A female cyclist was tragically killed yesterday morning on Bloor Street near Avenue Road by the driver of a dump truck. This marks the fifth cyclist killed this year, setting a record high for cyclist fatalities in Toronto.
The exact details of how the collision occurred are unknown, however it's been noted by some witnesses in the area that a construction dumpster had been placed in the bike lane, which is believed to have forced the cyclist into the roadway with traffic and the driver that struck her. Police reported that the cyclist exited the bike lane and continued to travel in the same direction when she was struck by the driver who was travelling the same direction.
As a law firm who have litigated many fatal cycling crashes involving trucks, we know that there is no such thing as an "accident," these are preventable deaths which could have been avoided had the driver of the truck practiced proper skills and safety protocols. According to our trucking experts, any driver of a large commercial truck must take extra diligence when driving in the city due to the size and weight of the vehicle as well as the limited visibility of the driver. Truck drivers are held to a higher standard with their licensing. According to our forensic engineering experts who have worked on these kinds of cases with us, there are no blind spots for truck drivers that are properly trained to operate vehicles of this size.
Construction companies can also be held liable for failure to take reasonable steps to ensure they do not impede any form of traffic, including pedestrians and cyclists. They must ensure that any construction does not place individuals in harms way and take reasonable steps to ensure safety measures are in place in their construction zones. The city could also be held responsible if they can create a hazard to road users based on the contract they have with construction companies or if they fail to ensure proper safety measures are put in place.
We have dealt with similar truck and cyclist cases over the years. In our case of cyclist MK, we successfully established that a garbage truck driver and their company were liable for the devastating injuries suffered by a young lady who was riding in the bike lane. In our case of DC, a truck driver and their company were held responsible in our civil action despite being acquitted on charges laid by the police. In this case, our trucking expert provided an opinion that the truck drivers are held to a higher standard and should have specific training when navigating a truck, especially in areas where there is high pedestrian and cyclist traffic. Many times, the defendants will try to redirect blame on the cyclist, however with the proper human factors experts, engineers and witnesses, this type of defense can be disproved and eliminated.
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