Bicycle & Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Service

For bicycle and pedestrian accidents claims in BC, you will be asked to provide dates, times, contacts and other information. After your consultation, if we mutually agree to represent your case, this will help us with our own investigations. This may involve obtaining witness statements, hiring private investigators to gather statements and accident reconstruction engineers if liability, impact severity or accident details are unknown or are in dispute.

The other driver may try to protect themselves by giving ICBC a different version of the accident. Our experienced bicycle and pedestrian accident lawyers will gather relevant facts about how your accident happened to support your claim. Using the legal system, we can obtain copies of all police documents and all other records about your accident. Advice from an experienced bicycle and pedestrian accident lawyer is necessary with serious injuries to get the treatment and rehab care to recover from:

• Fractures
• Amputations
• Soft tissue injuries
• Burns from friction
• Paralysis
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)

If you were working at the time of the accident and were totally disabled for more than 7 days and your disability began within 21 days of the accident, you could qualify for Part 7 disability benefits if there is no other coverage. The amount payable is 75 per cent of your average gross weekly wage up to a maximum of $300 per week or $145 per week for homemakers. Part 7 benefits may also include a Graduated Return to Work Program determined case by case. For more details, visit BC Laws.

If you were unemployed on the day of the accident, you may still receive benefits if you worked for at least 26 weeks in the year before the accident. Part 7 benefits are also available if you were self-employed or work part-time. If you are self-employed, it is extremely important you maintain records to calculate losses as soon as you are unable to work. We can help with your Part 7 disability claim, as well as past wage loss and future wage loss to be covered under the at-fault driver’s third-party insurance policy.

Cyclists are often hit by vehicles trying to pass them. The Motor Vehicle Act in BC protects cyclists from these types of collisions, as vehicles must move to the left of the cyclist at a safe distance before passing. The driver of the vehicle may say you were not sufficiently to the right in the lane. As bicycle accident lawyers, we will investigate your claim so you can get compensated fairly for your losses. This includes obtaining reports from the police, witness, accident reconstruction specialists and doctors.

In BC, liability for causing an accident is primarily determined by statute law; the Motor Vehicle Act in BC is referenced to determine liability apportioned for all parties involved, as it governs the Rules of the Road. Contributory negligence occurs when a cyclist is considered to be a cause in the injury suffered, such as riding on the crosswalk. This sometimes reduces the amount recovered from the defendant. An accident reconstruction expert may be involved to produce a report as evidence for liability assessment.

The Motor Vehicle Act in BC prohibits cyclists from riding on crosswalks in most circumstances. When this happens, ICBC may try to blame the accident on the cyclist. If this happens to you, you can still get compensation, even if you are partly at fault. Your entitlement will depend on the percentage of liability you have contributed for the collision. Making this determination is a complex legal issue. We will work with you to dispute ICBC making an unfair decision about liability, and help you get a fair compensation from the accident.

The law prohibits cyclists from riding on sidewalks in most circumstances. ICBC may use that fact to deny you any compensation. However, that does not mean the accident was entirely your fault. The location of your bicycle at the time of the crash is just one of many factors in determining fault for an accident. Even if you were on a sidewalk, the driver who hit you had a legal care to drive with reasonable caution. If the driver should have seen you, and was not keeping a proper lookout, you may not be entirely responsible, even if you were on the sidewalk. This means you can still get some compensation for your injuries.

Jaywalking occurs when crossing the road at an area which was not a crosswalk. ICBC often denies jaywalking claims, particularly if there are witnesses. Even if a pedestrian is jaywalking, they may be entitled to compensation for injuries. The driver must also be alert for any road conditions, keep a proper lookout and take evasive steps to avoid a collision with a pedestrian.

If you can prove the driver was at fault even partially, you can still obtain some compensation. An experienced bicycle and pedestrian lawyer can use the legal system to enforce the driver to answer questions to discover how far the driver was away from you when they first saw you, what evasive actions were taken and if there was use of a cell phone. We can obtain cell phone records as evidence.

With bicycle and pedestrian accidents claims in BC, the at-fault driver is responsible for the full costs for repairs needed to your bicycle. If your bicycle and other personal effects are destroyed in the accident, the full replacement costs are also covered. These are called special damages and we can help you get these paid under the at-fault driver’s third-party insurance policy.