A Calgary brain injury claim follows your recovery. Treatment records from Foothills Medical Centre and the Calgary Brain Injury Program become the evidence, and the claim is valued once doctors can say how the injury will affect your work and independence. Because a brain injury is not a capped minor injury, pain and suffering is assessed in full. Section B needs notice in 30 days; a lawsuit, generally within 2 years.
Last reviewed September 16, 2026. General legal information for Alberta, not legal advice.
The first weeks: Foothills Medical Centre
Foothills Medical Centre is the adult trauma centre for southern Alberta, receiving severely injured patients from Calgary and well beyond it. For a family, the first weeks there are about survival and treatment, not paperwork.
Two small things help the claim later without taking attention away from the patient:
- Write down what you see: confusion, memory gaps, personality changes, and the dates you noticed them.
- Keep the names of the treating physicians and therapists, and ask for copies of discharge summaries.
Rehabilitation through the Calgary Brain Injury Program
Brain injury rehabilitation in Calgary runs through the Calgary Brain Injury Program, an Alberta Health Services program based at Foothills Medical Centre. It offers assessment, options for ongoing rehabilitation, and information about community services.
For patients who need intensive rehabilitation, the Tertiary Neuro Rehabilitation unit at Foothills provides time-limited, interdisciplinary inpatient care for people with neurological conditions who can benefit significantly from it. In the community, the Southern Alberta Brain Injury Society supports survivors and families.
Every therapist’s assessment in this pathway records function: what you can do, what needs cues, what is unsafe. That record is the backbone of the claim.
Concussion, moderate and severe brain injury
| Severity | What the claim usually turns on |
|---|---|
| Concussion (mild TBI) | Proving persistent symptoms and separating them from whiplash, since insurers often argue they are part of a capped soft tissue injury |
| Moderate TBI | Cognitive testing, return-to-work attempts and the need for ongoing therapy |
| Severe TBI | Lifetime care, supervision, housing and loss of the ability to work |
Concussion claims have their own challenges, covered in our guide to concussion claims in Alberta.
Going back to work after a brain injury
Many people with a brain injury try to return to work before they are ready, because bills keep coming. A return that fails is painful, but it is also evidence. Keep a record of:
- modified hours or duties and who approved them
- errors, warnings or performance concerns after the injury
- promotions, contracts or clients lost
- for the self-employed, revenue before and after
Section B pays a weekly disability benefit of up to $600, or 80% of gross earnings if less, for up to 104 weeks, when you are unable to do your job. Income above that is part of a claim against those responsible.
How a Calgary brain injury claim is valued
A brain injury claim adds together pain and suffering, past and future income loss, the cost of future care, and the value of help family members provide. For the most catastrophic injuries, Canadian courts apply an upper limit on pain and suffering that traces back to the Supreme Court of Canada’s 1978 decision in Andrews v Grand & Toy Alberta Ltd, adjusted for inflation. The larger amounts in serious cases usually come from future care and lost earning capacity, projected with expert evidence.
Time limits for Calgary brain injury claims
- 30 days to give your insurer the Section B claim form, or as soon as practicable.
- 2 years within which Section B pays treatment expenses, up to $50,000.
- 2 years, generally, to start a lawsuit, counted from when the injury and its cause were known or ought to have been. The period is suspended while a claimant is a person under disability, which can include an adult unable to make reasonable judgments about the claim.
Calgary lawsuits are filed in the Court of King’s Bench at the Calgary Courts Centre, 601 5th Street SW.
Calgary brain injury claims and Care-First
The dividing line is the date of your collision. The province says Care-First begins January 1, 2027, although the Act comes into force by proclamation.
Collisions before that date: section 103 of the new Act keeps the Insurance Act rules in place, so you can still sue the driver at fault and claim Section B.
Collisions after it: compensation comes mostly from benefits. Suing is limited to cases the Act names, including certain convicted drivers, vehicle and parts makers, liquor sellers and the road authority, and benefit disputes go to a new tribunal. Read the details.
Sources
- Alberta Health Services, Calgary Brain Injury Program
- Alberta Health Services, Tertiary Neuro Rehabilitation unit, Foothills Medical Centre
- Government of Alberta, Brain injury supports
- Minor Injury Regulation, Alta Reg 123/2004 (Alberta King’s Printer)
- Automobile Accident Insurance Benefits Regulation, Alta Reg 352/1972, Schedule A (Section B)
- Limitations Act, RSA 2000 c L-12
- Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, Calgary Courts Centre
- Automobile Insurance Act, SA 2025 c A-47 (Care-First)
- Government of Alberta, Care-First auto insurance