Pretty Banged Up After Brutal Attack, Need Lawyer Advice!

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RyanRumsey
Posts: 98
Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2007 8:30 pm
Location: Fort Erie, ON

Pretty Banged Up After Brutal Attack, Need Lawyer Advice!

Post by RyanRumsey »

Hi all, I hope things are well for you. Me...not so much. As I was walking while leaving work the other day, I was almost hit by a van in the parking lot and had to jump out of the way. After I had voiced my displeasure, I was brutally attacked and beaten by the 6'7" 300 lbs passenger. I managed to get off the pavement to the store while the head of security dealt with these people, but spent the night on a gurney at the Peter Lougheed Hospital with tests and x-rays. Yesterday, I met the police at my work, they looked at the security video, said he was clearly guilty no matter what, and I pressed charges. I am also preparing to launch a civil suit so I can get lost wages for my time off work, and if any of you can help me with that, advice or lawyers I would appreciate that so much. Redbike, if you're reading this and you would like me to call you, please PM me your number, I would be forever grateful for any advice you could give (mine is four-zero-three, eight-eight-nine, four-nine-two-seven). I'm pretty banged up and recovering at home, but going for physio and out for walks a bit too for some 'fresh' air (not so fresh here in the downtown grid!). Most of all what is troubling me is my mental health, as I am in quite a bad state after this incident with my history of brain, nerve, and stress trouble. I am going to be away from work for a while, and will actually be up in Edmonton on the weekend of August 29th, so I will try and pop by for the meeting then to say hi. Hope you all have a wicked rest of the summer, I'll be back out there as soon as I can, tearing this place up!!!

Ryan :)
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Angelo
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Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2006 7:30 am

Post by Angelo »

Ryan I'm so sorry to hear what has happened. Firstly I hope that you have a speedy recovery with minimal ill affects. Secondly I'm glad that you are going ahead with pressing charges so that you hopefully send a message to these people that this is not acceptable.

Take care and we will see you on the 29th

Cheers
Angelo
�Long live vintage motorcycles that are too tough to die...�

- Dustin Kott-
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Cgreeno
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Location: Edmonton, AB

Post by Cgreeno »

Wow, that is really too bad that you had to experience the rage of someone out of control. Unfortunately, these types of people seem to think its ok to exert their anger in a physical way, but hopefully they will learn the hard lesson that is coming to them.

You asked for some advice so here is my few tid bits for what its worth:

Option One: If the suspect is charged with assault and convicted, as part of his sentencing the court can order restitution be paid to compensate you for any out of pocket medical expenses, wage loss, damaged property, etc... If granted, it saves you the step of having to file a claim, prove your losses and try to obtain judgment. The restitution order, once filed in the Court of Queens Bench of Alberta acts just like a judgment so its saves you a pile of money and grief. You can then civilly enforce on the order if the accused defaults. To facilitate this, you need to total up all of your bills, provide documentation proving such to the police investigator on your case and ask that they have the Provincial Crown Prosecutor seek restitution as part of the hearing.

Option Two: If restitution is not granted, you can bring an application to the Alberta Victims of Crime Board. Alberta’s Victims of Crime Act created the Victims of Crime Fund and introduced the Financial Benefits Program in 1997. The fund is fully supported by surcharges on provincial offence fines and surcharges imposed by the courts under the Criminal Code of Canada. This fund financially supports the Financial Benefits Program as well as other victim programs and services. The Victims of Crime Fund is administered by the Public Security Division within Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security. Their mandate is to review requests for compensation by victims of crimes (your case likely qualifying) and issue financial compensation as a means of assisting a victim. The application process is free and you do not require legal representation. For more information and to apply, Telephone: (780) 427-7217.

Option Three: You can pursue this matter civilly by filing a formal claim. Typically, I don't recommend people represent themselves as the litigation world can be quite overwhelming to someone not legally trained. So in other words, I recommend that you hirer a lawyer. Many law firms will take a case on contingency, meaning they will not charge an hourly rate but instead take a percentage of what your ultimately end up with in either a settlement or judgment. In terms of recommended firms, in the Calgary area, I would look at a lawyer from Brownlee Fryett LLP, located at 2000-530 8 Ave SW, Phone #: 403-232-8300 OR a lawyer from Bennett Jones LLP, located at 855 2nd Street SW, Phone # (403) 298-3100. These are both top firms in the Calgary area. Another really great firm that specializes in both civil and criminal matters is Heenan Blaikie LLP. Counsel D. Rob Beeman is an exceptional lawyer. He can be reached at Telephone # (403) 261-3452.

Good luck with this matter and I hope you are feeling better. Don't be afraid to seek counseling services as these types of scenarios can be very traumatic.

All the best,

Christine Greeno
Aristotle once said “we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit”.
Rick
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Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:24 am

Post by Rick »

Dude first of all, what a crappy incident to happen, hope you get well soon. I have my own court dealings with a guy for the last 2 years who after I gave him the finger he jumped out of his car and smahed my windshield with his hand. (road rage incident I guess). The police are charging him with Public mischief which carries a criminal record. I am the witness but trust me Court sucks especially when it comes to f_ing idiots who get out of there cars. Once you step out of that vehicle your screwed in the eyes of the law. Anyways good luck with the whole thing maybe the police should test him for drugs.
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jbcollier
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Post by jbcollier »

I am very sorry to hear of your incident and I hope your injuries heal quickly. Please do visit us when you come up.

Careful out there people.
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jbcollier
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Post by jbcollier »

I have been cycling and motorcycling in city traffic for twenty years now and I have learned a few things the hard way though thankfully through nothing as violent as Ryan's or Rick's. I have been knocked down, threatened, run off the road and backed into though.

Generally it is not a good idea to use the finger or yell obscenities at other road users regardless of cause. It often escalates an already poor situation. Raising your hands in exasperation and yelling, "Hey!" is about as far as I would go.

If the incident was unintended, then yelling obscenities and one-finger salutes will just make them wish they had finished the job and make them potentially hostile in future encounters with cyclists and motorcyclists.

If the incident was intended, then you really do not want to escalate things further! If the incident was serious, take their license plate and vehicle description and file a report with the police.

Think carefully after you have calmed down and do not waste police time with petty complaints. I have approached the police four or five times in the past twenty years with serious, well documented incidents. The police have always treated my reports seriously and have reported back on the results of their interview with the other party. Only one ended up in court and resulted in a successful prosecution.

Most negative comments I receive while riding I answer with a smile and a wave. No escalation and the other chap(ette) has the knowledge that their actions had absolutely no effect on me.

Not to say I don't lose it sometimes...
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