A bicycle collision can involve a passing vehicle, turning driver, opened door, intersection or unsafe roadway condition. Lexera helps injured cyclists address the liability, insurance and evidence issues that may follow.
Ontario treats bicycles as vehicles under the Highway Traffic Act, giving cyclists rights and responsibilities on the road. How those rules apply can become important when a collision occurs.
A claim may involve another road user, the condition of the roadway or both. Where an automobile is involved, accident benefits may also be available separately from a liability claim.
Ontario requires drivers passing a cyclist to leave at least one metre where practical. Vehicle position and available roadway space can therefore become important evidence.
Right turns, left turns and movements through intersections can create conflicts where a driver crosses or enters the cyclist’s line of travel.
An opened vehicle door can leave a cyclist little time to react. Door position, surrounding traffic and witness or video evidence may help establish what occurred.
Potholes, debris, construction or other roadway conditions may become relevant where they caused a loss of control or made a collision more difficult to avoid.
Ontario considers a bicycle a vehicle under the Highway Traffic Act. Cyclists must follow traffic laws, while drivers must account for cyclists when passing, turning and sharing the roadway.
Damage to the bicycle, vehicle position, road markings, surface conditions and surrounding features can help preserve how the collision occurred.
Names, contact details, licence plates and insurance information may become important if the circumstances of the collision are later disputed.
The bicycle, helmet, clothing and other damaged items can sometimes help demonstrate the nature of the impact and should not be discarded prematurely.
Keep records of treatment, missed work, expenses and changes in mobility, recreation or daily activities as recovery develops.
A driver, passenger or other road user may bear responsibility where their actions caused or contributed to the collision. The applicable traffic rules depend on how the incident occurred.
When an automobile strikes a cyclist, Ontario’s accident benefits priority rules treat the cyclist as a non-occupant and determine which insurer is responsible for the claim.
Bicycle damage, vehicle damage, photographs, video footage, witness accounts and road markings can help establish the positions and movements of those involved before impact.
Medical records show the injuries themselves, while employment records, receipts and documentation of mobility or activity restrictions can demonstrate how those injuries affected the cyclist afterward.
Lexera can review the roadway circumstances, traffic rules and available evidence to identify the parties and insurance processes that may be relevant to the claim.
The legal team can also help document the effects of the injuries, address accident benefits where an automobile was involved and pursue a liability claim where another party may be responsible.
Ontario considers bicycles vehicles under the Highway Traffic Act. Cyclists generally have the same rights and responsibilities as other road users and must obey applicable traffic laws and signals.
Ontario’s one-metre passing rule requires drivers to maintain at least one metre of space when passing a cyclist where practical to do so.
Potentially. A cyclist struck by an automobile may claim statutory accident benefits as a non-occupant. Ontario’s priority rules determine which insurer must respond.
There may still be an insurance route available. Ontario’s Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund can act as a last resort in qualifying cases where no other automobile insurance is available.
Start with what happened and what you are dealing with now.
Tell us what happened, what you are dealing with now and any insurance or recovery issues involved.
