Joel Zanatta May 10, 2022 5 min read Updated: Mar 17 Cycling season is finally here and the bike lanes are chock full of riders. Life is slowly but surely returning to normal and more of us are being asked to return to the office. Our team at The Biking Lawyer are huge fans of bicycle commuting, h

Joel Zanatta 800.725.0754 Joel@thebikinglawyer.ca topseocanada.com/thebikinglawyer/ May 4, 2022 PRESS STATEMENT –Changes to the ICBC, Ben Bolliger & the Biking Lawyer LLP In a press release issued today by the ICBC , we learned that there will be changes to ICBC policy related to when cyclists, pedestrians and other active transportation users could be charged with damages to a vehicle when they have some al

I was hit in a bike lane and broke my wrist and elbow. Despite me reporting this at a collision reporting centre, the driver was not charged, and the incident was not recorded as a collision. My crash didn’t happen. – Dave Shellnutt, Biking Lawyer LLP That’s problematic on a few levels, but my own crash and those of other cyclists that have gone unreported are illustrative of a system that invisib

In the last two years there has been a huge rise in bicycle ownership. Canadians purchased bikes en masse in an effort to spend more time outside. With things returning to normal and more people going back to the “office”, there has never been a better opportunity to embrace bike commuting as part of your daily routine. There are so many reasons to use your bike to get to and from work. No gasol

Spring in all its glory brings lovely riding conditions and cyclists out of hibernation! If you’re pulling your bike out of storage or off the trainer, we want to provide you with a legal rights refresher. You should hit the streets confident that you are aware of your rights and know what to do if a collision occurs. *Before we get to that we encourage everyone to get a tune up, brake check, ligh

“We can’t just think of these potholes as how they would affect a huge tire on a car, we [have] got to think about how they would affect someone on a bicycle who’s not surrounded by two tons of steel as well.” – Dave Shellnutt on CBC As snow and ice melt, asphalt exposed to months of freezing and thawing emerges. Spring brings potholes and road imperfections. These hazards may not only damage moto

The Biking Lawyer LLP was founded by Dave Shellnutt and Joel Zanatta, two lawyers with a shared passion for bikes. Joel was running a busy personal injury office in British Columbia. As a daily bike commuter he saw the issues faced by cyclists and started a company known as The Cycling Lawyer . The idea was to focus his years of legal experience on representing cyclists. “I had been practicing per

I grew up mountain biking the trails of the Niagara Escarpment. Crashes would inevitably happen, but naturally as a kid/teenager my mind didn’t immediately turn to questions of liability. However, in exploring the vast (and well maintained) trail network around the GTA on my gravel bike, hiking with my daughter and mom, and preparing for a presentation on Municipal Trail Liability for the Trail Re

CBC News spoke to our client, Majd Zakout , who was hit by an uninsured driver making an illegal left turn. Mr. Zakout suffered serious injuries including a broken arm, ankle and injuries to his hip, waist, back and neck. He also suffered a brain injury (which thankfully he is recovering from!) The driver, David Gaio, had his charges dropped due to errors and ineffectiveness on the part of the Tor

“Where there is a marked bike lane, the starting presumption should be that there may be a cyclist travelling in that lane, and a turn across a bike lane is only appropriate after a driver confirms that the lane is free and not occupied.” According to Justice Walkem of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Steinebach v. Skittrell , this is the standard motorists should hold themselves to when t