Alberta Hit and Run Car Crash Lawyer

What To Do if the Other Driver Fled the Scene

Video Transcript:

Steve Grover: 

I'd highly recommend someone who's injured in a hit-and-run claim in Alberta to contact a lawyer.

Rob Rosenthal: 

If you or someone you know is injured in a hit-and-run crash, what are your options? What are your rights? We're gonna find out right now on this episode of Ask the Lawyer. My guest is Alberta lawyer, Steve Grover. I wanna remind you right off the top, if you'd like to ask Steve questions about your situation it's easy. Go to, "askthelawyers.com." Click the button at the top that says, "Ask a Lawyer." It'll walk you right through the process there, or you can call the phone number you see on the screen, and during our conversation. Steve, it's always good to see you, thank you for helping us out.

Steve Grover: 

Hi, Rob. Nice to see you again. Hopefully, everything's going well with you.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Going great, so far. So let's talk a little bit about your experience in this area. Have you represented clients who have been in hit-and-run accidents, and that sort of thing?

Steve Grover: 

Yeah. Unfortunately, sometimes people don't wanna be accountable for their actions. And there are cases that we've taken on where people are driving down the road, they stop at the red light and all soon "Boom" they get hit from behind by another vehicle. Unfortunately, that driver doesn't stay and they flee the scene of the accidents. So, they're not that common in Alberta, but they are an issue that we have to deal with on the odd case it comes in our office. So we've dealt with hit-and-run cases several times here in my 20 years of practicing law here in Alberta.

Rob Rosenthal: 

First of all people are gonna call the police, and get the police involved. In your experience, will the police try to track down hit-and-run drivers? Or is that something they just say there's not much hope of that?

Steve Grover: 

Well, the police resources are limited. They're doing their day-to-day jobs, they're handing out tickets, they're investigating crimes, they are busy. And that's unfortunately... The cops do come to the scene of the accidents, the hit-and-run accidents. Hopefully, the driver that we represent or even the passenger, got the make and model of the vehicle, hopefully the license plate. So the police can track down that vehicle. The police do the best they can in Calgary and Alberta, but unfortunately, sometimes when you don't have a license plate, it's really hard to track down a vehicle. And the police resources are limited now, especially during the pandemic. But they try and do the best they can.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So what can an attorney like yourself, a civil attorney, do in what most people probably figure is a criminal case, what can you do to help people who have been in these accidents?

Steve Grover: 

Well, if you are involved in a hit-and-run accident, and if you are injured, you can contact our office. Like I said earlier, in this interview, we've dealt with several of these kind of cases. There is something called the Motor Vehicle Administration fund here in Alberta. It's a general revenue fund, where if you're involved in a hit-and-run claim, you can make a claim against the Motor Vehicle Administration fund here in Alberta. We call it the administration fund or MVA fund. The most amount of money you can claim in Alberta is $200,000 plus costs and disbursements. There is a 90-day waiting period that you have to notify the fund about an accident. It's in its statutory law. So from the day of the accident you've got 90 days to notify the fund or your claim could get barred. So I think that's very important for a person that's injured in a hit-and-run claim in Alberta 'cause there are statutory limitations on these claims. You have two years to file your statement of claim in Alberta, but you do have 90 days to notify the fund of the potential hit-and-run claim so that you can access the general revenue fund in Alberta, and make a claim through the Motor Vehicle Administration fund.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Is navigating that fund... Is that something somebody can do on their own, Steve? Or what's the advantage of having an attorney like yourself help them through that process?

Steve Grover: 

Well. I wouldn't recommend dealing with the fund. Unfortunately, you are dealing with the government. And it is the government purse that you're trying to get funds from, and obviously the government's interest is to protect the public interest, the taxpayers dollar. You can notify the fund, you can try and deal with them but most cases, we have to file a statement of claim. You have two years in Alberta to file a statement of claim, then we will deal with the fund's lawyers. It's not as easy as most people think. There's a way the State handle and deal with the fund into getting a reasonable settlement. I'd highly recommend someone who's injured in a hit-and-run claim in Alberta to contact a lawyer. Like a law firm, like Grover law firm, where we've dealt with these claims, we know how to deal with the fund, we know how to deal with their lawyers. Obviously, they have an issue of making sure that there is a valid claim, that this is a legitimate hit-and-run claim, making sure that the party that's injured, they've gone for treatment. And so we've dealt with these claims, and I would highly recommend someone in Alberta retain a lawyer to deal with them directly.

