Sometimes my clients won’t know who the other driver was – or they know who they are, but there’s no insurance. Here’s the answer.
All drivers in Alberta are required to have insurance in case they cause an accident. There are a few who do not, and they usually do not have the money to pay for the personal injuries they have caused. Sometimes the guilty driver flees the scene of the accident, and the injured victim does not know who to sue.
The Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act governs these types of motor vehicle accidents through two different programs, MVAC and MVAR, and serves both the victims who have been injured, and the liable drivers who owe MVAC a debt.
MVAC: Protects the victims of uninsured or hit and run accidents by ensuring they have a way to make a claim against the uninsured motorist and receive payment for their personal bodily injuries.
MVAR: Collects debts from the uninsured drivers responsible for the bodily injuries suffered by any victim(s) of their motor vehicle accident. These debts are equal to the amount of money paid out by the program to victims.
Medical Claims: Assists those catastrophically injured in motor vehicle accidents, by providing funding for medical rehabilitation when no other form of insurance exists, other than life insurance, or when insurance funding has been exhausted.
Section 17 of the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act also governs funding for individuals who are injured in a motor vehicle accident where no other contract of insurance exists. These funds are approved for payment by the Medical Claims program.
Find out more at https://www.justice.alberta.ca/programs_services/mvac/Pages/default.aspx