In a car you’re always in a compartment, and because you’re used to it you don’t realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You’re a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame. On a cycle the frame is gone. You’re completely in contact with it all. You’re in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.

– Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values

Riding a motorcycle offers a type of freedom unlike any other. Unfortunately, due to their size, motorcycles are often not seen by other drivers on the roads. This explains why, despite representing only 2.75% of all licensed motorists in Canada, motorcyclists make up 10.6% of all fatalities and 12.2% of those who suffer serious personal injuries as a result of a traffic accident. Given that motorcycles do not offer the same level of protection as cars, SUVs, or trucks, the injuries sustained by motorcyclists are often the most serious and life-changing.

If you have been injured or if a loved one has suffered fatal injuries as a result of a motorcycle accident, it is crucial to contact a Toronto motorcycle accident personal injury lawyer promptly to preserve evidence and best protect against limitation periods and notice periods that can bar your rights to compensation.

Motorcycle accidents require skilled and experienced personal injury lawyers. Those injured in motorcycle accidents often suffer from polytraumatic, serious, and catastrophic injuries, including brain injuries, internal injuries, concussions, and orthopaedic and bone fractures typically requiring surgery. Many motorcycle accidents involve fatalities. Depending on the severity of these injuries, injured persons may require extensive medical treatment and either miss significant time from work or be disabled from work completely.

To maximize compensation, motorcycle accident victims should choose a motorcycle accident lawyer that has devoted their practice exclusively to personal injury law and has successfully won cases like this at trial.

Boland Romaine LLP has over 40 years’ experience representing motorcyclists and their family members in personal injury cases in Toronto and across Ontario. If you or a loved one have been injured in a motorcycle accident, call Boland Romaine LLP today at 1-844-837-6583 to arrange a free consultation with one of our experienced trial lawyers. We believe that your future is worth fighting for.

Boland Romaine LLP has built its reputation on maximizing compensation for motorcyclists and, when necessary, fighting at trial. Read more about trial experience here.

For example, we conducted a jury trial for Ron Cockburn, a 59-year-old motorcycle enthusiast and produce manager at No Frills. Ron had to make the terrible choice of bailing from his motorcycle when he was cut off by a van in an offset intersection.

As a result of his motorcycle accident, Ron suffered multiple fractures to his sacrum, pubic ramus, and acetabulum. These injuries resulted in permanent nerve damage in his right leg which prevented him from continuing to work in his pre-accident employment.

The driver of the van was charged under the Highway Traffic Act, but he was acquitted after a one-day trial in traffic court. Ron and his family then came to us at Boland Romaine LLP. After a one-month jury trial in the Superior Court of Justice, the jury found the van driver 90% liable for the motorcycle accident, and awarded Ron $420,000 for the impact that the nerve injury in Ron’s leg had on his ability to work, maintain his home, obtain treatment, and compensate him for the ways in which the motorcycle accident changed his life. Click here to see the actual questions put to the jury and their handwritten answers (Cockburn et al. v. Holmes, Newmarket Court File No. CV-08-091101-00).

People injured in motorcycle accidents are entitled compensation for personal injury. If you have been hurt in a motorcycle accident by another at-fault driver in Toronto or in Ontario, you can seek compensation from the other motorist by commencing a civil tort lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you can be compensated for your pain and suffering, past and future loss of income, and past and future costs of treatment or medication. However, in order to succeed in your lawsuit, you must prove that the other motorist involved in the accident was negligent and therefore liable for your injuries. Click here to learn more about your rights to claim compensation against an at-fault motorist.

Boland Romaine LLP has helped many motorcyclists and their families after a critical injury and has recovered millions of dollars in compensation for motorcyclists hurt by negligent drivers. We have experience gathering evidence to prove fault against other motorists and obtaining the compensation our clients deserve.

