Workplace injuries in Alberta

Two years from discovery, ten-year ultimate

Alberta’s Limitations Act sets two years from the date the injury was, or ought to have been, discovered, subject to a ten-year ultimate period.

Not the same case twice

Workers’ compensation in every province is a historic trade: guaranteed no-fault benefits in exchange for giving up the right to sue your employer and, usually, co-workers. But third parties outside that bargain remain fully liable — the driver who hit you while you were working, the manufacturer of the machine, the contractor from another company on the same site. Identifying whether a third-party claim exists, and electing correctly between compensation and an action where an election is required, is a decision with a deadline.

Whether a third party was involved

This is the entire question. A workplace injury caused by someone outside the workers’ compensation scheme may support a full civil claim alongside benefits.

Coverage status

Not every worker and not every employer is covered. Independent contractors, some industries and some workers fall outside, which changes everything.

The election deadline

Where you must choose between claiming benefits and suing a third party, the election is time-limited and, once made, is very difficult to reverse.

Appeal posture

Compensation appeals are a specialised administrative practice. Many excellent litigators do not do them, and many representatives who do them are not lawyers at all.