aftermath of living with serious injuries after a motor vehicle accident can have life changing consequences and impact everything from day-to-day activities like doing laundry to functioning in a normal capacity at work. Fortunately, for accident survivors with serious injuries, there may be legal recourse and compensation available to you. If you or a loved one have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, contact our law firm for a free consultation to speak with our Calgary motor vehicle accident lawyers.
What to do if you’ve been injured in a motor vehicle accident in Alberta
Motor vehicle accidents can happen anytime and anywhere. Here are some immediate steps to take if you’ve been involved in a car accident:
- Don’t leave the scene: Doing so may put you under extra scrutiny and expose you to criminal charges.
- Safety first: If it is safe to do so, put your hazard lights on, get out of your vehicle and move out of traffic off to the side of the road while you wait for assistance.
- Gather information: Exchange information with the other driver(s) including their name, insurance information, contact information and license plate number. If there are witnesses, we recommend you gather their contact information as well.
- Get medical attention: Sometimes injuries present themselves immediately in a motor vehicle accident, whereas other times your injuries may take weeks or months to present themselves. We recommend you get medical attention either way, especially if you suspect you may have a concussion, whiplash, and other serious injuries.
- Police report: Make sure you obtain a copy of the police report following the motor vehicle accident.
- Reporting the accident: If you have been injured and wish to seek compensation for your injuries, you will need to report the accident to your insurance company regardless of who is at fault.
- Contact our law firm: In the event you have sustained injuries and require legal help pursuing your motor vehicle accident claim, contact our law firm for a free consultation.
What if you’ve been injured by an unknown or uninsured driver in Alberta?
If you’ve been in a motor vehicle accident and the driver either fled the scene or was not insured, there are still various forms of recourse that you can pursue.
The Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act (MVAC) is a program in Alberta that allows for payment toward personal injury damages, but not property damage. The program, which was created in 1947, is funded by the provincial government. This process is still complicated, and a number of criteria needs to be satisfied before determining an individual’s eligibility. MVAC is only a final option, if all other avenues of compensation have been exhausted. At this stage, we recommend you reach out to our law firm for a free consultation to see what options might be available to you.
How to pursue compensation for your injuries following a motor vehicle accident in Alberta
In Alberta, there are two ways you can pursue compensation for your injuries following a motor vehicle accident. The first way is through no-fault benefits that are part of the mandatory motor vehicle insurance policy in Alberta. These are referred to as Section B Benefits and cover medical and rehabilitation costs, funeral expenses, loss of income, housekeeper expenses and death benefits. These benefits are available irrespective of who was at fault and have a limit of up to $50,000 and you have up to 2 years from the date of accident to receive these benefits.
In some cases, Section B Benefits may not provide adequate compensation following a serious motor vehicle accident. For example, serious injuries may have a more dramatic effect on your life going forward. If you have a traumatic brain injury or have permanent injuries that prevent you from working, doing normal household work or even activities like picking up your children from school, you may need more financial assistance to help get your life back to functioning as normal as possible. In situations like this, we recommend hiring a lawyer to file a lawsuit against the insurer(s) of the drivers at fault so you can pursue meaningful compensation that truly helps you with your recovery and wellbeing.
Benefits of filing a motor vehicle accident lawsuit
One of the main advantages of filing a lawsuit versus pursuing compensation through Section B Benefits (for cases involving serious injuries), is that you are able to recoup losses for all the things that are not covered by accident benefits. For example, if you’ve lost income as a result of the accident that’s not covered by Section B Benefits, you can seek it back in the lawsuit. You’re also able to seek compensation for pain and suffering which compensate you for changes to your life that are not monetary (i.e. you can’t sleep, you’re depressed, you’re anxious because you have invisible injuries that are harder to diagnose).
Another benefit of filing a lawsuit is that you’re pursuing compensation for injuries that may get progressively worse over the course of time. We always say that a good personal injury lawyer will not just seek compensation for your injuries now but will also have the experience and foresight to determine the level of compensation required for the future (as in 5, 10 or 20 years down the road). We’ve seen many cases where peoples’ injuries get worse over time and results in more negative effects on their life going.
Finally, Alberta has a cap on claims meaning that your non-pecuniary or pain and suffering damages are capped at a small amount if you have a minor injury. However, in many cases they are not capped, and a good lawyer will help you get the compensation you’re entitled to.
Our law firm acts on contingency basis, meaning you don’t pay us anything unless we win your lawsuit. You can focus on your recovery while we take care of all aspects of your lawsuit. Contact our law firm today for a free consultation to determine what course of action works best for you.
How do motor-vehicle accident lawsuits work in Alberta and how can our lawyers help?
- Hire a lawyer: While it’s not mandatory to hire a lawyer, we recommend you do because a lawyer will have the experience to build a case that work in favour of your best interests. Our Calgary accident lawyers will help you determine who is at fault for the accident and take the relevant steps to gather evidence and build a case to advance a claim on your behalf. We refer to this part of the lawsuit as the initial investigation. Depending on your case, our lawyers may requisition police files, medical records, work with engineers, medical and vocational experts to investigate your case. We will also work with medical professionals to put treatment plans in place for you to help you with your recovery.Our primary objective is to get you to a state of recovery – everything else is secondary.
- Statement of Claim: A lawsuit is initiated when a Statement of Claim is filed in the Court of King’s Bench in Alberta. It’s a legal document that initiates a lawsuit against the at-fault driver (and their insurance company). Our motor vehicle accident lawyers will take care of this. The statement of claim will also outline the damages that our team calculated (basically the compensation you deserve) and our reasonings for it.
- Litigation: The litigation process includes things like questioning for discoveries, mediation and in some cases going to trail to settle your claim. During this part of the lawsuit, our team may hire more experts to help strengthen our arguments. All the expenses for this are paid for by our legal team and only recovered from you only after we successfully recover compensation on your behalf. We will also deal with the insurance agents, insurance defense lawyers and other parties involved in the litigation process.
While you work on getting better and healing, our legal team will take care of all the paperwork and correspondence with the insurance companies and related parties to make sure you are not overwhelmed with the administrative aspects of your lawsuit. The best part is, you don’t pay us anything until we win which according to our clients, is a huge relief for them.
Types of motor vehicle accident lawsuits we can help with
At Preszler Injury Lawyers, we have advanced claims for all types of motor-vehicle accidents, including but not limited to:
- Truck accidents
- Motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians
- Motorcycle accidents
- Car accidents
- ATV accidents
- Snowmobile accidents
- Motorized e-bike accidents
- 18-wheeler accidents
- Public transportation accidents
- Boating and other watercraft accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- And more
Let us put our experience to work for you and help you pursue meaningful compensation.
Contact our law firm today for a free consultation
If you or someone you know has recently been in a motor vehicle accident, contact our law firm for a free consultation with one of our Calgary motor vehicle accident lawyers. During this consultation you can ask our legal team if your claim is worth pursuing, how long it may take to settle and other questions you may have. We have been helping injured Canadians since 1959 and are ready to put our experience to work for you.
Call 1-888-295-8191 now – we are open 24/7 to take your call.
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