Regardless of who is at-fault, injured motorcyclists or passengers injured in motorcycle accidents may also seek compensation from their own insurance company by filing a claim for accident benefits. Accident benefits claims provide funding for medical treatment, loss of income, and attendant care, however your insurance company actively monitors the file and may deny you the treatment or disability benefits you are entitled to. A more detailed outline of your rights to accident benefits is set out here.

It is worth fighting for. A personal injury lawsuit attempts to restore you to the financial position you would have been in had the motorcycle accident not happened. For those with significant losses of income or new lifelong expenses, a personal injury lawsuit is your only means to protect your future and replace what you have lost.

Motorcycle accidents often involve serious head injuries and fractures. Evaluating your motorcycle accident claim is based on a multitude of factors, including your injuries, age, level of recovery, level of functionality, pre-accident employment, pre-accident lifestyle, and the evidence both for and against your claim.

We invite you to contact our office for a free consultation to discuss your motorcycle accident claim.

Unfortunately, many motorcyclists or their passengers are killed following motorcycle accidents. Even if not directly involved in the motorcycle accident, family members may be entitled to compensation from the at-fault motorist for loss of care, guidance, and companionship.

Lawsuits arising from motorcycle accident fatalities are often very difficult on grieving family members. Regardless, insurance companies vigorously defend at-fault motorists to reduce the amount of compensation paid to family members. It is important that you speak with motorcycle accident lawyers that exclusively practice in serious personal injury law and have the expertise to settle your case fairly for the compensation you deserve.

Boland Romaine LLP are personal injury lawyers with over 40 years experience representing family members of motorcyclists killed in motorcycle accidents in Toronto and across Ontario. Read more here about our experience with fatality claims.

It is important that individuals hurt in motorcycle accidents gather as much evidence about the motorcycle accident scene as possible. You would be wise to preserve your motorcycle helmet and clothing as they will likely be used as evidence in your case. Preserve any photographs that were taken on the day of you out motorcycling. Do not repair your motorcycle and try not to change any gears. It is very helpful if you or someone you know returns to the scene to photograph or videotape the area where the motorcycle accident occurred.

A good way to start is to photograph the area of the collision from the direction of the motorcyclist, then from the opposite direction or that of the other vehicle. Also, keep a keen eye for skid marks, gouges and debris that may have been left behind. These subtle signs can help establish the path of travel, and any evasive actions. Also look for the resting position. Photograph the helmet and the motorcycle as well, including the serial numbers, and the components, such as hand brakes, lights, reflectors, derailers, gears, and tires.

At some point, after you have received medical care, you or a family member will turn your mind to the necessity of a lawsuit to best protect your future. We invite you to contact us, as we have demonstrable trial experience in handling motorcycle accident claims.

Under section 104(1) of the Highway Traffic Act, everyone who rides or operates a motorcycle on a highway is required to wear a helmet which complies with the standards set out in Ontario Regulation 610: Safety Helmets. But what if you were not wearing a motorcycle helmet when the accident occurred?

First, it does not prevent you from having a successful lawsuit. Not wearing a helmet does not excuse a defendant from causing you harm.

Second, the value of your claim will only be reduced if wearing a helmet would have prevented or minimized the injuries suffered. In the Ontario Court of Appeal decision of Snushall v. Fulsang, Ontario’s highest court decided that the most that could be deducted from a claim where a protective device would have saved the injured person from all of their injuries was 25%, and that by convention, a reduction of 5% – 10% in the value of the claim would be typical.

That being said, even that reduction is not automatic. It is up to the defendant to prove that a motorcycle helmet would have made a difference. According to the scientific literature, this is more easily done in cases where there is a skull fracture, but even then, the fracture must have occurred where the helmet provided protection. In the absence of a skull fracture, it is significantly more difficult for the defendant to establish that the helmet would have made a difference in cases of mild traumatic brain injury. Even if the defendant can establish that the helmet would have had some benefit, only the portion of the claim attributable to the head injury is reduced.