Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Edmonton

To safely ride a motorcycle you must exercise an abundance of caution at all times. Skill comes with experience, and experienced motorcycle riders can all appreciate that alertness and conscientiousness about safety are as important as talent when it comes to operating a dangerous, high-speed vehicle. Even the most safety-conscious motorcycle rider is vulnerable to the wrongful actions of a negligent driver. When you encounter a dangerous driver on the roads and highways in and around Edmonton, the results can be deadly. Our Edmonton motorcycle accident lawyers have assisted numerous Canadians with their motorcycle accident claims and have seen just how serious a motorcycle accident can impact someone’s life.

Due to the relative lack of protection from the dangers of the road, motorcycle riders who are fortunate enough to survive a close encounter with a negligent driver often sustain severe, life-altering injuries. Readjusting to your life after sustaining catastrophic, accident-related injuries can be a long, emotionally challenging, physically painful, and expensive journey.

In recent years, there has been an upswing in fatal motorcycle collisions throughout the province. Drivers who are unaware of how to properly share the road or who engage in negligent conduct behind the wheel of their passenger vehicles could be responsible for causing a tragic, deadly collision.

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident – regardless of fault – you should be entitled to Section B benefits to offset the costs of certain injury-related expenses. Because of the severity often associated with injuries sustained in motorcycle accidents, this form of insurance coverage is rarely sufficient to replace your total financial losses. On top of that, many insurers will use the full extent of the law to limit what you can recover. There is an unwarranted bias against motorcycle riders in our society, and this can affect how an insurance adjuster deals with your claim. They may use their resources and the law to find legal reasons to delay or withhold benefits payments from you or deny your claims altogether.

By working with our Edmonton motorcycle accident lawyers, bikers who have been injured as a result of another motor vehicle operator’s negligence may be able to recover the compensation available to them. Depending on the severity of your injuries and the impacts they have had on your overall quality of life, these damages might be economic or non-economic in nature, and might include:

• Medical expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Attendant care
• Lost wages
• Reduced future earning capabilities
• Surgical procedures
• Chiropractic treatment
• Dental work
• Hospital accommodations
• Psychological counseling
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Massage therapy
• Acupuncture
• Professional nursing and ambulance services
• Medically necessary equipment
• Home and vehicle modifications
• Mileage to and from medical appointments
• And more

To learn how our Edmonton motorcycle accident lawyers may be able to help you recover the compensation you deserve, contact us today and schedule a free initial consultation.

Time limitations to be aware of with respect to motorcycle accident claims

Motorcycle accidents, like most legal claims, is governed by a statute of limitations. In motorcycle accidents in Edmonton, this statute is the Limitation Act. The Limitation Act provides for a general two-year limitation period to file a legal claim, such as in the Alberta Court of King’s Bench. Most motorcycle accident claims in Edmonton will fall under this two-year limitation period.

There are some exceptions to the two-year limitation period that can extend the amount of time you have to file a claim. If you are under a legal disability, perhaps even as a result of the accident, then the limitation period may be suspended for the period of the disability. In this context, disability has a specific meaning. It is defined the Act as a person to whom the government has issued a certificate of incapacity under the Public Trustee Act, or someone who is unable to make reasonable judgments in respect of matters relating to a claim. It does not refer to physical disability. The burden to prove disability is on the person asserting they are disabled, and the bar to being considered able to make reasonable judgments is low.

Another exception is if you are a minor when you were injured in the motorcycle accident. The limitation period will automatically not run until you are no longer a minor. In Alberta you cease being a minor at age 18. Though the limitation period will not automatically run, a defendant or insurer can force the limitation period against a minor to start running by issuing a form called a “notice to proceed” and serving it on the Public Guardian and Trustee and the minor’s guardian. If a claim is not started within the limitation period, it is extinguished.

In addition to the limitation period to start a claim, there are many timelines and deadlines you have to follow once a claim has been filed. The first is that the defendant must be served with the claim. You have one year to serve the defendant with the claim. Service is a technical term that requires the lawsuit to be handed to the defendant personally. If you are unable to serve the defendant, you can apply to court once to extend the limitation period by up to three months.

Those are the basic limitation periods and deadlines to get the claim up a running. Then, after the defendant has responded to your lawsuit, there are other and ongoing deadlines and obligations that you have as the plaintiff in a lawsuit.

