Hit by a Car While Walking or Cycling: Your Rights in Ontario
When a pedestrian or cyclist is hit by a vehicle, the injuries are often serious, and the injured person is frequently the one without insurance of their own. People assume that leaves them with nothing to claim. The opposite is true. Ontario law gives people on foot and on bikes real protection.
Two features of the law work in your favour.
You can claim accident benefits without a car
Being struck by a motor vehicle brings you into the accident benefits system even if you do not own a car and were never inside one. Where you do not have your own auto policy, the benefits are claimed through the insurer of the vehicle that hit you, following the priority rules. That means treatment funding and income support are available while your case proceeds.
If the driver fled and cannot be identified, there are still options, including coverage that responds to unidentified drivers and a provincial fund of last resort.
The burden is on the driver
In a lawsuit by a pedestrian or cyclist against a driver, Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act flips the usual burden. Once you show you were struck by the vehicle, it is the driver who has to prove they were not negligent. That is a meaningful advantage, and it reflects a basic reality: a car can do far more harm to a person than the reverse.
It does not make every case automatic. Drivers still argue that a pedestrian stepped out suddenly or a cyclist was unlit at night. But you start from a stronger position than most people expect.
Protect the case early
Get the driver’s information and the plate, photograph the scene and your injuries, and collect witness names. Get medical care the same day. Keep the damaged bike and helmet, because the damage to them tells the story of the impact. Then get advice quickly, since the accident benefits deadlines are short.
- ·Pedestrians and cyclists struck by a vehicle can claim accident benefits even without their own car.
- ·If you have no policy, benefits come through the at-fault vehicle’s insurer under the priority rules.
- ·The Highway Traffic Act puts the burden on the driver to prove they were not negligent.
- ·Preserve the scene, your bike and helmet, and your medical records right away.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and every case turns on its own facts. If you have been injured, and especially in a matter involving pedestrian accidents, Shah & Shah Lawyers offers a free consultation.