Richmond Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyers

Richmond motor vehicle accident lawyers are the men and women lawyers of Richmond who handle motor vehicle accident cases for people that live in the Richmond area, or where the accident happened in the Richmond area and the people live elsewhere. In the industry “motor vehicle accidents” are often known as “mva accidents”.

Generally the lawyers only get involved if the accident in question was an injury accident.  Sometimes however there are important legal questions involved even if there were no injuries.  The extent of property damage involved, or questions as to whose fault the accident was may be important enough to warrant the involvement of counsel even if there were not injuries in the motor vehicle accident.

The legal consequences that result from motor vehicle accidents are generally in proportion to the severity of the accident.

In Canada, the criminal code makes it is a criminal offence if you are involved in a motor vehicle accident and you fail to stop and give your name and address – and if anyone requires assistance, to offer assistance – with the intent to escape civil or criminal liability.  This is commonly known as “hit and run” and it is contrary to section 252 of the Criminal Code of Canada and is known as “Failing to stop at scene of accident”.  It can also be a provincial offence.

If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, you may be entitled to compensation, depending on the situation and whether you were the passenger or driver of the vehicle. 

You would likely be entitled to compensation in all of the following examples:

  • You were the driver of vehicle A, which vehicle was hit by vehicle B and the accident was B’s fault.
  • You were a passenger in the above example – either in either vehicle A or in vehicle B.  Some exceptions may apply.
  • You were a passenger in vehicle A and vehicle A was involved in a single vehicle accident – for example, it crashed into a parked car, a telephone pole or it “hit the ditch” because the driver fell asleep.  Some exceptions may apply.
  • You were crossing the street on foot and were hit by a car.

There are many, many more examples.  The point is that if you live in Richmond and you are involved in an mva accident you should obtain immediate legal advice from Richmond motor vehicle accident lawyers.

ICBC is the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. ICBC is a Crown Corporation that provides basic and optional vehicle insurance to residents of BC. Richmond injury lawyers are experienced in dealing with ICBC.

All provincial laws of BC can be found at the provincial “BC Laws” website, and all federal laws can be found at the federal Department of Justice website.

The USA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a very interesting motor vehicle accident website that contains an abundance of statistics on motor vehicle accidents.  Although this is a USA source it is likely that most of their findings are true for British Columbia as well. 

Here are some of the statistics for the USA for the year 2005 classified by type of accident:

  • Rear Impacts: 1,824,000 accidents,
  • Angle or side impacts:  1,778,000 accidents,
  • Fixed-object impacts: 992,000 accidents,
  • Collisions with animals: 275,000 accidents,
  • Rollovers: 141,000 accidents,
  • Head-On collisions: 123,000 accidents,
  • Collisions with pedestrians and bicyclists: 114,001 accidents.

The rollover, head-on and pedestrian & bicycle accidents made up only 6.1% of the accidents, but 34.5% of the fatalities.

The top Richmond lawyers and the best Richmond lawyers and indeed all practicing Richmond lawyers can be found registered and in good standing as required with their professional association – namely the Law Society of British Columbia. The Law Society is the legal association that governs the self regulating lawyers and all lawyers have to be registered here to be able to practice law in BC.

If you or someone you love has been in a motor vehicle motor vehicle accident of any kind you should obtain immediate legal advice.  It is best if you call right away. If there has been a fatality or an injury in that accident you absolutely must obtain legal advice without delay. 

It is important, in considering who your Richmond motor vehicle accident lawyer is going to be, that you select one that is practical, experienced and knowledgeable of exactly how things work in Richmond.  They should have an office in Richmond which is staffed full time and has been there for some time.

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