Every year, more people are getting hurt, even though things like driving have gotten safer. Personal injury cases happen for different reasons, and while most are about car accidents, other common types exist. Let’s look at some of Canada’s most common personal injury cases.
Motor Vehicle Accident Claims
According to Canadian court information from 2004 to 2018, most of the personal injury claims in court are because of vehicle accidents. This kind of situation has different types:
Bicycle Accident
A bicycle accident involves a collision or incident where a cyclist, someone riding a bicycle, gets into an accident with another vehicle or object. These accidents can result in injuries to the cyclist due to impacts with cars, pedestrians, or road hazards. Bicycle accident claims allow injured cyclists to seek compensation if it was caused by someone else’s actions, like a driver not paying attention or violating traffic rules.
Car Accident
An auto or car accident occurs when two or more vehicles collide. This can happen due to speeding, distracted driving, running red lights, or poor road conditions. Car accident claims enable drivers, passengers, or pedestrians injured in the accident to file for compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurance company.
Motorcycle Accident
A motorcycle accident involves a collision or incident involving a motorcycle rider. It can be fully dangerous due to the lack of protective barriers for the rider. Factors such as reckless driving, weather conditions, or visibility issues can contribute to motorcycle accidents.
Pedestrian Accident
A pedestrian accident occurs when a vehicle, often a car, collides with someone walking or crossing the street. It can result in serious personal injuries or fatalities, as pedestrians are vulnerable to such collisions. These incidents can happen due to drivers not yielding the right-of-way or not being attentive to pedestrians at crosswalks. Pedestrian accident claims enable injured pedestrians to seek compensation for injuries and related expenses.
In all these cases, it’s essential to determine who was at fault for the accident. If someone’s negligence led to the accident and resulting injuries, the injured party can file a personal injury claim for fair compensation.
People who get hurt can also take the person responsible or the insurance company to court. The people complaining must have a report from the police, details about their insurance, and records showing what happened to them in the accident.
The problems are frequently resolved by discussing and coming to an agreement on a solution, even though the laws governing these situations can vary depending on where you are. If you want to know your rights and choices, it’s a good idea to talk to a lawyer who knows about car accidents.
Premises Liability Claims
This would not be something people often discuss, but it’s a common reason for personal injury claims. To prove this in court, you need to show that someone was careless, which caused the harm.
Even though there are complicated cases, the more usual kinds of personal injury claims related to premises liability are:
Slip and Fall
A slip-and-fall incident happens when someone slips, trips, or falls on someone else’s property due to hazardous conditions. This could include wet floors, icy walkways, uneven surfaces, or objects obstructing paths. If the property owner or occupier didn’t take reasonable steps to prevent these hazards or warn visitors about them, they could be held responsible for injuries that occur.
Falls are the top reason people in Canada get their injuries. About 63% of older folks and half of young people got injured from slip and fall incidents, and around 35% of adults who work also got hurt in falls. This includes falling while doing regular things, at work, playing sports or having fun.
The important thing to understand from these numbers is that anything we do to avoid falling can help lower our chances of getting hurt. For instance, wearing good shoes when it’s icy outside, ensuring our homes are safe from things that could make us fall, and being careful during sports and work are all ways to stay safer.
Dog Attacks
Dog attack incidents involve a person being bitten or injured by a dog while on someone else’s property or in a public place. If a dog owner doesn’t properly control their dog or ensure its safety around others, and the dog bites or harms someone, the owner can be held responsible for the injuries. This responsibility is often based on the concept that dog owners should take measures to prevent their pets from causing harm to others.
In both slip and fall and dog attack cases, the key idea is that property owners or pet owners must maintain safe conditions and prevent potential dangers on their property. Someone may be able to file a premises liability claim for compensation if they disregard this and someone is hurt as a result.
Other Types of Common Personal Injury Claims
Catastrophic Injury
Catastrophic injury cases involve situations where an individual sustains very serious injuries that result in significant and often long-term impacts on their life. These injuries are often life-altering, affecting the person’s ability to work, function independently, or enjoy life as before the injury.
These injuries can include severe spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, severe burns, or loss of limbs. Because of the severe consequences, these claims typically seek higher compensation to cover the extensive medical costs, rehabilitation, ongoing care, lost earning potential, and other associated expenses.
Recreational Accident
A Recreational Accident is an injury during leisure or recreational activities. These activities include sports, hiking, swimming, skiing, and more. When accidents occur during these activities, they are considered recreational accidents.
These claims can arise when negligence, faulty equipment, lack of safety measures, or other factors lead to injuries during recreational pursuits.
Brain Injuries
Brain injuries can be mild concussions to severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Brain injuries can have various consequences, including cognitive impairments, memory problems, changes in behaviour, and even long-term disabilities. It can occur due to falls, car crashes, sports incidents, or other traumatic events.
Brain injury claims seek compensation for medical expenses, rehabilitation, therapy, and other costs related to the injury’s effects on the individual’s life.
Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing Home Abuse claims pertain to situations where individuals in nursing homes or care facilities experience mistreatment, neglect, or abuse by caregivers or staff. This can include physical, emotional, or financial abuse and neglect in providing proper care. Victims or their families can file personal injury claims against the responsible parties, seeking compensation for the harm caused.
Insurance Claims
Insurance Claims involve seeking compensation from insurance companies after an accident or incident. This can include car accidents, property damage, personal injuries, or medical expenses. People often rely on their insurance policies to cover some or all of the costs associated with accidents, and filing an insurance claim is the process of notifying the insurance company about the incident and requesting compensation per the policy terms.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Expect From a Personal Injury Claim?
The type of compensation you can expect falls into two main categories: compensatory and punitive damages.
Compensatory Damages
These damages reimburse you for your injury’s various costs and losses. There are two subcategories of compensatory damages:
Special Compensatory Damages
These cover specific financial expenses related to your injury, including medical bills (both current and future), property damage repair costs, replacement of valuable items, wages you’ve lost due to time off work, expenses for medical care leading up to a wrongful death, funeral and burial expenses, and even costs for trips that had to be cancelled due to the injury.
General Compensatory Damages
These are less tangible losses that you could have experienced. They include compensation for pain and suffering caused by the injury, any inconvenience you’ve faced, the loss of enjoyment of life due to the injury’s impact, loss of companionship or consortium, physical changes or disfigurement resulting from the injury, and the loss of contribution (both emotional and financial) in case of the death of a loved one. These damages address the emotional and quality-of-life aspects of your suffering.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages serve a different purpose. They are not meant to compensate you directly but to punish the party responsible for your injury. Punitive damages can be added if the court believes the compensatory damages aren’t sufficient to discourage the defendant from repeating their actions.
The likelihood of receiving punitive damages increases if the other party’s actions were malicious, extremely negligent, or intentionally harmful, for instance, in assault, fraud, or serious financial wrongdoing. Additionally, if the defendant has substantial financial means, the court would grant punitive damages to set an example and prevent future misconduct.
Remember that the type and amount of compensation you could receive will depend on the specific circumstances of your case and the extent of the harm you’ve suffered.
Contact Accident Injury Lawyers Calgary Today
If you get hurt in an accident, don’t handle the insurance people by yourself. You need a skilled personal injury lawyer who will fight to get you the money you need to get better.
With a lot of law knowledge, excellent talking skills, and years of experience in court, the lawyers at Sidhu Personal Injury Lawyers Calgary will ensure you get the money you should.
Don’t try to do it alone. Get a personal injury lawyer in Calgary who’ve shown they’re on the side of people who got hurt. You can contact us online or call our Calgary office to set up a free talk with us.