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident in Edmonton, contact our lawyers today for a free consultation. If we are retained, we are able to manage the legal deadlines and obligations for you so you can focus on getting better.

How can our motorcycle accident lawyers help?

Our Edmonton motorcycle accident lawyers can help you with your claim in many ways. If you have been injured in an accident, you are probably stressed out and busy dealing with treatments and trying to hold your life together. You do not have time to worry about dealing with insurance companies, collecting evidence for your claim, monitoring limitation periods, and focusing on your case. Hiring one of our Edmonton motorcycle accident lawyers helps you do your most important job: to get better. We’ll handle the rest.

Our lawyers will correspond with the insurance company, get statements from witnesses, collect other documentary evidence such as police reports, and file your claim. After filing your claim, we will collect all the necessary documents required in your lawsuit and push your case forward. We will hire independent medical experts to examine you and determine the extent of your injuries and their effect on your life and job. We will help you negotiate with the insurance company for fair compensation.

Claims either settle, or they go to trial. Not all claims can settle. Most of them do, and we do our best to settle claims when possible. However, if it is not possible to settle your claim for fair value, we will go to court and fight for the compensation you deserve.

Types of compensatory damages available for motorcycle accident victims in Edmonton

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident in Edmonton, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. The types of compensation and the amounts vary depending on your injuries and how they have affected you. The following is a summary of the most common types of compensatory damages available for motorcycle accident victims.

The first type of damage is for pain and suffering. If you are injured, you may be entitled to compensation for having to go through the negative experience of being injured. These damages are also called non-pecuniary damages because they do not relate to a monetary loss you suffered. It is for the non-monetary consequences of your injuries. The Supreme Court of Canada has held that the monetary evaluation of non-pecuniary losses is a philosophical and policy exercise more than a logical one.

The next type of damage is loss of earning capacity, which can also be described less accurately as wage loss. Wage loss has a past and future component. Past wage loss involves the lost wages or lost opportunities to earn wages up to the time of settlement or trial. Future wage loss involves assessing the likely future losses of income or opportunity. This type of assessment, whether for past or future wage loss – but more acutely for future wage loss – involves entertaining hypothetical “what if” scenarios. If the accident did not occur, what would be different in your life? Sometimes accidents can affect educational or vocational choices and can divert your career in significant ways. In other cases, you may miss a few shifts at work, or be retired at the time of the accident.

The next type of damage is out-of-pocket expenses, also known as special damages. These damages are for expenses you reasonably incurred due to the accident. Such as treatment expenses, the cost of aids and braces, parking expenses for treatments, mileage, and in more serious cases can include the expenses associated with home or vehicle modifications to accommodate your injured state.

The next type of damage is for cost of future care. This is similar to special damages and can be thought of as future special damages. If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident in Edmonton, you may not be able to afford all the necessary treatments, medication, or home modifications until there is a settlement. That means your settlement should include damages for future expenses.

The next type of damage is for loss of housekeeping capacity. This damage is not available in every claim. Sometimes loss of housekeeping capacity is included in the pain and suffering claim. Other times, particularly when you cannot do the household chores and either hire help, have friends or relatives do the work for you, or leave it undone, a separate award of loss of housekeeping capacity is warranted. This is in part to acknowledge that housekeeping is an economically valuable activity, even if done by a stay-at-home parent. It is also to acknowledge that, in the future, there may be expenses associated with hiring housekeepers.

If the household services are being replaced with services performed by a family member or friend, then a court can award an in-trust claim to compensate you for the services provided by your friend or relative. These types of damages are rare, as the courts and society expect some level of friend and/or family support without the expectation compensation. But when the level of services provided is extensive and/or prolonged, at a certain point the court will allow an in-trust claim.

Do Not Pay Unless We Win, Book Your Free Consultation With Our Edmonton Motorcycle Accident Lawyers

Our motorcycle accident lawyers work on a contingency-fee basis. There are no upfront fees required to work with us, no hidden costs along the way, and what’s more: our clients do not pay us a cent unless we win their cases.

During a free initial consultation, our lawyers can review the circumstances of your accident with you and provide you with personalized information about courses of action that might be available. Let us put our experience to work for you. We’re here to help.