What makes an injury catastrophic
Catastrophic injuries, spinal cord injuries, severe traumatic brain injuries, amputations, severe burns, and multi-system trauma, permanently alter what a person can do and what their life costs. The defining feature is permanence: there is no returning to the life before.
These claims are the most heavily defended cases in personal injury law, because the numbers are large. Insurers bring teams; so do we: life-care planners, physiatrists, economists, and vocational experts who quantify a lifetime honestly.
The life-care plan is the heart of the claim
A proper catastrophic claim is built on a life-care plan: attendant care hours, therapy, equipment and replacement cycles, home and vehicle modification, medication, and supervision needs, projected over a lifetime and costed by experts. Add lost earning capacity and the family's losses, and the gap between a quick settlement and a proper one is frequently millions of dollars.
- Pain and suffering (general damages) for the injury itself and its effect on your life
- Lost income and lost earning capacity, past and future
- Medical and rehabilitation costs including physiotherapy, medication, and equipment
- Cost of future care for lasting injuries
- Housekeeping and loss of valuable services you can no longer perform
- Out-of-pocket expenses from mileage to childcare
Alberta Accident Law works on a full contingency basis: you pay nothing unless we win. There are no hourly rates, no retainers, and no bill if your claim does not succeed. Your case review is free, confidential, and carries no obligation, so finding out where you stand costs you nothing.
Catastrophic care near Calgary
Serious injuries in Calgary are most often treated at the Foothills Medical Centre, with Rockyview General, the Peter Lougheed Centre, and the South Health Campus also handling major trauma.
Families carry these cases as much as claimants do. We work directly with your family and treatment team, and Alberta law also recognizes certain family claims arising from catastrophic injury.
Under Alberta's Limitations Act you generally have 2 years from the date of the accident to start a claim, and some situations carry much shorter notice deadlines. Evidence also degrades quickly: skid marks fade, camera footage is overwritten, and witnesses forget. Calgary injury lawsuits are filed at the Calgary Courts Centre on 5th Street SW, in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. Smaller claims may proceed in the Alberta Court of Justice. The sooner we start, the stronger your position.