Alberta Car Accident Lawyers
Our experienced car accident lawyers can handle the entire legal process from start to finish. If you are hurting after a car accident, let our lawyers focus on your case so you can focus on your recovery.
Our lawyers work on contingency, which means there’s no fee unless you win.
Free Consultation01How We Can Help
Our Accident Attorneys fight for your rights after a car accident.
Our award winning personal injury lawyers have over 20 years experience and will deal with the insurance company from day one, letting them know that you mean to seek proper compensation for your injuries as well as other compensations you may be entitled to.
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We Eliminate Risk for Edmonton Car Accident Victims
When you work with Assiff Law Office lawyers, you can rest assured, there will be no up-front costs for our services. We operate on a contingency fee basis, which means you won’t have to pay us a cent unless we win.
- Free Case Evaluation
- $0 out of pocket expenses
- No fee unless you win
02Building your Case
Edmonton Alberta Car Accidents & Info
A car crash is a traumatic experience. It’s difficult to tell what to do after a car accident, especially if you or a loved one has been injured. However, by understanding the Alberta laws and evidence you will need, you can cast a clearer light on what happened, identify who’s at fault and strengthen your case.
Types of Auto Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents can occur for many reasons, but will often result in severe injuries or even death. Sometimes it’s obvious who’s at fault. Other times, it takes a full investigation if a driver was impaired, distracted or just negligent.
We handle a wide range of auto accidents in Alberta
If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of one of the following motor vehicle accidents, please do not hesitate to contact us.
- Head-On Collisions
- Car vs Truck Accidents
- Rear-End Collisions
- Side Impact (T-Bone) Collisions
- Accidents Involving Bicycles
- Drunk Driving
- Distracted Driving or Texting while Driving
- Speeding
- Reckless Driving
- Aggressive Driving
- Accidents Involving Public Transportation
- Accidents Involving Emergency Vehicles
Common Alberta Car Accident Injuries
The nature and severity of your vehicle accident injuries ultimately determine your claim’s value. It is crucial to seek immediate help and document any injuries and record any expenses that are related to your accident and your injuries.
Here are some of the most common injuries we see after auto collisions:
- Head and Brain Injuries
- Neck and Back Injuries
- Burn Injuries
- Soft Tissue Injuries
- Broken Bones
- Spinal Cord Injuries
Compensation for Damages & Losses in Car Accident Cases
When you have been injured and someone else is at fault, you have the right to pursue compensation. Your final settlement needs to consider all the ways you have been affected by your accident, including both material and non-material damages.
Material Damages
- Medical Expenses
- Lost Wages
- Diminished Earning Capacity
- Childcare Expenses
- Household Maintenance Fees
Non-Material Damages
- Loss of consortium
- Diminished quality of life
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Reputation Damage
- Disfigurement and Scarring
Negligence, Fault & Liability
Most car accidents are based on negligence: The other party acted unreasonably or failed to act, and as a result, caused you injury or harm.
Car Accident Evidence and Documentation
It may seem obvious to you who’s at fault in your car accident. However you must still be able to prove that the other party was acting unreasonably in order to have a successful claim.
The burden of proof in a personal injury case is based on the evidence that we are able to submit on your behalf. This evidence needs to show that the other party is more likely to have caused your injuries. Photos, Dash-Cam recordings, eyewitness testimonies and other forms of evidence can be used to prove fault.
Liability & Fault in an Alberta Car Accident
Injuries alone are not enough to prove liability. In order to determine who is liable you need to establish the four elements of negligence:
- Someone must owe you the duty of care;
- Someone must fail to uphold this duty of care;
- Someone must cause you damage;
- This damage can be expressed or requires monetary compensation.
Alberta is an at-fault province for liability in a car accident. In most cases you can file a third party claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance provider or the employer they were working for at the time of the accident.
Unfortunately, the insurance companies will try to minimize the amount of compensation they will give you in order to recover. This is why you will need an experienced injury lawyer to represent you.
Time Limits, Insurance Company Defenses
Alberta Car Accident Statute of Limitations
Time is of the essence when you or a loved one were involved in an accident due to someone else’s negligence. In Alberta, you have two years to file for a car accident.
Although this may seem like a very long time, the more you wait the more evidence will get lost, and it will be more difficult to recollect the particulars of the event. The longer you wait the more difficult it is to obtain the compensation you deserve.
Disputed Liability in a Car Accident
Apart from using the statute of limitations against you, the other side and their insurance company will want to protect themselves. They do this by denying your claim and using various defenses to reduce or deny your case.
- The other party may use procedural defences based on an existing law, or claim that you failed to comply with a statutory rule;
- Factual defenses to car accident liability usually claim that you are partially or wholly to blame for the accident;
- The defense may also claim that you are over-stating the severity of your injuries or over-stating their impact.
Alberta Car Accident FAQ
What's the first thing I should do after a car accident?
