We love the fact that Calgary is one of the safest cities in Canada, and indeed throughout the world. At the same time, given our position as one of Calgary’s premier law firms dedicated to plaintiff-only personal injury law, we see more than our share of Calgary citizens and families injured and in pain due to the many accidents that take place in our city. From slip-and-falls to car accidents to rare but serious instances of medical malpractice, there are many ways Calgarians can be hurt through no fault of their own, and when that happens, they deserve compensation to help put their lives back together.
This doesn’t mean that every accident or even every injury warrants a personal injury case in the Calgary courts, however. While no one should have to suffer through their injuries alone, an experienced Calgary personal injury lawyer will only be an asset in certain situations. Here are two questions you can ask yourself to determine if you should call a personal injury lawyer to help when you or a family member has been injured in an accident in or around Calgary.
Are Your Injuries Serious, Requiring Extensive/Long-Term Medical Care?
There are two primary considerations in determining if you might have grounds for a personal injury claim. Whether or not your injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence is complex, and something we will be looking at in Part 2 of this article. But regardless of how your injuries occurred, if they are only minor cuts, scrapes, and/or bruises, it is likely not worth the time or expense required to pursue a personal injury lawsuit. Even if your injuries arise from an accident that is wholly and unquestionably someone else’s fault—even if they admit to causing the accident and take responsibility for your injuries—the damages that would be attainable in the Calgary courts for injuries of an extremely minor nature are equally minimal and so it would not make sense to hire a lawyer to pursue those damages.
With “superficial injuries”, you are unlikely to incur any out-of-pocket medical expenses or to need to take time away from work to recover. You also won’t experience long-term difficulties performing household chores or engaging in your hobbies, so there’s no impact on your life that can be assigned some sort of dollar amount. Calgary’s personal injury laws are concerned with making you whole the only way they can, which is through money—often an imperfect form of compensation, but the only one available. If you’re already “whole,” though, meaning your life and your finances are virtually the same as they were before your accident and injuries, there’s little to nothing the courts can do for you.
That being said, injuries do not have to be physically obvious in order to be serious and compensable. Emotional suffering and mental anguish can be grounds for a personal injury suit in some cases, particularly where the psychological injury is diagnosable and debilitating. If you believe you or a family member is suffering from such problems despite a lack of serious physical injuries, a consultation with an experienced Calgary personal injury lawyer is advisable.
To discuss your case with a compassionate, dedicated personal injury lawyer, please contact our office today.