Minor Injury Regulation - Minor Injury Cap - Alberta
It is important for anyone living in Alberta, who has been injured in a motor vehicle accident to be aware of the Minor Injury Regulation.
The Minor Injury Regulation has the potential to limit/prevent you from getting full compensation from an at-fault party. The Regulation contains a Minor Injury Cap for injuries it defines as “minor injuries” preventing victims whose injuries that would traditionally receive a higher award for compensation from getting fully compensated. There are certain exemptions for injuries which meet the definition of “serious impairment”. The cap applies to damages for pain and suffering (non-pecuniary/general damages).
The amount of the of the Minor Injury Cap are as follows:
The government passed the Minor Injury Regulation in 2004. This defined what a minor injury is and placed a cap on non-pecuniary general damages of $4,000. The formula for increasing this amount over time is as follows:
(4) For the purposes of subsection (3)(b), the change in the Alberta CPI is the amount determined by the formula
X= (A-B)/B
where
X is the annual change in the Alberta CPI;
A is the sum of the 12 individual monthly Alberta CPI indexes for the 12‑month period ending on September 30 of the calendar year that ended before the commencement of the calendar year for which the increase is being calculated;
B is the sum of the 12 individual monthly Alberta CPI indexes for the 12‑month period immediately preceding the 12‑month period referred to in A.
The regulation defines a “minor injury” as
(h) “minor injury”, in respect of an accident, means
(i) a sprain,
(ii) a strain, or
(iii) a WAD injury
caused by the accident that does not result in a serious impairment and includes, in respect of a sprain, strain or WAD injury that occurs on or after November 1, 2020, any clinically associated sequelae of the sprain, strain or WAD injury, whether physical or psychological in nature, caused by the accident that do not result in a serious impairment.
(n) “WAD injury” means a whiplash‑associated disorder other than one that exhibits one or both of the following:
(i) objective, demonstrable, definable and clinically relevant neurological signs;
(ii) a fracture to or a dislocation of the spine.
Changes have been made to the Regulation over time. This includes section 1(2) which adds temporomandibular (TMJ) injuries (jaw injuries) to the minor injury regulation in 2018, unless there is damage to the bone, teeth or displacement of the articular disc.
Then, later in 2020, the definition of “minor injury” was expanded to include any clinically associated sequelae of the sprain, strain or WAD injury, whether physical or psychological in nature, the latter creating a much broader definition to minor injury.
(2) For the purposes of this Regulation, an injury in respect of an accident involving or surrounding the temporomandibular joint is a sprain, strain or WAD injury unless the injury involves
(a) damage to bone or teeth, or
(b) damage to or displacement of the articular disc
(3) Subsection (2) applies only in respect of an injury described in that subsection that occurs on or after June 1, 2018.
(4) For the purposes of this Regulation, a reference to a sprain, strain or WAD injury includes a reference to any clinically associated sequelae of the sprain, strain or WAD injury, whether physical or psychological in nature.
(5) Subsection (4) applies only in respect of an injury described in that subsection that occurs on or after November 1, 2020.
If injuries fall within the above classifications the next important definition is “serious impairment”.
The MIR defines serious impairment as an impairment of a physical or cognitive function that results in a substantial inability to perform the essential tasks of your regular employment, occupation or profession, the essential tasks of the claimant’s training or education in a program or course, or the normal activities of the claimant’s daily living.
(j) “serious impairment”, in respect of a claimant, means an impairment of a physical or cognitive function
(i) that results in a substantial inability to perform the
(A) essential tasks of the claimant’s regular employment, occupation or profession, despite reasonable efforts to accommodate the claimant’s impairment and the claimant’s reasonable efforts to use the accommodation to allow the claimant to continue the claimant’s employment, occupation or profession,
(B) essential tasks of the claimant’s training or education in a program or course that the claimant was enrolled in or had been accepted for enrolment in at the time of the accident, despite reasonable efforts to accommodate the claimant’s impairment and the claimant’s reasonable efforts to use the accommodation to allow the claimant to continue the claimant’s training or education, or
(C) normal activities of the claimant’s daily living,
(ii) that has been ongoing since the accident, and
(iii) that is expected not to improve substantially;
The last definition is that of an accident, because this regulation applies to a specific type of accident, and in this context, it refers to an accident arising from the operation of an automobile.
(a) “accident” means an accident arising from the use or operation of an automobile;
Understanding these regulations is crucial because they can impact the compensation you receive for your injuries. In addition to damages for pain and suffering, there are other heads of damages that the Regulation does not apply to, for example out of pocket expenses (special damages), financial loss, and future cost of care.
If you require assistance with your claim please contact O’Fee Law.
