Car accidents are always stressful events, even when they’re relatively minor. The reminder that we’re never 100% safe when we’re out on Calgary’s roads comes as a shock to many—no matter how carefully you drive, and despite the fact that you might follow all traffic rules and use good common sense, all it takes is one other driver making one mistake to cause a major collision. Many times, those car accidents lead to major injuries, too, and that’s when (for better or for worse) insurance companies get involved.
Everyone driving on Calgary’s public roads—and roads and highways throughout Alberta—is required to carry adequate insurance precisely because accidents occur. The medical bills and other expenses that can arise from a serious car accident can easily add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and can sometimes stretch into the millions. Because few people in Calgary would be able to pay for these expenses out of pocket, everyone pays for an insurance plan to spread the risk around—you pay your premiums every month, even when you haven’t caused an accident, so that if and when you do, your insurance company will pick up the bill.
Unfortunately, insurance companies are sometimes reluctant to pay for the injuries their customers cause.
We don’t want to go so far as to say that insurance companies are “the enemy,” but the fact is Calgary-area auto insurance businesses are for-profit companies. The more they pay out to injury victims following a car accident, the less profit they make, and this can make insurance companies resistant to paying victims a fair amount for their medical bills, lost wages, diminished productivity, and pain and suffering. They may try to offer injury victims a low dollar amount in order to sign off on the case and avoid litigation, and at times they may try to deny their client’s liability for a particular accident.
In order to pay out as little as possible, insurance companies employ lawyers whose sole job is to determine how they can limit their client’s liability. Insurance companies will also approach injury victims early on with low offers in an attempt to get them to settle without receiving the full compensation they may be entitled to. This is part of what makes hiring a plaintiff-only personal injury lawyer so important: the insurance companies have lawyers on their side who understand personal injury law far better than the average Calgarian; Calgary citizens deserve the same type of professional, experienced representation in order to level the playing field.
Contact a Calgary Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If you or a family member has been seriously injured in a car accident in the Calgary area, you don’t have to fight the insurance companies alone—in fact, it is rarely in your best interests to do so. Contact the dedicated plaintiff-side personal injury lawyers at Cuming & Gillespie LLP for a free consultation, and get the help that you deserve.