Did you know Albertans' ability to sue at-fault drivers after a collision may be taken away in the coming years?The regulatory system known as Care First Insurance will be implemented on January 1, 2027. Alberta's current automobile insurance system operates under a mixed model, giving individuals who are injured in crashes coverage through their insurance.Plus, if someone else caused the accident, individuals have the right to sue for lost income, pain and suffering, and other serious damages.As Ricky Bagga, CEO and managing partner of Crash Lawyers tells the Western Standard, this right will soon be taken away with the incoming model....Bagga warns the model will have "zero accountability for drivers causing us harm, and all the power under the Care First system will be in the hands of auto insurance companies."Compensation after a crash will be paid through an individual's own insurance with an additional government-determined benefit similar to WCB. This means insurance companies will determine the compensation and treatment the individual receives.And if individuals decide they would like to sue to make up for the lost income and other damages, they will have to answer to a government-appointed tribunal funded by the insurance industry..Another issue is the right to sue.Under the model, Albertans' right to sue at-fault drivers is severely limited.According to the Alberta government, the right to sue will still be allowed in serious cases.But this is conditional and requires the other driver be convicted of a specific criminal or traffic offence, or the financial loss of the victim exceeds government-set caps on no-fault benefits..As a consequence, Bagga says, "under the Care First system, it's going to be a private insurance company that will get to decide if you get any compensation at all.""So essentially, the insurance company will get to be the judge, jury and executioner."Bagga further elaborates how collision victims would be affected, "You know, victims are compensated not based on their injuries, but on whether the offender faces charges.""For example, in the very snowy months in Alberta, there's hundreds of accidents a day — you're telling me that just because a cop doesn't show up at the scene of the accident and issue a ticket, my right to seek compensation from a bad driver is gone?"."Private insurance companies care about the dollars and cents, they care about their shareholders, they care about profits.""They will have every reason to cut you off before you're before you're healed, they'll have every reason to deny your treatment," he states.To learn more about the First-Care system and its effect on Albertans, you can check out the clip above.
