Pedestrian and Cyclist Accidents in Ontario: Your Rights After Being Hit by a Car
Updated: Sep 30
You were walking to the bus stop. Crossing the street on your lunch break. Riding home along a route you know by heart.
Then a driver turned without looking.
For pedestrians and cyclists, an ordinary trip can end with injuries, missed work and questions nobody expects to have to answer: Who pays for my treatment? What if I don’t have car insurance? Can I make a claim if the driver says it was my fault?
In Ontario, pedestrians and cyclists injured in an accident involving a motor vehicle may have access to accident benefits and a separate claim against the person responsible. The available compensation depends on the circumstances, insurance coverage and impact of the injuries.
Here is what you need to know before assuming you have no claim.
What should I do after being hit by a car while walking or cycling?
Your safety comes first. Get emergency help where needed, and do not put yourself at risk to collect evidence.
If you are able—or someone can help—take these steps:
Report the collision to police. Obtain the incident or collision report number.
Record the driver’s information. Get their name, licence plate, contact details and insurance information.
Get witness contact details. An independent witness may help resolve a dispute about a turn, traffic signal or crossing.
Photograph the scene. Capture vehicle positions, bicycle damage, road markings, sightlines and nearby cameras.
Seek medical assessment and describe what happened accurately. Keep records of symptoms, treatment and restrictions.
Preserve damaged belongings. Photograph and retain your bicycle, helmet and clothing where practical.
Get advice about insurance and deadlines promptly. Do not wait for the driver’s insurer to explain all your options.
For cyclists, preserve bike-camera footage and relevant ride data. For pedestrians, note nearby businesses, homes or buses that may have recorded the collision.
A useful detail to write down early is where you were when you first saw the vehicle and what happened next. That can be more helpful than simply saying the car “came out of nowhere.”
Can I claim compensation if I don’t have car insurance?
Yes. Not owning a car does not automatically prevent a pedestrian or cyclist from receiving accident benefits.
Medical, rehabilitation and attendant-care benefits may be available through an automobile insurer even if you have no policy of your own. Identifying the correct insurer requires reviewing the available policies and applicable priority rules.
A policy covering you or a qualifying family relationship may be relevant. Where that coverage is unavailable, insurance on a vehicle involved in the accident may respond. If no automobile insurance is available, Ontario’s Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund may provide a last-resort route, subject to eligibility requirements.
The practical point: “I don’t drive” is not the same as “I don’t have a claim.”
What changed for pedestrians and cyclists in July 2026?
Ontario’s accident benefits changes make it especially important to check which benefits actually cover you.
Medical, rehabilitation and attendant-care benefits remain mandatory. Other benefits, including income replacement, are now optional. Under the new rules, optional benefits generally cover specified people associated with the policy, including the named insured, their spouse, qualifying dependants and listed drivers.
A pedestrian or cyclist should not assume that the driver’s optional income replacement coverage protects them simply because that driver caused the accident.
Your accident date, applicable policies and status under those policies need to be reviewed. Existing coverage and renewal rules also matter.
This makes an early coverage review particularly valuable if your injuries prevent you from working.
Is the driver always at fault for hitting a pedestrian or cyclist?
No—but Ontario law provides an important protection for vulnerable road users.
Section 193 of the Highway Traffic Act places the burden of disproving negligence on the motor vehicle’s owner or driver in qualifying cases involving loss or damage caused by a motor vehicle on a highway. This is often called the reverse onus.
“Highway” is a legal term that includes ordinary public streets.
The rule can assist an injured pedestrian or cyclist, but it does not guarantee compensation. The circumstances, evidence and any contribution by the injured person still matter.
Relevant questions may include:
Was the driver watching for people crossing before turning?
Did a vehicle cross a bicycle lane without yielding?
Was someone reversing out of a driveway or parking space?
What did the traffic signals show?
Could the driver have seen the pedestrian or cyclist sooner?
The driver’s explanation is one piece of evidence. It is not the final decision about your rights.
Can I still claim if I was partly at fault?
Potentially, yes. Sharing responsibility does not necessarily eliminate a claim.
Crossing outside a crosswalk, riding in an unexpected location or failing to follow a traffic rule may raise questions about your conduct. Those facts must be considered alongside the driver’s actions.
Under Ontario’s Negligence Act, damages can be apportioned according to each party’s degree of fault. A finding of contributory negligence may therefore reduce compensation rather than defeat the claim entirely.
