Calgary Car Accident Lawyer - Personal Injury Compensation Claim

LAWYER HELPLINE: ☎ 855 804 7142


Personal Injury Lawyers

There are over 500,000 motor vehicle collisions in Canada every year which cause almost 250,000 people to be injured, over 20,000 of which are critical injuries of which about 3,000 are fatalities. There are about 8 deaths every day on Canadian roads and there is a serious injury every 2 minutes resulting in over 100,000 claims for compensation ever year in Canada. If you would like to talk to a Calgary car accident lawyer without further obligation then just use the helpline or send the contact form or email our offices and a Calgary car accident lawyer who deals exclusively in personal injury accident claims will speak to you with free advice and information on how best to preserve your legal rights to compensation for your injuries.

 

Calgary Car Accident Lawyer - Negligence

 

Not all accidents are considered truly accidental. Some accidents or other injuries are considered legal conditions in which someone was at fault and caused the incident. If it is believed that someone was at fault and another person was injured, the injured party must hire a lawyer. The lawyer, in turn, must investigate the case and must be able to prove negligence before any compensation can be exchanged.

Negligence is complicated. It is best defined as a situation where a person has acted in such a way that no other reasonable person would do and the resulting accident caused losses that affected another person. The lawyer must determine what a reasonable person would do in the same circumstances and must determine whether or not the offending party acted differently.

Similarly, the Calgary car accident lawyer needs to prove that a duty of care existed regarding the situation that happened. A duty of care exists in situations such as when an airliner makes policies that affect the health and welfare of its passengers. In essence, the airliner is responsible for the care of travelling passengers and owes them a duty of care. A duty of care also exists in cases where a doctor is treating a patient. The duty of care theory implies that the doctor behave in ways that are as helpful to the patient’s health as is possible.

The Calgary car accident lawyer for the injured party needs to show that a breach of the duty of care happened in the situation. For example, a transportation company might have policies in place to make sure its travellers arrive safely and it might be shown that the company failed in following through with its policies or that the policies were substandard for the industry.

Lastly, the lawyer cannot make a compensation claim for his or her client unless it can be proven that losses did exist. Losses may be related to costs incurred as a result of the incident, such as the costs generated for medical care or the costs generated by having to repair or replace a motor vehicle. Losses can also be more subtle and can include things like the “cost” of pain and suffering or the “cost” of being unable to perform activities of daily living for the rest of the victim’s life.

If all of the above criteria are met, then negligence can be shown. When this occurs, the lawyer can begin to assemble the components of a claim. The claim represents three types of damages. The first type of damage is known as “general damages” and represents damages that have no innate monetary value. Such damages can include things like pain and suffering and losses the victim experiences when he or she can no longer participate in a favorite hobby.

Special damages are those that have an actual monetary amount associated with them. These include the cost of medical care, the cost of automobile repair or the cost of lost wages. Such damages are the easiest to prove among the three damages.

Punitive damages are not always requested. They are asked for in the claim whenever the person responsible for the accident behaved egregiously badly or purposefully performed the behavior that caused the accident with malicious intent.

The costs of all damages are compiled into a compensation claim and the Calgary car accident lawyer files the claim with the court. The other party may decide he or she wants to settle out of court with a sum of money that is satisfactory for everyone. If this type of arrangement is not possible, the case will go to a trial.

LAWYER HELPLINE: ☎ 855 804 7142