Motor Vehicle Accident Injury Claims – Edmonton Motor Vehicle Injury Lawyer, Ranbir S. Thind
How much is my Personal Injury Claim Worth?
You’ve been in an accident and suffered an injury. It’s affected your life in many new and unexpected ways: you’ve got medical appointments, you’re missing work, things aren’t getting done around the house and relationships are becoming strained. In the middle of all this, the insurance company for the person who injured you offers you some money and give you some compelling reasons to accept the offer. You have no idea what your injury claim is worth and if the insurance company is offering you a fair compensation. There is no quick and easy way to value an injury claim in Alberta but this fact, however, is actually a good thing for your claim as each claim is decided upon its own facts.
How is my Injury Compensation Determined?
In Alberta, the law takes into account how your injuries have changed your life and affected you personally. This personalized approach is superior to certain other jurisdictions where injuries are assessed according to set tables known in the insurance industry as “meat charts.” In Alberta, Courts take into account how severe your injuries are, and how long they last when determining the amount of compensation; a person who is completely paralyzed for life will be entitled to more compensation for pain and suffering than someone with a broken hand. Physical and psychological injuries – such as depression, anxiety, insomnia and PTSD are considered and each additional injury typically increases the amount of compensation awarded.
When shall I Settle my Claim?
Before calculating the value of an injury claim it is important that you are either 100% healed from your injuries, or as healed as you can ever be expected to be. This is known as Maximum Medical Improvement (“MMI”). Your treatment providers will determine when you reach MMI and at that point the duration of your injuries will be known with enough certainty to determine the right amount of compensation for you.
Limitation to sue in Court:
In Alberta you have 2 years from the date of your accident to file a claim at the courthouse or your right to compensation will be forever lost. If you or anyone you know were involved in a motor vehicle accident and were injured but have not taken any steps, please contact us immediately to find out if we are still able to preserve your claim. Most injury claims in Alberta will finalize through a negotiated settlement. This means that you, as the injured person, agree to accept an amount of money from the person or persons who caused your injury in return for ending your claim forever. Most of the time, the compensation will be paid by the other person’s insurance company, but even if the other person doesn’t have insurance, there are ways to recover the compensation you are entitled to and an experienced personal injury lawyer can help. A small proportion of claims are resolved in a courthouse at trial, and in that case you may have to wait for a longer period to receive your compensation. The time it takes for settlement of claim will depend on many factors, such as the seriousness of injuries, number of people involved in accident and the length of time it takes you to heal 100% or to reach MMI.
Why am I entitled to Compensation?
When you’re injured in Alberta because of the wrongdoing of someone else, the law says that you are entitled to compensation, but why? It’s because the law recognizes that something has been taken from you and aims to put you back in the position you were before the injury happened. Money appears to be a poor substitute for your health and well-being, but in the case of pain and suffering, it is the best the law can offer to people injured in accidents. The money that you receive in an injury claim is known as “damages” and you are entitled to many different categories of money or “damages” as part of your claim, which are described below:
General Damages
General damages is the legal term for the money you get for things you cannot put a price on, such as your pain and suffering. To get you the compensation you deserve we need proof of your injuries and an understanding of how your life has changed because of the accident. The evidence required to prove the General Damages include the Treatment notes (the medical charts recorded at the time of your visits) and the Medical Legal Reports (specialized reports written by doctors, specialists, psychologists, or other medical practitioners, which explain your injuries and their effects on you in detail). Your general damages may be subject to an upper limit called a cap if your injuries are minor and only involve soft-tissues, such as whiplash injuries and has the most up-to-date information on the current dollar value. Many injuries are not capped, so it’s a good idea to consult an experienced personal injury lawyer to find out for sure.
Loss of Housekeeping Capacity
After an injury, there’s a good chance that your ability to do things around the house will be limited. Vacuuming, cooking, gardening, doing laundry – whatever you normally do around the house can be affected temporarily or permanently. You may need to hire help to keep up with household chores, or perhaps a friend or family member will take on more to assist you. Either way, you are entitled to some compensation for what is known as loss of housekeeping capacity.
