Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer in Calgary

Not soon. Neurological recovery continues for a considerable period after injury, and the long-term care requirement cannot be assessed until function has stabilised. A claim resolved before then is resolved on guesswork, and once settled it cannot be reopened if needs turn out to be greater.

Attendant and personal care over a lifetime, equipment and its replacement, home and vehicle modification, therapy and treatment, medication, management of secondary complications, lost earning capacity, and damages for pain and suffering — which in Canada are subject to a judicially set cap, meaning the care and income components are where the value of the claim actually sits.

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.