Whats a realistic and fair car accident settlement amount based on my scenario?
September, 2022: I was 21 years old in Alberta and t-boned passenger side by an suv while driving a sedan going about 60km/h
I was transported to hospital via ambulance and released the next day.
It resulted in 2nd degree tears on my neck, upper back and shoulder as well as cartilage fracture on my left knee.
The other driver had an expired license, expired insurance and was intoxicated (alcohol).
Before the accident I had a new job for a month or so earning $25 an hour full-time as a labourer.
I was also taking muay thai and boxing classes as a passion, very physically fit as I was into weightlifting since 14 and these things were a big part of my identity.
I had to stop all that due to doctor’s advice to not potentially worsen my injuries.
December 2022: About 3 months after the accident, I wanted to see if I could maintain a job despite the injuries. So I applied and got hired to work at CN as a train conductor.
The pay was $30 an hour until qualification after which pay is raised to about $50 an hour
I completed the 6 months of paid training/schooling which wasn’t very labour intensive to get my conductor’s certificate, then worked towards qualification.
September 2023: I tried my best to maintain the job but after the schooling portion ended and the hands-on training began I had to leave as my knee would lock up and be in extreme pain due to the amount of walking required.
I had the muscle tears checked again via ultrasound and the doctor confirmed they were still considered 2nd degree.
For some reason my body was just not healing properly.
I also had psychological appointments every 2 weeks or so, where they diagnosed me with anxiety, ptsd, depression stemming from the car accident.
Also, since the date of the accident I was put on opiods for 2 years so from September 2022 up until about March of 2024.
The opiods caused huge dependency problems and drug problems for me and till now I crave them. I also went through hell many times due to withdrawals from the addiction.
I went to physiotherapy as well, about 3/4 times a week based on my doctor’s recommendation for 2 years (2 years is the limit for car insurance physio benefits).
All in all,
The accident took away a potential long-term career opportunity with a very high paying job (CN train conductor) away from me, got me hooked on opioids for years and still to this day craving opioids (i’d never done opioids before this), went through hell dealing with withdrawals when I couldn’t get my prescription refills on time, had to give up my passions of working out, muay thai, boxing, mental health issues, lost relationships with friends due to all the stuff going on in my life, and I’m not sure what my life would’ve been if this accident never happened.
What do you think is a reasonable settlement amount for this scenario?
Whats a reasonable payout for this scenario?
byu/miich44 inInsurance
Posted by miich44