Special Damages
Special damages is the legal term for things with a price tag; they are easier to calculate and include the cost of medical treatment (except for any accident benefits you receive through your own insurance company or from any work benefits or personal benefits such as Blue Cross), lost wages due to missed work/opportunities, medications (prescription and over-the-counter), medical supplies (brace, wheelchair or adjustable bed etc.) and a personal property lost or damaged in the accident.
Future Cost of Care
After an accident, some people take medical treatment, heal completely and never require treatment for their injuries again. Others, however, require care far into the future and, occasionally, for the rest of their lives. Whether the care is massage, physiotherapy, chiropractic treatment, or something more serious like surgery or full-time in-home care, Alberta law provides for those costs to be covered under this category of special damages.
Future Loss of Income
It is an unfortunate reality that some injury victims are unable to return to work after an accident, temporarily or permanently. Sometimes an injury will require a change in work duties and responsibilities, other times a change in career, and there can be costs of retraining or going back to school. An injury can also prevent you from completing school or training, delay the start of a new job, or keep you from advancing as quickly. You may be forced to retire earlier than planned. If you’re self-employed, you may be unable to run your business or take on as much business as before your accident. In the case of a National Basketball Player, he may never find a job that pays near as much as what he was making playing basketball due to which his future loss of income claim is likely to be very large. Whatever the case, there is an opportunity to make a claim to get compensation for how your ability to earn money is affected into the future.
Does It Matter Who Is at Fault?
The short answer is that it definitely matters who is at fault for the accident when it comes to whether or not you are entitled to compensation for your claim. In Alberta, however, fault is not treated as black or white and injury lawyers tend to speak more about liability instead of fault.
If you or anyone you know are injured seriously and can’t attend our office, we will come to you. Protect your rights, get answers, and get help by calling us today at 780.784.1295 or email us at [email protected] to set up a free consultation meeting.
You’ve been in an accident and suffered an injury. It’s affected your life in many new and unexpected ways: you’ve got medical appointments, you’re missing work, things aren’t getting done around the house and relationships are becoming strained. In the middle of all this, the insurance company for the person who injured you offers you some money and give you some compelling reasons to accept the offer. You have no idea what your injury claim is worth and if the insurance company is offering you a fair compensation. There is no quick and easy way to value an injury claim in Alberta but this fact, however, is actually a good thing for your claim as each claim is decided upon its own facts.
How is my Injury Compensation Determined?
In Alberta, the law takes into account how your injuries have changed your life and affected you personally. This personalized approach is superior to certain other jurisdictions where injuries are assessed according to set tables known in the insurance industry as “meat charts.” In Alberta, Courts take into account how severe your injuries are, and how long they last when determining the amount of compensation; a person who is completely paralyzed for life will be entitled to more compensation for pain and suffering than someone with a broken hand. Physical and psychological injuries – such as depression, anxiety, insomnia and PTSD are considered and each additional injury typically increases the amount of compensation awarded.
When shall I Settle my Claim?
Before calculating the value of an injury claim it is important that you are either 100% healed from your injuries, or as healed as you can ever be expected to be. This is known as Maximum Medical Improvement (“MMI”). Your treatment providers will determine when you reach MMI and at that point the duration of your injuries will be known with enough certainty to determine the right amount of compensation for you.
