jimblairo

Ouch! Sad, very sad.

B.C.?s public auto insurer blames ?careless? cyclist for his own death in crash with alleged drunk driver | National Post

FLvector

Yes, sad and very poor response from ins co. Probably should be moved to A & S. Not much else to say but get an attorney.

TrojanHorse

Eh, it's a legal strategy to limit their exposure, but it certainly comes across like dirty pool, especially considering it's a government agency.

Yay, governments.

RPK79

Maelochs

I just don't gett why people hate insurance companies.

colnago62

I was riding on the shoulder and was hit by a car passing on the right. His insurance company said it was my fault because I was riding a racing bike.

Grillparzer

This seems to be a common theme in Canada. I can't find a link to it now, but there was another cyclist killed recently by a DUI. The police said the cyclist was responsible for the accident because he didn't have lights on his bike.

Leinster

In fairness, that must at least be acknowledged as a contributory factor. Not knowing the particulars of the case you're referring to, there's a sliding scale from a cautious driver who's had 2 light beers with dinner late at night, proceeding cautiously when someone dressed in black on a midnighted out TT bike comes rocketing down a 20% slope, through a red light, and buries his helmetless head in the grill; to a stoned, previously-suspended coal-roller who, in trying to twist open his 2nd bottle of Jack ramps his lifted Silverado up onto a cycle lane in the middle of Sunday afternoon and takes out a family of 4 on their weekly outing to the park.

The former at least has an element of "there but by the grace of God" to it, and in those shoes you'd at least want all the facts that are in your favour to be noted. The latter, lock him away and melt down the key.

I do think it's ridiculously tone-deaf of a government insurance company to try and blame the victim in the OP, though.

Blackdays

Similarly - lady ran a stop sign and t-boned me a few years ago while texting. Insurance company claimed, for months, that I was at fault and had failed to take the proper precautions to not put myself in harms way.

I would have worn a nicer kit if I knew I was about to leave a dent on the hood of an Acura.

chaadster

Man, I hope there's a particularly awful place in Hell for the ethically corrupt, morally bankrupt, soulless monsters that would actually file that kind of drivel in court in such a case.

robbyville

Kelly B who was the other cyclist killed in that incident was a friend from a long time ago. These were safety conscious strong cyclists who were on their side of the road. This situation seems to be a cookie cutter template that the insurance company is following which sucks to say the least but will hopefully sort itself out. There are no winners in this. A drunk driver mowed these guys down, plain and simple... 3 dead and multiple lives ruined forever.

Inpd

Cleary he should have had eyes on the back of his head ...

It is because of this very issue, there are no significant penalties for hitting cyclists, why is why I don't ride on the road.

The best example is this one Jury Acquits Driver Who Killed The Sister In Law of Professor Alan Dershowitz | JONATHAN TURLEY

In summary: USPS worker slowly rolls over woman on bike, bystanders scream at him to stop, he leaves the scene of the accident, jury acquits him!

Later Alan Dershowitz and brother won a $4.6M civil suit, but not criminal charges were ever laid again!

colnago62

Double Jeopardy. Once you are found innocent, you cannot be tried again for the same offense.

79pmooney

The insurance company was using an old legal precedent, often paraphrased as "if you don't like my driving, stay off the sidewalk".

Ben

joeyduck

Wow ICBC, wow.

GuitarBob

+1

CliffordK

Is there an actual drug and alcohol screen of all participants in the accident? It would seem that would be mandatory for a fatal or serious injury accident.

I think it is a valid point that the rider was probably not hugging the shoulder. However, if the cyclist was fully in his own lane, and the car was not, then the car is 100% at fault.

Unfortunately one can never count on a jury being knowledgeable about cycling. And, at least in the USA, jury selection isn't about choosing knowledgeable jurors, rather it is about choosing a jury to win, so it is quite possible that cyclists and sports enthusiasts would get excluded from the jury.

Chris516

This is more than sad. It is criminal. But the ICBC doesn't care. I know it sounds opportunistic. But since the ICBC didn't find the driver at fault for crossing the line and killing the cyclists. I hope they did find the driver at fault for the passenger that also died.

jfowler85

My college English prof said that Dante's Divine Comedy should have had a special place for wordiness.

merlinextraligh

It's just a pleading. It's quite typical to put every conceivable defense in the answer.

Not an expert on Canadian law, but typically in most US jurisdictions, you don't put an affirmative defense in your answer, you waive it.

So you plead the kitchen sink, then things get whittled down as the facts are developed in discovery. There's really nothing to get worked up about here.

It's highly likely this case will settle and likely for policy limits.

ColaJacket

And lawyers.

It's the lawyers' job to represent the insurance company to pay out as little as possible. Lawyers just have to follow legal and ethical standards. They don't have to have a moral compass. Actually, having one might be a detriment to being successful in that profession.

GH

I-Like-To-Bike

This is A&S; there is ALWAYS something to get worked up about!

badger1

Correct in all respects. Civil practice in B.C. as in most Canadian jurisdictions is little different from that in the U.S.; the tactic (and that's all it is) under discussion here is a good example.

baron von trail 

Typical gamesmanship angling for a reduced settlement.

Rowan

Always an interesting juxtaposition when someone posts something like ColaJacket did under a real lawyer's post.

What's your moral compass like, merlin??