Spire

On Wednesday I got into a bike accident here in Montreal (Quebec, Canada) where I split some between cones onto a road (the road wasn't closed, just this particular and first entrance to it) and about 100 meters further along another cyclist blew a stop and I hit him. He was going pretty slowly, I somewhere between 35 and 40kph.

The result is that I have a couple of fractures in my face and I was take by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Urgences Sante (the amulance company) refuses to give me the information on the person I hit, saying it was confidential. They told me that they requested police but the nearby police station has no record of it (but the guy I called seemed to make me pretty seriously once I told him my injuries) and said he would keep on looking. He insistes that since it was a bike-bike collision, the rules of reporting accidents involving cars do not apply.

Anyway, I have now incurred damages, namely the cost of repairing the bike (if not replace), loss of pay (which may or may not be covered by the CSST (workmans' comp because I was working as a courrier at the time, I am still looking into this) as well as pain/suffering/mental angusih or whatever the legal term is.

I would be so grateful if somebody (especially somebody with familiarity in Quebec civil law) could tell me my legal standing and what information I have the right to obtain and what my best course of action is. (PM/email or a reply to this topic would be terrific) I have no idea what I should be doing at this point.

OregonBound

Hi Spire,

Glad to hear you are recovering. My suggestion would be to consult with a local lawyer familiar with cycling. You might ask at your bar association for some names.

This seems too serious a matter to really trust legal advice given on a biking forum.

Paul

Guest

I have no ideas about the laws in Canada, but let's change how you say things... instead of saying "the bike I hit", you need to say "the guy who hit me blowing a light".

I would think they'd turn over the information. Is there any way you could go to the police station and report this and tell them the ambulance company has the information of the guy and have the ambulance guy release this other cyclist's information to the police? Then once the police have it, they can do a police report, and with the police report, you can then consult an attorney and see about getting reimbursed for your damage to your bike and your medical bills and loss of work.

Sorry to hear about that- it's certainly a bad break for you. Take care, and get well soon, and keep us updated about what happens with all this.

Koffee

joeprim

Get better Spire
Joe

SamDaBikinMan

I'd do what Kof said. get the police to pry the info from the ambulance company.

I am really sorry to hear about your incident Spire, get well soon.

supcom

Spire, the best legal advice you'll get here is to consult with a lawyer in your town. In the US, a lawyer will generally give you an initial consultation for a small fee and should give you a realistic estimate of your options. From there you should be able to make an informed decision on whether and how to proceed.

I hope you recover quickly and get back to work soon.

Rich Clark

You will need a lawyer no matter what, because any recovery you get will have to happen via a civil suit, given that there were no arrests or criminal charges made.

That being the case, why wait? Consult a lawyer before the information gets cold and everybody gets their stories straight.

Best of luck on your recovery; here's hoping your injuries aren't as bad as you fear.

Personally, I fear other cyclists more than I fear cars. Your tale does nothing to change my feelings.

RichC