No amount of money can return a person to the state that they were in before an accident occurred, but money is the only tool available to our legal system to try to compensate a person for their injuries and related losses. When lawyers assess the worth of a claim they do not simply pick one overall amount. Instead the lawyer looks at a variety of distinct "heads of damages." For each head of damage the lawyer must determine the victim's complaints and limitations, the medical or other expert evidence available to substantiate the complaints and the rules and laws governing how that loss must be calculated.

COMMON HEADS OF DAMAGES INCLUDE:


General Damages: General damages compensate a victim for their pain and suffering, their inconvenience, and their inability to do the things that they did before the accident.
Loss of Housekeeping Capacity: In many cases an injured person can make a claim for their inability to do housekeeping like they did before the accident.
Loss of Income: If an injured person suffers a loss of income after the accident they can claim for that loss.
Future Care Costs: A claim can often be made for certain equipment or medical care necessary after the accident so that the injured person can live their life as normally as possible.
Interest: Most past claims have interest added on to them. The rate of interest depends on the type of loss that is being calculated.

The calculation of compensation in any case, and especially in serious cases , is a complicated matter and you should seek the advice of a qualified practitioner before considering any settlement. Examples of assessments in some specific injury cases are noted below.

BRAIN INJURY CLAIMS

Head injuries resulting in brain damage can affect a person to varying degrees. Some injuries are minor and result in minimal and short-term effects. Some brain injuries result in subtle but long-lasting consequences. Others can result in devastating changes to a person's mental abilities. Compensation for pain and suffering and loss of amenities will depend on the extent of the injury and how it impacts on the victim's life. The many aspects of economic losses must also be carefully considered, such as wage loss, both past and future, future care costs and loss of housekeeping capacity. These amounts can vary substantially depending on a number of factors including age, work history, educational background, degree of impairment, etc. Also, future treatment costs and other expenses can be enormous. Examples of such items include personal nursing care, medication and rehabilitation treatments. It is important in cases such as these to obtain thorough reports from experts such as neurologists and neuropsychologists, occupational therapists, vocational rehabilitation experts as well as economists to assess and quantify these losses. A structured settlement should be considered. A structured settlement will give an injured person payments over a number of years so that money is available in the future when it is needed, and there are significant tax savings in following this approach.

FATAL ACCIDENT CLAIMS

Unfortunately some accidents result in the death of the victim. The Fatal Accidents Act allows certain individuals to collect compensation for the loss of a loved one. Various sums of money are awarded for grief and the loss of guidance, care and companionship of a deceased person. The spouse or cohabitant of the deceased person is usually entitled to $43,000 in compensation. Parents are entitled to $43,000 where the deceased is a minor child, or is a child between the ages of 18 and 26 and is unmarried and not living with a cohabitant. Those same categories of children are entitled to $27,000 where their parent has deceased. The family is also entitled to expenses and fees that are reasonably incurred for the care and well-being of the victim between the time of injury and death, travel and accommodation costs for visiting relatives, funeral expenses and counselling fees for family members. The deceased's dependants may have a claim for loss of dependency. The estate of the deceased individual may be able to bring an action for the deceased's loss of chance of earnings. Section "B" of the standard automobile policy also provides certain "no-fault" benefits in the case of a deceased accident victim.

SPINAL PARALYSIS CLAIMS

The injury portion of the claim will vary depending on the extent of paralysis and the resulting effects on one's life. In cases of serious paralysis the injury awards for general damages often range towards the high end of the current ceiling, which right now sits at about $260,000. By far the largest amounts awarded are for economic losses, such as wage loss, both past and future, future care costs and loss of housekeeping capacity. These amounts can vary substantially from case to case depending on a number of factors including: age, work history, past earnings, educational background, occupational requirements, degree of impairment, etc. A young person with a promising career will suffer a greater loss of income in the future than someone close to retirement. Also, future treatment costs and other expenses can be enormous. Examples of such items include personal nursing care, wheelchairs, medication, rehabilitation treatments and modifications to one’s residence, workplace and vehicle. It is important in cases such as these to obtain thorough reports from experts such as occupational therapists, vocational rehabilitation experts as well as economists to assess and quantify these losses. We will ensure this is taken care of properly. Cases of this sort can reach into the several millions of dollars. A structured settlement should be considered. A structured settlement will give an injured person payments over a number of years so that money is available in the future when it is needed, with the resultant tax savings.

SOFT TISSUE INJURIES

Fair compensation for soft tissue neck and back problems depends on a number of factors, and every case is different. The nature and extent of suffering, how a persons' life is affected, the quality of the injured persons' evidence and of the medical evidence, the number of different injuries sustained, and the presence of any pre-existing relevant conditions all play roles in assessing a case. If the problems disappear completely within a few months the case may be worth anywhere from $2,000 to $8,000. Suffering that lasts about one year can be worth around $10,000 to $12,000. If the problems last about two years, settlements may be in the area of $18,000 to $20,000. Where symptoms persist from two years to the rest of your life, awards and settlements can be anywhere from $20,000 to $80,000 depending on how bad the problems are and how much your life has been affected. If your housekeeping ability has been affected you can make a claim for that loss of capacity. Economic claims for wage loss, out-of-pocket expenses and medical care costs can also be claimed as separate items.

Russell & Company also publishes Quantum of Damages in Alberta Whiplash Cases. This is a loose-leaf service and computer database used by lawyers and insurers, and it contains summaries of all of the court cases decided in Alberta since 1980 dealing with soft tissue "whiplash" and other related injuries. The service is updated on a regular basis to keep subscribers current on the recent developments in this area.