Car accidents remain a major cause of injury and death in and around the Greater Calgary Area, causing financial losses well into the millions due to mounting medical bills, time missed from work, and in many cases reduced physical capabilities leading to lower earning potential. Add in the non-monetary negative outcomes—pain and suffering, reduced quality of life, and so on—and the true cost of serious Calgary car accidents becomes incalculable.

The law says that victims of Calgary car accidents are entitled to compensation in each of these areas that is applicable to a given case. Monetary figures can be established for both the direct financial losses caused by an accident and for the non-financial hardships that accident victims must endure. Being in a serious car accident does not necessarily mean you are entitled to compensation, though, even if you suffer significant and life-changing injuries.

It all comes down to the concept of negligence and Alberta’s personal injury law. The negligent party(ies) are frequently deemed to have no right to compensation, while parties who are injured by someone else’s negligence behind the wheel have the legal right to be made whole, financially speaking.

Determining Negligence in a Calgary Car Accident

Every car accident in Calgary has a unique set of circumstances, and determining who is at fault—that is, who has been negligent—can be more complicated than many realize. Consulting with a Calgary personal injury lawyer regarding the specific facts of your case is the best way to determine how the legal concept of negligence applies in your case; here, we can provide general information that can help you understand what factors are looked at to determine negligence in a specific case.

Simply put, everyone in Calgary owes everyone else a certain duty of care in their behavior—it’s our job to make sure our actions don’t put others at undue risk. When it comes to driving on Calgary’s roads and highways, this duty of care is largely spelled out in our traffic laws and the so-called “rules of the road.” Virtually all multi-vehicle car accidents are caused by one or more driver violating the law and thus failing to live up to their duty of care. That, legally speaking, is negligence.

Speeding, failing to yield the right of way, running through stop signs or red lights, changing lanes without a clear path, and other traffic violations are all examples of negligence and can all lead to a finding of financial liability and responsibility following a Calgary car accident. If you were seriously injured in a car accident by a driver doing one of these things while you yourself were obeying all traffic laws (and using basic common sense to avoid an accident with anyone not following the law), it is likely that the other driver will be found negligent and that you will entitled to direct compensation for your injuries.

Contact a Calgary Personal Injury Lawyer for Four Car Accident Case

If you or a family member has been seriously injured in a car accident in the Greater Calgary Area and you would like a free initial consultation with one of Calgary’s leading personal injury lawyers, please contact Cuming & Gillespie LLP today.