Late summer and early fall is a great time to get out and bicycle in Ontario. The weather’s nice and cool and the change in the leaves can provide some colourful scenery. Of course, taking your bike out can easily turn dangerous thanks to negligent or incompetent drivers sharing the road. Most drivers will do their level best to take a cyclist’s safety into consideration but an unfortunate meeting with a bad one can end up with you in the emergency room. If you are injured on a bicycle there are some thing you should know about your legal rights.
No-Fault Insurance
Under Ontario law, a cyclist can claim no-fault accident benefits. Every auto insurance policy in the province covers injury resulting from impact with another car, person, or bicycle. It is called no-fault insurance because insurance companies will pay for losses regardless of whose fault the accident is. Getting benefits from an insurance company will require a great deal of paperwork but can be significant. They can help with income replacement, caregiver benefits, rehabilitation benefits not covered under OHIP, and others.
Legal Action
The other avenue that can be taken in the event you’re hurt on a bicycle is to take legal action through the courts system. It is important to remember that receiving no-fault accident benefits DOES NOT disqualify you from suing the driver whose policy granted those benefits to you. If you’ve received serious impairment or loss of income that may continue over a long stretch of time insurance benefits may run out before you have recovered. It is also possible that the insurance company may deny you benefits outright. In these situations it’s best to consult a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.
If you’ve been injured on a bicycle or in another situation that was not your fault you should take action to get the compensation you need to stay on the road to recovery by hiring a lawyer with a successful track record in these situations. Call Conte & Associates at 1-877-614-0008. Based in Vaughan, Conte & Associates works with clients in Vaughan and in the surrounding cities of: Thornhill, Woodbridge, Concord, Kleinberg, Maple and Richmond Hill.
