The federal, provincial, and territorial governments of Canada work a lot to improve the safety of the road and decrease the number of deaths and injuries caused by car accidents. The number of fatalities and serious injuries has significantly reduced in the last few years here.
According to the statistics, the number of motor vehicle accident fatalities was 1762, which is a 9.1% decreased from the previous record.
Then again, an accident is an uncertain thing that can happen anytime, even if after taking all kinds of precautions. Here, a matter of hope is, in Canada, if you are not the faulty party of an accident, you will definitely get compensation for it.
For this reason, you should know the car accident injury claim process. Read this article to learn all the essential things, including the accident claiming process.
Car Accident Injury Claim Process
A potential personal injury case begins with a car accident lawyer when a person is injured in an accident – that can be major and minor – or the vehicle is damaged.
Have you ever faced this type of situation? Do you know what to do after the accident?
Here we’ve prepared a step-by-step car accident claim process. Let’s start,
Primary investigation:
After any kind of accident, the priority will have to be your health. If you are severely injured, you have to make sure that you receive the treatment you need.
When your condition is not good – you are in the hospital – you don’t need to think of anything regarding the injury claim. But if you are not severely injured or in a position to do an initial investigation.
Try to take some pictures of you, your vehicle, and your accident spot. Also, note down the name, the cell number of witnesses, and any types of evidence. If you can do it, you will be one step ahead of this process.
One notable thing is that you should only try to get your vehicle out of traffic after the police arrive.
Medical emergencies:
If you are injured in an accident, the most crucial step will be receiving medical treatment for getting back in your normal life. Always be honest with your doctor. Share all the problems and symptoms with your doctor to get the best possible treatment.
Also, ask your doctor whether you have any specific restrictions or not. If you have symptoms for a long time, you have to keep running your treatment. This step will be continued until your symptoms stop, and even it can be the rest of your car accident injury process.
Deal with your insurance company:
In the next step, you should somehow notify your insurance company about your accident. In most cases, your insurance company will try to help you quickly get your required compensation.
Even sometimes, they try to help you get back on the road when you are the faulty party in the accident. Here one notable thing is when you are not the faulty party, the insurance company can contact you to settle the claim by giving you a minimal amount.
They will ask for a written or recorded statement. Better not to agree with them. Keep patience; let your lawyer handle the matter.
Consultation with a lawyer:
At this point, it’s time to consult a personal injury lawyer who will deal with your insurance company as well as the insurance company of the faulty party. You should hire an experienced lawyer who will do all the needed things for your case when you are injured and in bed.
S/he will make sure that your insurance company can’t take any advantage of your sickness. Here you can hire a lawyer at the contingency payment rate. In that case, you don’t have to pay anything if your lawyer is failed to bring you any compensation.
An experienced lawyer has already dealt with several personal injury cases. That is why s/he knows the procedure to deal with the other party, bringing you the highest amount of compensation.
Final Investigation:
A lawyer can help you in investigating the cases from top to bottom. Almost all the lawyers have a special team for investigation. They will begin with your medical expenses, treatment information, and all the needed things in your case.
Here, your injury can be permanent. In that case, your lawyer will consult with your doctor and figure out the compensation amount according to your injury. Then, they will try to collect evidence of your accident and the damages to your vehicle and other properties.
Considering all these things, they’ll fix the compensation amount and go for the next step.
Settlement demand:
Now, your lawyer will submit a settlement demand to your insurance company. Here the insurance company generally makes the first offer.
After that, there will be few negotiations with the insurance adjuster. After the negotiation, if your insurance company makes a reasonable offer, the lawyer will let you know and go for the final deal with the insurance company.
In the case of settlement demand, your hired lawyer will help you the most. They will try to bring you the highest amount of compensation that you deserve.
Case settles or files a lawsuit:
However, if the offer from your insurance company is not reasonable, if you want, your lawyer will go for filing a lawsuit against the insurance company.
You can disagree with the offers from the insurance company and file a lawsuit against the company. Make sure they offer a reasonable amount so that it can be helpful for both parties. Then again, if you want to file a lawsuit, your lawyer will do all the needed things on your behalf.
Discovery Period:
Throughout the process, your lawyer will try to collect more evidence regarding you and the other party. Besides gathering information about your medical bills and vehicle damages, your lawyer will also contain the other party’s data. S/he takes all needed things ready to answer the questions that can be asked on trial.
Mediation:
Mediation is a resolution process where a third party tries to help both parties settle the case before trial. Here, the mediator listens from both parties and tries to agree on a number for settlement.
However, a mediator doesn’t have the power to force anyone to settle the case. All s/he can do is mutually resolve the issue before going on trial.
Proceedings on Trial:
If the mediation program is failed, your hired lawyer will go for the proceedings on trial. There have many complex tasks to do and important things to prove. However, these things are none of your concern when you have hired someone specialist for it.
Your lawyer will take care of everything on your behalf. As the lawyer is an expert in this sector, s/he will successfully settle your case and bring you a fair amount of compensation.
How Long Does It Take to Settle an Accident Injury Claim?
All the cases are different. That is why it is difficult to say how long it takes to settle an accident injury claim. Several factors determine the settling period. Where some cases are solved in few months, others take even multiple years. This period dependents on the following two factors:
- How intense and severe your injury is. In the case of brain and spinal injuries, it takes multiple years.
- Whether an uninsured driver drove the car or the faulty driver failed to stop the vehicle. You will still claim the accident, but it may require time to settle.
In Short
An accident is always an uncertain thing. You will never be able to anticipate this before. Consequently, anything can happen – a minor injury, severe injury, and even death.
When you are severely injured, you may need a significant financial backup – you suffer to manage yourself. An accident claim can get you fair compensation in that case.
According to Canadian Law, after an accident, if you are not the faulty party, you deserve to get compensation for your injury and all other damages.
And we have already discussed the car accident injury claim process above. So whenever– either Alberta or anywhere in Canada – you face such issues, never hesitate to claim your accident.