Limitation to sue in Court:
In Alberta you have 2 years from the date of your accident to file a claim at the courthouse or your right to compensation will be forever lost. If you or anyone you know were involved in a motor vehicle accident and were injured but have not taken any steps, please contact us immediately to find out if we are still able to preserve your claim. Most injury claims in Alberta will finalize through a negotiated settlement. This means that you, as the injured person, agree to accept an amount of money from the person or persons who caused your injury in return for ending your claim forever. Most of the time, the compensation will be paid by the other person’s insurance company, but even if the other person doesn’t have insurance, there are ways to recover the compensation you are entitled to and an experienced personal injury lawyer can help. A small proportion of claims are resolved in a courthouse at trial, and in that case you may have to wait for a longer period to receive your compensation. The time it takes for settlement of claim will depend on many factors, such as the seriousness of injuries, number of people involved in accident and the length of time it takes you to heal 100% or to reach MMI.
Why am I entitled to Compensation?
When you’re injured in Alberta because of the wrongdoing of someone else, the law says that you are entitled to compensation, but why? It’s because the law recognizes that something has been taken from you and aims to put you back in the position you were before the injury happened. Money appears to be a poor substitute for your health and well-being, but in the case of pain and suffering, it is the best the law can offer to people injured in accidents. The money that you receive in an injury claim is known as “damages” and you are entitled to many different categories of money or “damages” as part of your claim, which are described below:
General Damages
General damages is the legal term for the money you get for things you cannot put a price on, such as your pain and suffering. To get you the compensation you deserve we need proof of your injuries and an understanding of how your life has changed because of the accident. The evidence required to prove the General Damages include the Treatment notes (the medical charts recorded at the time of your visits) and the Medical Legal Reports (specialized reports written by doctors, specialists, psychologists, or other medical practitioners, which explain your injuries and their effects on you in detail). Your general damages may be subject to an upper limit called a cap if your injuries are minor and only involve soft-tissues, such as whiplash injuries and has the most up-to-date information on the current dollar value. Many injuries are not capped, so it’s a good idea to consult an experienced personal injury lawyer to find out for sure.
Loss of Housekeeping Capacity
After an injury, there’s a good chance that your ability to do things around the house will be limited. Vacuuming, cooking, gardening, doing laundry – whatever you normally do around the house can be affected temporarily or permanently. You may need to hire help to keep up with household chores, or perhaps a friend or family member will take on more to assist you. Either way, you are entitled to some compensation for what is known as loss of housekeeping capacity.
Special Damages
Special damages is the legal term for things with a price tag; they are easier to calculate and include the cost of medical treatment (except for any accident benefits you receive through your own insurance company or from any work benefits or personal benefits such as Blue Cross), lost wages due to missed work/opportunities, medications (prescription and over-the-counter), medical supplies (brace, wheelchair or adjustable bed etc.) and a personal property lost or damaged in the accident.
Future Cost of Care
After an accident, some people take medical treatment, heal completely and never require treatment for their injuries again. Others, however, require care far into the future and, occasionally, for the rest of their lives. Whether the care is massage, physiotherapy, chiropractic treatment, or something more serious like surgery or full-time in-home care, Alberta law provides for those costs to be covered under this category of special damages.
Future Loss of Income
It is an unfortunate reality that some injury victims are unable to return to work after an accident, temporarily or permanently. Sometimes an injury will require a change in work duties and responsibilities, other times a change in career, and there can be costs of retraining or going back to school. An injury can also prevent you from completing school or training, delay the start of a new job, or keep you from advancing as quickly. You may be forced to retire earlier than planned. If you’re self-employed, you may be unable to run your business or take on as much business as before your accident. In the case of a National Basketball Player, he may never find a job that pays near as much as what he was making playing basketball due to which his future loss of income claim is likely to be very large. Whatever the case, there is an opportunity to make a claim to get compensation for how your ability to earn money is affected into the future.
Does It Matter Who Is at Fault?
The short answer is that it definitely matters who is at fault for the accident when it comes to whether or not you are entitled to compensation for your claim. In Alberta, however, fault is not treated as black or white and injury lawyers tend to speak more about liability instead of fault.
If you or anyone you know are injured seriously and can’t attend our office, we will come to you. Protect your rights, get answers, and get help by calling us today at 780.784.1295 or email us at [email protected] to set up a free consultation meeting.