Accident benefits are a separate issue: they are generally available without having to prove that another person caused the accident, subject to coverage and eligibility requirements.
Do not abandon a potential claim simply because someone at the scene told you that you should have been more careful.
What if a car caused me to fall without actually hitting me?
Physical contact is not always necessary for a potential claim.
Imagine cycling straight ahead when a driver suddenly turns across your path. You brake or swerve to avoid the car and fall. The vehicle never touches you, but the driver’s manoeuvre may still have caused your injuries.
A claim depends on proving the connection between the vehicle’s operation and the fall. Accident benefits eligibility also requires satisfying the applicable legal definition of an accident.
These situations make evidence particularly important. Witnesses, camera footage, vehicle details and a prompt account of what happened can help explain why you took evasive action.
“No impact” should prompt a closer investigation—not an automatic assumption that there is no case.
Can I make a claim after being “doored” on my bicycle?
A car door opening into your path can leave almost no time to react.
A dooring incident may support a claim against the person responsible. Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act restricts opening a vehicle door without taking reasonable precautions to avoid interfering with or endangering other road users.
Record which door opened, who opened it, where the vehicle was stopped and where you were riding. Photograph the door and bicycle damage, and identify witnesses.
The fact that the vehicle was parked does not, by itself, resolve responsibility or insurance coverage.
What if the driver fled or was uninsured?
A hit-and-run does not automatically leave you without options.
Report it promptly and preserve whatever identifying information you have: even a partial licence plate, vehicle description or direction of travel may help.
Available automobile insurance should be investigated first. Depending on the circumstances, uninsured or unidentified automobile coverage may be relevant.
Where no insurance is available to respond, the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund may provide accident benefits or compensation for eligible claims. The Fund is a last resort, with its own requirements and limits.
Get advice early. These cases can involve additional reporting, evidence and procedural requirements.
How much compensation can a pedestrian or cyclist receive?
There is no reliable “average settlement” that tells you what your case is worth.
A fractured wrist may affect an office worker differently from a dental hygienist, tradesperson or professional musician. The diagnosis matters, but so does the injury’s effect on your particular life.
Depending on the evidence and applicable law, a claim may address:
Pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
Past income loss and reduced future earning capacity.
Treatment, rehabilitation and future care costs.
Assistance with household tasks or personal care.
Other reasonable accident-related expenses.
Ontario motor vehicle claims have restrictions. Pain-and-suffering claims against protected defendants generally require meeting a statutory injury threshold, and a deductible may apply. Benefits already received can also affect the damages recoverable.
A careful assessment considers both what you have lost already and what your recovery may require in the future.
How long do I have to make a claim in Ontario?
Do not treat “two years” as permission to wait.
Many Ontario injury lawsuits are subject to a basic two-year limitation period running from discovery of the claim. Special rules can apply, including for minors and people lacking capacity.
Other steps are required much earlier. Accident reporting and benefit applications have separate timelines. Ontario’s Insurance Act also provides for written notice of an intended motor vehicle injury action within 120 days, subject to the applicable provisions and court relief.
Different rules may arise if an unsafe road or another responsible party contributed to the accident.
Even where a legal deadline is months away, evidence may disappear much sooner. Nearby camera footage is one reason to act promptly.
What should I tell the insurance company?
Give accurate information. If you do not know an answer, say so instead of guessing.
Keep copies of forms, emails and requests. Before signing a release or accepting a settlement, understand which claim it resolves and whether it affects future compensation.
It also helps to document the practical consequences of your injuries. Can you complete a full shift? Carry groceries? Walk to the bus stop? Ride to work? Manage childcare as before?
Specific examples help explain losses that a diagnosis alone may not capture.
For more about the relationship between insurance benefits and a claim against an at-fault party, visit our Ontario motor vehicle accident claims page.
Speak with an Ontario pedestrian and cyclist accident lawyer
After an accident, the immediate questions are often simple: How will I get treatment? What happens if I can’t work? Who is going to help me sort this out?
At DR Injury & Disability Law, we help injured people understand the claims available to them, investigate responsibility and pursue compensation based on the impact of their injuries.
We assist clients across Ontario, with consultations available by phone, video or in person.
Injured while walking or cycling? Learn how our Ontario pedestrian and cyclist accident lawyer can help you understand your options and pursue compensation.
This article provides general information about Ontario law and is not legal advice. Coverage, deadlines and entitlement depend on the circumstances of each case.
