DIY can be a great option for home renovations, bringing a sense of accomplishment and saving money. However, the same cannot be said for DIY personal injury claims. Being your own advocate may sound like a great way to save a few bucks, but you may lose out when you receive your settlement and encounter significant stress along the way.
Navigating the claims process and negotiating with your insurance company may seem straightforward, as the process is relatively structured. You know your case well and may feel confident that you can avoid being shortchanged. However, without an experienced personal injury lawyer by your side, you could be missing opportunities to maximize your personal injury claim.
This post will explore (1) the pitfalls DIY personal injury claims often encounter and (2) why hiring a Grover Law personal injury lawyer is often money well spent.
The Challenge of Navigating Alberta’s Complex Procedures
You need a strong understanding of relevant provincial laws that govern personal injury cases to secure fair compensation after a personal injury.
For example, in Alberta, accident victims representing themselves may need to work within the framework of the Minor Injury Regulation, which was updated in 2024. This puts a cap of $6,061 on non-pecuniary compensation for minor injuries. However, defining minor injuries and when the cap applies can be challenging when representing yourself.
If you believe your injuries are more serious than those covered by the Minor Injury Regulation, you will have to prove it. This will involve building a strong case with medical evidence and establishing the toll the injury has taken on your emotional well-being.
Even if your personal injury case falls within the cap, you will still have to fight hard with insurance adjusters to secure fair compensation. They may look to downplay the seriousness of your injuries or pressure you into accepting an inadequate settlement. An experienced personal injury lawyer who is used to these tactics could help you avoid feeling forced to accept an unfair offer that could leave you with financial problems down the line.
The Complexity of Assessing Personal Injury Claim Value
Compensation in personal injury cases is made of different parts. It can be tough for people who do not have legal assistance to accurately calculate how much their claim is worth. If you represent yourself and undervalue your claim, the insurance adjuster will likely jump at the chance to give you less than your damages are worth.
In Alberta, compensation in personal injury claims may include:
- Past and future wage loss: Calculating the value of the wages you have lost while recovering from your injuries may be relatively straightforward. However, if you are unable to return to work or have to modify your working arrangements, this can quickly become complicated. Other factors such as your age, pension, possibility of promotion, and income must all be taken into consideration. Building a robust claim that withstands negotiations without legal counsel could be very challenging.
- Special damages: This category covers out-of-pocket expenses and may include medical bills, medication, specialist equipment, and travel costs for attending medical treatment sessions.
- Future care: If your injuries require long-term medical attention, working with medical professionals and a personal injury lawyer is vital to calculate realistic costs.
- Non-pecuniary damages: As discussed above, non-pecuniary damages, which include pain and suffering, may be affected by a cap. If your injuries are serious, you will need to demonstrate the impact they have on your daily life, including your ability to care for your family and enjoy recreation. This can be challenging to calculate as the Canada Supreme Court says it involves providing an injured person with reasonable solace for his or her injuries. There is a Canada-wide cap on this category of damages, which currently stands at around $400,000 (adjusted for inflation from the original cap of $100,000).
In complex cases involving serious, long-term injuries, assessing the settlement offer you receive from the insurance company could be very difficult. Without legal guidance, you may accept an offer thinking it is reasonable, only to find out later that it was woefully inadequate for your needs.
The Stress of Dealing With Insurance Companies
When dealing with any insurance company, even your own, remember that you are working with a for-profit entity that only cares about its bottom line. Insurance adjusters are there to save the insurance company money, not to look out for your best interests.
Insurance companies use a range of tactics to achieve their aims, including:
- Offering lowball payouts: Insurance providers may offer a quick settlement to resolve your personal injury case, especially when they realize you do not have legal representation. Taking the money and moving on with your life could be tempting, but this could be costly in the long run.
- Disputing injuries: Insurance adjusters may try to downplay the seriousness of your injuries. They could argue that the treatment you received was unnecessary and refuse to pay for it. However, they do not have the skills or authority to make this kind of evaluation.
- Requesting a statement: The insurance company may make you feel legally obliged to provide a statement. However, if you do so without seeking legal counsel, you could find yourself deep in legal difficulties if the insurance adjuster uses what you say against you. For example, he or she may try to assign you partial blame for the accident, reducing your compensation or denying it completely.
- Delay your claim: Insurance companies are notorious for delaying and ignoring personal injury claims. They hope that the longer your claim is delayed, the more desperate you will become and the more likely you will accept a lowball offer.
We may only deal with insurance companies and their tactics once or twice in our lives, but personal injury lawyers handle these obstacles every day.
Personal injury attorneys have the skills and tenacity not to be bullied by these strategies. Instead, we can meet them head-on in negotiations. We also know when to file a personal injury lawsuit when negotiations falter. Our knowledge of the legal landscape can give you the best chance of a successful outcome.
The Responsibility of Proving Liability
In personal injury cases, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant was liable for his or her injuries. This involves understanding the legal concept of fault and how to prove it.
Fault occurs when someone owes another person a duty of care and breaches those responsibilities. If the breach is the direct cause of injuries, the injured party is entitled to compensation. Fault includes negligent and intentional actions.
To prove the defendant is at fault, you must provide strong evidence, which could be:
- Incident reports
- Police reports
- Eyewitness statements
- Video or photographic evidence
- Expert testimony
- Medical evidence
- Financial records
The picture can get even more complicated if you are partially at fault. For example, in Alberta, this is governed by the Contributory Negligence Act. This allows responsibility for compensation to be divided between two or more parties based on their degree or fault.
Proving the other person’s degree of fault without an experienced lawyer in your corner could prove very tricky. Insurance companies may use your partial liability as an excuse to reduce your settlement offer or deny your claim altogether. Legal professionals bring experience and skills to the table that could help you navigate these complexities and walk away with a fair settlement.
The Risk of Missing Deadlines
Each province has statutes of limitations outlining the time limit for filing personal injury lawsuits. For example, according to Alberta’s Limitations Act, you must take legal action within 2 years of the incident. If you do not, you could miss out on receiving compensation.
If you are unhappy with the settlement offer, you have the right to go to court to try to secure fair compensation. If you do, there will be more legal complexities to navigate, such as submitting personal injury claims and filing motions.
It is easy to miss a crucial step when you do not have legal counsel. Experienced legal professionals can handle these procedures for you and protect you from unnecessary risks.
Let Grover Law Firm Do the Heavy Lifting for You
The outcome of your personal injury claim could affect the rest of your life. It is not worth taking a chance. Without an experienced lawyer guiding you through the complex procedures needed to secure fair compensation, you may not achieve the compensation you need, which could put an extra financial burden on you in the future.
When you hire a personal injury lawyer from Grover Law Firm, you give yourself the best chance of achieving a successful outcome. We have already recovered over $100 million for our clients, and we take all cases on a contingency basis, meaning you will pay no fees until you collect. We pride ourselves on taking a personal interest in our clients, understanding the full impact of each person’s injuries, and fighting hard for fair settlements on your behalf.
During your free consultation with us, a Grover Law Firm personal injury attorney will listen to your case and provide the legal guidance you need. Call (403) 253-1029 or complete our contact form today to discover the difference our attorneys could make in your case.