Special damages are the injury losses you can add up with receipts and records: income lost so far, treatment and medication costs, travel to appointments, equipment and help you had to pay for. In an Alberta injury claim they are not limited by the minor injury cap, but every item has to be proven.
Last reviewed September 16, 2026. General legal information for Alberta, not legal advice.
Special damages and general damages
Injury claims are divided into two broad kinds of loss:
- Special damages (often called “specials”) are specific, calculable losses that have already happened, from the injury to settlement or trial.
- General damages are losses the law presumes or estimates, most importantly pain and suffering, plus future losses that have to be projected, such as loss of earning capacity and cost of future care.
Alberta’s minor injury cap applies only to non-pecuniary damages for pain and suffering. Special damages are pecuniary, meaning money actually lost, so the cap does not reduce them.
What special damages usually include
| Category | Examples | Proof |
|---|---|---|
| Income lost to date | Missed shifts, reduced hours, lost overtime, commissions, self-employment income | Pay stubs, T4s, tax returns, employer letter |
| Treatment | Physiotherapy, massage, chiropractic, psychology beyond what benefits paid | Invoices, receipts, benefit statements |
| Medication and supplies | Prescriptions, braces, supports, mobility aids | Pharmacy printouts, receipts |
| Travel | Mileage, parking and transit to medical appointments | A mileage log with dates and addresses |
| Paid help | Childcare, snow removal, cleaning, yard work you used to do | Receipts or a signed record from the person paid |
| Home and vehicle changes | Grab bars, ramps, driving adaptations | Quotes, invoices, a clinician’s recommendation |
When another plan already paid
Some costs are paid first by Section B accident benefits, workplace health plans or disability insurance. List every source of payment for every expense. Knowing who paid what avoids claiming the same cost twice and shows which losses are still yours. Section B pays medical and rehabilitation expenses incurred within 2 years of the crash, up to $50,000 per person; see Section B benefits.
Future losses are claimed differently
Costs you will face after settlement or trial are not specials. Cost of future care and loss of earning capacity are projected, usually with evidence from treating doctors, occupational therapists, vocational experts and economists. The records you keep now are the foundation those projections are built on.
A simple system for keeping specials
- One folder, paper or digital, started the week of the injury.
- Photograph every receipt the day you get it.
- Keep a mileage log for every medical appointment: date, destination, kilometres, parking.
- Record time off work as it happens, with the reason.
- Write down unpaid help from family and friends. It can still form part of the claim.
Special damages under Care-First
Crashes before and after Care-First
The Government of Alberta says its Care-First auto insurance system starts January 1, 2027. The new Automobile Insurance Act takes effect by proclamation, so always confirm the start date that applies to your crash.
Crash before Care-First starts: the current rules keep applying to it, including the right to sue the at-fault driver, the minor injury cap and Section B benefits (Automobile Insurance Act, s 103).
Crash after Care-First starts: injured people receive benefits from insurance, and the right to sue narrows to specific cases, such as a driver found guilty of a prescribed criminal or traffic offence, certain third parties like a vehicle manufacturer, a parts supplier or the municipality responsible for the road, and some losses above the benefit limits. Benefit disputes go to the Alberta Automobile Care-first Tribunal. Where a lawsuit is still allowed for crashes after that date, it can recover some losses above the new benefit maximums, so the same record keeping matters.