Category: Pedestrian Accidents

Drivers and Pedestrians. Do You Follow the Rules of the Road?

You’re out for a quick jog before work. It’s early and summer traffic is light, you decide to cut across a normally busy Edmonton street. Just like that—and out of nowhere—a car swerves into your path, missing you by centimetres.

Even if the above scenario has never happened to you, it’s increasingly possible in our fast-paced world. Even pedestrians who stay within the crosswalk may feel unsafe amid a sea of drivers who feel tired, distracted, or entitled to ignore the rules of the road.

Be proactive about preventing accidents; take time to refresh your memory and learn more about drivers’ and pedestrians’ basic responsibilities to each other. Continue reading

School’s out! Summer Safety Reminders for Drivers, Parents, and Kids

Summer is well underway, and school is out for elementary, junior and senior high school age children. The summer means more kids on bikes, skateboards, and on foot (plugged into their smartphones). It also means an uptick in young people learning to drive. All of these things increase the potential for injuries to children. For drivers, this means you need to tune up your “kid radar” and drive defensively with a view to doing your part to ensure their safety and to protect yourself against liability.

In Alberta, ss. 185 and 186 of the Traffic Safety Act create a reverse presumption against drivers, such that if there is a collision between a motorist and a non-motorist (for example, a collision between a car and a child walking or on a bike), the onus is on the driver of the vehicle to prove that the accident did not arise solely because of their negligent operation of the vehicle. Continue reading

3 Safety Tips for Cold Weather Pedestrians

According to the government of Alberta, on average more than 1,170 pedestrians are injured each year in collisions and 43 of those injuries are fatal. Even though it’s “technically” spring, weather conditions still aren’t stellar and you will likely need to do some walking outdoors. Whether it’s to escort your children to school, make your daily commute, or getting in some exercise, following these three safety tips each time you venture out can help you avoid becoming a tragic statistic.

Plan Your Route and Make it Known

Extreme weather conditions make it essential to plan ahead. It’s smart to let someone know where you are going, what time you will be back, and what route you plan to travel. Continue reading

Can you recover damages for a slip and fall on an icy sidewalk?

Walking on city sidewalks in Alberta in the winter and colder spring months can be treacherous. Many homeowners neglect to shovel the snow on city sidewalks in front of their homes following a snowfall, even though city and town bylaws require them to do so. In Edmonton, the city bylaw requires that a homeowner shovel the city sidewalk that runs alongside their property within 48 hours of the snowfall – in Calgary, the requirement is within 24 hours. Even if a homeowner shovels the city sidewalk, and perhaps also sands or salts, the sidewalk can remain treacherous, and pedestrians can slip and fall. Continue reading

Credibility Part II: Video Surveillance

In a recent blog post, we discussed how credibility is key in personal injury actions. In this blog post, we explore this further by citing examples where a plaintiff’s credibility has been seriously compromised by video surveillance.

Video Surveillance and Privacy Rights

Video surveillance seems to be especially prevalent in cases involving claims for chronic pain because the reporting of chronic pain to medical professionals is often seen by insurance adjusters to be “subjective,” and thus subject to challenge. It is not uncommon for the defendant’s insurer to hire a private investigator to “tail” the plaintiff and video their daily activities in search of evidence that may compromise the plaintiff’s claims of impairment. Continue reading

What Should You Do If You Are Injured In A Hit-and-Run Accident?

If you are injured in a hit-and-run accident in Alberta, whether as a pedestrian, a cyclist or while driving your own motor vehicle, you may still be able to get compensation for your injuries. The Government of Alberta, through the Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund, will pay compensation up to $200,000 for personal injury claims brought by individuals who are injured in motor vehicle collisions that were caused by an unknown and unidentified driver. Also, if you have insurance coverage through your own automobile insurer in the form of a SEF 44 Family Protection Endorsement, which provides coverage to you in the event that you are injured in a collision caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver, you may also have a claim under your own insurance policy as illustrated by this Alberta case. Continue reading