If you suffer personal injuries as the result of a car accident, you have the right to sue the at-fault driver for your pain and suffering, past and future loss of income, cost of future care, loss of housekeeping capacity and out-of-pocket expenses. What if your very own government stripped you of the right to sue for personal injuries in order to help the private insurance companies become even more profitable at your expense?

That is what the United Conservative Party in Alberta is now entertaining. Historically, in Alberta, if you suffer personal injuries in a car accident, the right to sue the at-fault driver is available to you to ensure that you receive fair and just compensation to insulate you against any past and future loss. If you are unable to settle your personal injury case before a trial in court, you have the right to have your personal injury case heard by a Judge in court who will render a decision.

Under a “no-fault” insurance system, you will lose your right to sue an at-fault driver, entirely, if you are injured in a car accident and you will be subject to the compensation guidelines set by the Government of Alberta. Furthermore, the insurance companies, as they currently do, will find every and any way to cut you off of your benefits as early as possible, leaving you with inadequate or no compensation for your personal injuries and past and future loss.

This has been proven time and again by the Manitoba and Saskatchewan no-fault insurance regimes as well as Alberta’s current Section B benefits or no-fault accident benefits available to all drivers for treatment after they have been involved in a car accident.

The insurance companies in Alberta want Albertans to think that skyrocketing personal injury claims are rendering them less profitable and that the insurance industry is in a crisis, but that could not be further from the truth.

In fact, new Government of Alberta data shows that from 2016-2019, in major areas, personal injury claims have decreased by 2.0%.

Before you take any Government of Alberta poll or provide input, it is important that you fully understand a no-fault insurance system and that you advocate for Alberta to keep our current insurance system where injured Albertans have a right to sue for those personal injuries. To learn more visit https://fairalbertainjuryregulations.ca

If you have been involved in a car accident and have suffered personal injuries, contact a knowledgeable lawyer at Law Fifty One LLP to see what options may be available to you in order to claim compensation.