Cyclist and Pedestrian Injury Lawyers in Ontario
Pedestrians and cyclists hit by a vehicle in Ontario can claim accident benefits even though they were not driving. The July 2026 changes matter here more than anywhere: someone without access to their own auto policy may now only reach the mandatory benefits.
Deadlines that apply to you
These are the dates that end claims. Check them first.
Tell your own auto insurer about the collision as soon as you reasonably can, and no later than seven days.
Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, O. Reg. 34/10, s. 32(1)
Once the insurer sends you the application package, the completed application for accident benefits (the OCF-1) is due back within 30 days.
Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, O. Reg. 34/10, s. 32(5)
In most Ontario claims you have two years from the day you knew, or ought to have known, that you had a claim.
Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B, s. 4
What changed for you on July 1, 2026
- Medical, rehabilitation and attendant care remain mandatory on every policy.
- Income replacement, non-earner and caregiver benefits are now optional coverage you have to buy.
- Auto insurance now pays first for medical and rehabilitation costs, ahead of an extended health plan. Medication is the exception.
- Someone without their own auto policy, including pedestrians and cyclists, may now only be able to claim the mandatory medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits.
- Medical benefits
- Rehabilitation benefits
- Attendant care benefits
- Income replacement benefits
- Non-earner benefits
- Caregiver benefits
If you were hurt on or after July 1, 2026, what you can claim depends on what optional coverage was bought. Check the policy before assuming a benefit is there.
Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, changes to Statutory Accident Benefits coverage effective July 1, 2026
How this actually works
Two things work against people hurt while walking or cycling. The injuries are worse, because there is nothing between them and the vehicle. And the account of what happened is usually written by the driver while the cyclist is in an ambulance.
The July 2026 accident benefit changes affect this group most directly. Someone who does not own a car and is not covered under a household policy may now only be able to claim the mandatory medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits.
Ontario also places a reverse onus on the driver in these cases, which is a genuine advantage and one most people do not know they have.
Find the coverage
Your own policy, a household member's policy, or the vehicle involved. Which one applies determines what benefits are available, especially after July 2026.
Use the reverse onus
Where a vehicle strikes a pedestrian or cyclist, Ontario law puts the burden on the driver to show they were not at fault. That is a meaningful starting position.
Get the footage before it is gone
Intersection cameras, transit vehicles, storefronts and dashcams. Most of it is overwritten within days, so preservation letters go out immediately.
Correct the record
Early reports often reflect only the driver's account. Reconstruction evidence and independent witnesses fix that.
What this costs you
We fight for the maximum compensation your claim will carry, and you do not pay a dollar unless we win.
Nothing up front. The consultation is free, we act on contingency, and we advance the costs of building the case so a claim is never held up by money. If we do not recover anything, you do not owe a fee.
- Free consultation, no obligation
- Not a dollar unless we win
- We advance disbursements
- Home and hospital visits across the GTA
Questions we get every week
Possibly, but this is exactly what changed in July 2026. Without access to your own auto policy you may only be able to claim the mandatory medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits. It is worth checking whether a household policy covers you.
No. It may be weighed as a share of responsibility, but Ontario still places the burden on the driver to show they were not at fault.
No. A police report is one piece of evidence, often written without the injured person's account, and it is regularly contradicted by reconstruction and footage.
Uninsured and unidentified motorist coverage exists for this, and there is a provincial fund of last resort. A hit and run is not the end of a claim.
It can be raised as contributory negligence and it can affect the share of responsibility, but it does not remove the claim.
Related areas
Car Accidents
After a car accident in Ontario you usually have two separate claims running at the same time: accident benefits from your own insurer regardless of who caused the crash, and a claim against the driver at fault.
Read moreAccident Benefits
Accident benefits are paid by your own auto insurer regardless of who caused the collision.
Read moreTraumatic Brain Injury
A traumatic brain injury can be severe and permanent while every scan comes back normal.
Read moreFurther reading
Plain-language guides on the parts of an Ontario claim people ask about most.
Pedestrians and Cyclists Lost the Most in the 2026 Benefit Changes
The people with no policy of their own are the people with the least left after July 2026, and they are the ones most likely to be seriously hurt.
Read the guide AFTER AN INJURYPartly at Fault in an Ontario Collision? You May Still Have a Claim.
People talk themselves out of valid claims because they think being partly responsible ends the matter. In Ontario it does not.
Read the guide THE 2026 CHANGESOntario Changed Accident Benefits on July 1, 2026. Here Is What You Lost.
Three benefits most drivers assumed were automatic are now things you have to buy. If they were not purchased, they are not there.
Read the guideWhere we act in Ontario
The limitation period, the statutory deductible and the tort threshold are provincial, so they are identical in every city here. What changes is who must be served inside the 10-day notice window, and that is decided by the city.
The lawyer on your file
A lawyer reads every enquiry. Not a form.
Send us what happened and Shawn Sidhu reads it himself, then replies the same business day. The first conversation is free and there is no obligation.
If we do not think you have a claim, we will tell you that too. You will know where you stand before you decide anything.
Shawn Sidhu, Lawyer
Called to the bar in British Columbia, 2013
University of British Columbia · University of Birmingham
- Free consultation, no obligation
- Not a dollar unless we win
- We come to you at home or in hospital
Your fight becomes ours the day you call us.
Consultations are free and there is no obligation. If we take the case you pay nothing unless we win, and if we think you do not have a claim we will tell you that too.
Start your free case review
Tell us what happened. A lawyer reviews every enquiry, and we reply the same business day.
Thank you. We have your request.
A lawyer is reviewing what you sent and will call you the same business day. There is nothing else you need to do right now.
If you would rather not wait, call us now.
(416) 678-8765Free consultation, and no fee unless we win.