Rob Rosenthal: 

What about getting insurance involved? Steve is that an option? Is there a version of like under insured or uninsured motorist coverage? Or is that the fund that you're talking about?

Steve Grover:

No. The fund is a direct... Like it's almost like you're making a claim against the fund who's the third party driver potentially. And if the fund pays out on that claim, they usually agree on settlement for a consent judgment, where if they find the person that caused the hit-and-run claim in Alberta, they can enforce that judgement against that party that didn't come forward and caused the accidents. Like I said earlier, that you are limited in Alberta to $200,000 plus costs and disbursements. Unfortunately, if you have a traumatic injury, serious brain injury, fractures that you can't go back to work, we have something in Alberta, it's a version of under insurance coverage is called SEF 44 coverage family endorsement coverage, and there is a limit of 200 grand.

Steve Grover: 

Myself, I carry about $2 million on my car insurance, and if my injuries and claim is worth more than 200 grand, we can sue my own insurance company for coverage over and above the $200,000 up to a limit of $2 million, and giving example of my policy. So obviously, there's access to getting more funds. You have to get your own insurance company involved, you have to notify them again, you most likely have to file a statement of claim, they'll wanna go through questioning. We call it here in Alberta questioning, where elsewhere it's called discovery. So there is access to more funds, but you have to deal with your own insurance company on that kind of claim through your SEF 44 coverage.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So what about insurance, Steve? Is there a version of like uninsured motorist coverage, or is that part of the fund? Explain how that works?

Steve Grover: 

Yeah, in Alberta, we have an insurance coverage. Like I mentioned earlier in the interview that when you sue the fund, in Alberta, there's only a limit of $200,000 plus costs and disbursements, so if you're catastrophically injured, you can sue the fund, but then you have to notify your insurance company, and you can make your claim through your lawyer of SEF 44. So give example, most people carry about a million dollars in Alberta, the fund will pay out 200,000. If your claim is worth 500,000, you can make a claim through your own insurance company for the overage, so they pay you the $300,000 more than what the fund will pay you. Again, you have to notify your insurance company about if you're gonna make an SEF 44 claim, you have to file a statement of claim against your insurance company. It won't increase your rates, but that's coverage that you're paying for, so I recommend our clients, when there is a limit on dealing with the fund of 200,000 plus costs and disbursements that you have that access to more funds through your own insurance company, through your SEF 44 coverage on your auto insurance policy here in Alberta.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Is this is usually a situation, Steve, where the insurance company go, "Hey, you got this coverage. Here you go, here's that extra money that you're due," or may it take somebody like yourself to convince the insurance company that they need to pay what's due?

Steve Grover: 

Unfortunately, insurance companies are in the business of making money, and unfortunately, they're not the more reciprocal that, "You know, you're gonna pay out your policy, we expect you to pay for your auto insurance coverage every month. If you don't pay, we're gonna cut you off, you won't have any auto insurance," but unfortunately, insurance companies are in the business of making money, and they are going to fight you on the value of the case, they're gonna say, "Listen, you're gonna have to file a statement of claim, you're going to have to serve our corporate offices. We'll get our counsel involved to defend our claims and see what the claim and the claim is really all about."

Rob Rosenthal: 

And that's why people need somebody like yourself to help them through this whole process, not try to do it themselves.

Steve Grover: 

Correct.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Okay. Lots of really helpful information every time we talk Steve. Thank you so much for answering our questions.

Steve Grover: 

Thank you for having me again. Have a great day.

Rob Rosenthal: 

And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask the Lawyer. My guest has been Alberta, Calgary lawyer, Steve Grover. Remember, if you wanna ask Steve questions of your own, go to askthelawyers.com, click the button at the top that says "Ask a Lawyer," it'll walk you right through the very simple process. Thanks for watching. I'm Rob Rosenthal with Ask the Lawyers.

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