It is important first to seek medical attention from a medical professional. Afterwards, it is important to gather as much evidence associated with your car accident as soon as possible.
Collecting information like witness contact details and pictures of the accident and filing a police report are steps you should immediately take following a car accident.
When should I contact a car accident lawyer?
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My insurance company offered me a settlement right away. Should I take it?
In many cases, insurance companies will try to offer you a settlement right away. Usually this type of early settlement dismisses most of the intricate details of a victim’s injury. The early settlement offered by the insurance company will often not take the full medical expenses and adjusted living expenses into account, leaving you to pay for them out of pocket.
03Our Process
Personal Injury Process
What Should I expect?
When you call Assiff Law injury lawyers, we immediately work on recovering compensation for your injuries.
Consult with an Edmonton Injury Lawyer
The first step is to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer near you.
Our lawyers will review the details of your situation and your understanding of events — your side of the story — so we can determine whether there is any basis for a lawsuit. Then, once you’re ready to move forward, we’ll help you develop a strategy for pursuing compensation.
If we take your case, the process may look something like this:
Gather Evidence
A thorough investigation is the foundation of every case we take on. We use police reports, medical reports, and eyewitnesses’ statements to get to the bottom of things.
Send a Demand Letter
We’ll write a demand letter to the individual responsible for the accident, and their insurance company. We consider the entire financial impact of the situation, including provisions for future medical bills, lost wages, and other related costs.
File a personal injury lawsuit
When an insurance company refuses to offer an acceptable settlement, we gain leverage by filing a lawsuit on your behalf. In addition, filing a lawsuit will provide us access to additional information from the defendants that we otherwise wouldn’t have access to.
Discovery
After filing the suit, we can ask defendants for information that they might have been hesitant to provide. We can use these requests for admissions, interrogatories, and requests for production of documents to learn what evidence they have to support their claims.
Mediation
Once both parties have looked at the facts of the situation, we can schedule a mediation to help resolve the dispute. This gives us the chance to present our side of the story to the defendant’s attorney, and negotiate a fair resolution.
Settlement
If we’re able to reach an agreement prior to the start of the lawsuit, then we’ve reached a settlement. A settlement should take into account all past and future medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc., and will be paid out in one lump sum in return for you dropping the case.
Personal Injury Trial
If we are unable to settle for a fair amount, we go to trial. During the trial we present your case, employing the evidence we uncovered during discovery and present any expert testimony.
Appeal
What if the jury finds against you? If some sort of legal mistake was made by the defense team or the judge, we might choose to appeal. We would likely have to provide additional evidence and legal arguments in support of our position. If we were successful, the judge could overturn the previous ruling, or require another round of trials.
04Why Assiff Law
When you're hurting, We care.
We care. We understand, with our years of experience, what victims of accidents go through—from the obvious physical injuries to the impact they have on your day-to-day life, your job, your family and your overall well-being.
Awards & accolades.
The acknowledgement of our Edmonton personal injury lawyers have earned us multiple awards for the work we’ve done for thousands of clients. Best Lawyers, Canadian Lawyer Magazine and Consumers Choice have all awarded us for excellence in the field of personal injury law.
View our Awards
Best Law Firms Award
Best Law Firms Tier 1: Personal Injury Litigation, Edmonton Award
Best Lawyers Award
Top Personal Injury Boutiques Award
Three Best Rated Award
Consumer’s Choice Award Award
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Let's Get Started
We’re ready to fight for you. We’re ready to get you the justice you deserve. And we’re ready to start right now.
Resources for Car Accidents
- Legal ResourcesA Closer Look at Armbruster v. NuttingLegal Lessons from Alberta - A Case Study in Personal Injury Claims and Evidence Credibility
- Legal ResourcesSome hope from BC CourtsIn a recent BC decision against the Attorney General, the court struck down an attempt by the BC government to limit expert witness evidence at trial.
- Legal ResourcesBill 41 received a royal assent, to the delight of insurance companiesBill 41: The Enhancing Driver Affordability and Care Act received royal assent late last year quickly without debate, to the delight of insurance companies.
- News & CommunicationsWhy Are Accident Victims in Alberta Consistently and Repeatedly Subject to Discrimination by our Government?Our premiums have skyrocketed in those decades yet insurers are only on the hook for that same $200,000 maximum.
- Legal ResourcesBill 41- Insurance Amendment Act, 2020“Bill 41” was passed by the Alberta Government and made significant amendments to legislation that will affect personal injury matters. The Government plans to make additional changes to the insurance scheme in the future which will strip Albertans of their right to sue.
- ResourcesThe truth about winter tiresAre they the best way to prevent accidents during winter weather? We analyzed the data.
- ResourcesWhat to do after a car accident: a guide to the claims processYou’ve been in a car accident. Now what? Here’s what to expect when filing an auto accident claim and a lawsuit.
