Construction Injury Lawyer in Calgary

It depends on the circumstances, and this is the first thing to establish. Alberta's workers' compensation system covers many workplace injuries and provides benefits without regard to fault, determined through an administrative process rather than a court. In some situations a civil claim against a party outside that arrangement is also available. Which applies to you turns on who caused the injury and how the workplace was structured, so it is worth getting advice rather than assuming.

Someone injured by construction activity who was not employed on the project — a member of the public, a visitor, a driver passing the site — is generally in an ordinary civil claim against those responsible for the site and the activity that caused the injury. That may include the owner, the general contractor and any subcontractor whose work created the hazard.

In most injury claims the period is two years — but it does not simply run from the date of the incident. It runs from the point at which you knew, or ought reasonably to have known, three things: that you were injured, that the injury was attributable to someone else's conduct, and that it was serious enough to warrant bringing a proceeding. A separate ten-year outer limit runs from when the claim arose, and whichever period expires first governs. Different rules apply to minors and to people under a disability. Because the analysis is fact-specific, the safe course is to ask early rather than assume.

We act on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no legal fees unless compensation is recovered. Disbursements — the out-of-pocket costs of running a file, such as medical records, expert reports and court filing fees — and applicable taxes may still apply. We will explain the arrangement in writing before you retain us.