Whistler Bicycle Accident Lawyer
The Sea-to-Sky Highway from Vancouver to Whistler is one of the most beautiful cycling routes in the world. However, even after $600 million in upgrades, the popular route also accounts for over 70 collisions each year – some of them involving cyclists. British Columbia sees about 1,400 road cyclist injuries and 10 fatalities each year. The unprotected nature of cycling makes bicycle riders 14 times more likely to be involved in a serious or fatal collision.
When your injuries are debilitating and long-lasting, our Preszler team of Whistler bicycle accident lawyers can be a great asset. Located just over an hour-and-a-half south of Whistler in Metro Vancouver, we are an experienced personal injury law firm that has dealt with the ICBC before, investigated claims, valued fair settlements, and filed personal injury lawsuits seeking maximum value for major injuries.
What To Do After A Whistler Bicycle Accident
- Have your injuries treated. If you’ve been involved in a bicycle accident, the obvious first step is to seek immediate medical attention. The most common cycling injuries include head trauma and brain injuries, fractured hands and wrists, fractured forearms, facial trauma, and fractured shoulders or clavicles. Should you decide to pursue legal action later, it always looks best if you sought first aid, kept all follow-up appointments, and heeded your doctor’s treatment recommendations.
- Call the police. A police report doesn’t hurt, either. This objective third party narrative can help establish some of the basic facts surrounding the case – who was involved, which direction the vehicles were travelling, what the weather conditions were like if there were any eyewitnesses or surveillance records, etc. Police records come in handy, should ICBC or the other motorist try to pin blame for the accident back on you.
- Call a personal injury lawyer. Initial consultations with personal injury firms are free. There is no retainer fee for a personal injury lawyer, as there is with a divorce lawyer. In fact, you pay nothing upfront to work with a law firm. Having strong counsel from the beginning will ensure you don’t inadvertently sign your rights away when dealing with the insurance company. They may pose as your friend, but they are not your friend. A legal advocate working on contingency basis, on the other hand, only gets paid if you get paid, so it’s in both your best interests to seek maximum compensation
- File a report with ICBC. If you fall off your bike, you’re out of luck. However, if an insured motorist was involved in your accident, you may file a claim to “no-fault” compensation with ICBC, as long as it has been less than two years since the collision. You may be approved up to $300,000 to cover your medical expenses, with additional temporary allowances for wage loss and homemaking expenses during the period of initial disability.
Do Whistler Bicycle Accident Lawyers Make A Difference?
“[Having a lawyer] helped me to go through ICBC… to make a claim for full damages,” one bicycle accident victim told the Vancouver Sun. She explained: “I had friends who had to deal with ICBC. I felt they didn’t get treated fairly. I wanted someone to do it on my behalf, who has a stronger voice.”
Ultimately, the woman believes she received at least twice what she would have gotten without a bicycle accident lawyer. Even after taking out 40% for a lawyer fee, the woman received enough money to cover her medical expenses and wage losses in full, with money left over to cover transportation expenses, other debts, and relocation to the United States.
Contact Preszler Injury Lawyers for strong representation following a serious Whistler bicycle accident.