- Legal ResourcesOften Forgotten Heads Of Damages - Part 2: Diminished Value/Accelerated Depreciation"Diminished value”, or “accelerated depreciation” is a real head of damages that can be pursued.
- Legal ResourcesOften Forgotten Heads Of Damages - Part 1: Loss Of Consortium And ServitiemClients should not be shy to mention the impact on their marriage following a serious collision.
- Life after injuryCaregiver Family Members Matter TooBeing a family member caregiver is a critical role. Here are some tips on how to deal with stress when helping a disabled loved one after a spinal cord injury.
- ResourcesCountermeasures We Employ against unreasonable insurersThroughout our years of experience at Assiff Law Office, we have seen insurers and in particular self -represented entities such as municipalities, who insure negligent municipal workers, use the following tactics to dissuade injured victims from pursuing an action altogether or to try and convince them to settle for far less than what their claim is actually worth.
- Legal ResourcesSection B No Fault Benefits in AlbertaIn an automobile accident involving personal injuries, a claimant, even one who is at fault in a collision, is potentially entitled to section B disability and medical benefits.
- ResourcesThe Family Protection Endorsement (SEF 44)The SEF 44 Endorsement provides you, as well as your dependent family members, with excess insurance to cover any damages sustained in a motor vehicle accident in excess of $200,000, up to your own policy limits. In effect, it provides you with coverage up to the maximum of your own policy limits, whatever that may be. If you have the exact same amount of coverage as the other person involved in a collision, the Family Protection Endorsement is not activated.
- ResourcesThe real costs of distracted drivingExperts say that looking at a text message takes an average of four seconds, which translates to looking away from the road the entire length of a football field when driving 50 mph.
- Legal ResourcesTime to Turn the Tide: A Case for Injured Plaintiffs
- Legal ResourcesUpdates to Prescribed Automobile Insurance Accident Benefits and Minor Injury FormsThe Superintendent recently approved changes to all prescribed Accident Benefit (AB) and Minor Injury (MI) forms applicable to Alberta automobile insurance Accident Benefits (including DTPR) claims and Certified Examinations.
- Legal ResourcesHow government benefits can affect a loss of income claimCan the benefits you receive from the government, your employment, or another form of wage replacement program be deducted from your loss of income claim? Can you be compensated for having to use your sick time to attend medical appointments?
- Legal ResourcesWhen insurance companies act in bad faith: Punitive damagesThe duty of insurance companies should be one of UTMOST good faith or "uberrima fides". In Alberta, insurance companies sometimes employ bad faith tactics in order to delay or avoid paying claimants for their insurance claims. There are a number of different practices that insurance companies may use in bad faith in order to try to deny valid insurance claims. If an insurance company has acted in bad faith, a claimant may sue the company.
- ResourcesWinter's 6 most dangerous intersections in AlbertaHazardous winter road conditions dramatically increase the risk of accidents. In Alberta, these are the top six dangerous intersections of the province.
- ResourcesWinter's 6 most dangerous intersections in BCWinter road conditions dramatically increase the risks of accidents. In British Columbia, these are the top six dangerous intersections in the province.
- ResourcesWhat do safety ratings meanSafety ratings are scores assigned to different vehicles based on their performance on a series of safety tests. In particular, safety ratings provide consumers with information on crash avoidance and safety features of different vehicles.
- ResourcesSix Winter Safety TipsWith freezing weather and snow just around the corner, here are six helpful winter safety tips for safer walking and driving in winter conditions.
- ResourcesUber and Insurance: The factsDoes insurance cover uber drivers? Find out what your insurance will and won't allow
- ResourcesWinter Tires: What you need to know
- ResourcesWhat to do after a hit and run?Hit and Run Accidents can be traumatic. But here is what you need to do within 90 days to preserve your rights as a hit and run victim...
- ResourcesHow dash cams prevent scams and fraudA dash cam is a tiny camera, mounted on your vehicle’s dash or windshield. It records everything that goes on on the road and stores it on a memory card for later review. Dash cams are especially useful in car accident situations. A dash cam can provide valuable evidence helping determine the at fault party in a vehicle collision or accident.
- ResourcesDealing with accident related traumaIn a split second, a severe car accident could turn your world upside down, And then trauma sets in. Here are a few quick tips of getting your old life back
- ResourcesSpeed, main cause for car accidentsResearch shows that aggressive driving has injured over 27,000 people a year in Alberta. 20% of those were caused by speed and aggressive highway driving.
- ResourcesJob loss due to a car accidentA job loss due to a car accident is unlikely, but can still happen. Find out what you can do to recover your income.
- ResourcesWatch out for the Insurance Adjusterhe other party's insurance company will often employ the use of an “insurance adjuster” in order get you to admit fault or part fault. Should they be successful, your claim might be denied or greatly reduced.