Pain and Suffering Damages in Alberta

As background, this follows our June 4 and June 5 blogs on pain and suffering damages.

Last week, the Alberta Court of Appeal in Morrow v. Zhang (2009 Alberta Court of Appeal) reversed the Trial decision which had previously struck down their threshold legislation regarding car accidents (see PDF version of Judgment here).

Therefore, as a result of the Alberta Court of Appeal’s decision, Alberta has a limit of $4,000 in damages for “minor injuries” suffered in car accidents.

It is unknown whether there will be an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, although one is expected.

As a result of this decision, it is reported by the Edmonton Journal that the Alberta insurance industry is only asking for an 8% increase in car insurance premiums instead of the previously requested 40% increase.

NOTE: this $4,000 cap is only applicable for minor injuries in Alberta car accidents.  For serious injuries, this $4,000 cap does not apply.

For background on Ontario’s system regarding pain and suffering damages for minor injuries arising from car accidents, see our February 26 and March 4 blog entries.
Gregory Chang
Toronto Insurance Litigation Lawyer