I am sad to report that this past Tuesday, November 8, 2011, motorcyclist 48-year-old John Jolivette was killed while riding his bike.

A San Francisco resident, Jolivette was killed when his motorcycle rear-ended a vehicle as he rode north on Highway 101 just north of the Vermont Street near Potrero Hill off-ramp during daylight hours in the mid-afternoon.

My condolences go out to John’s family. I am an avid motorcyclist myself and no stranger to the dangers of the road.

As a San Francisco motorcycle attorney, I see many cases where the motorcycle rider is automatically blamed, even when the facts indicate the contrary. Usually when you have a rear-end collision it is the party who strikes from the rear who is at fault. However, motorcyclists generally are able to stop more quickly than car drivers.

Why should a motorcycle rider hit a car from the rear? John’s family should consult with a motorcycle attorney to help investigate this horrible motorcycle crash. Careful investigation may uncover that the car that John hit had just made a lane change and cut John off. I have handled several cases similar to this and have learned that many details are not brought forth in the police report. Once again, my sincere condolences to John’s family.

About the author: Claude Wyle is an aggressive advocate for San Francisco motorclists. Claude has decades of experience representing those harmed by the wrongful conduct of others, and, as a San Francisco motorcycle accident attorney, has fought to protect the rights of injured motorcyclists throughout his legal career.

Graham Steele, the Minister responsible for Nova Scotia's Insurance Act announced new legislation today to improve automobile insurance coverage in Nova Scotia: The Fair Automobile Insurance (2011) Act.

I was part of the Review Committe that provided advice to the province regarding what improvements needed to be made to Nova Scotia's Insurance system: McKiggan Appointed to Provincial Insurance Review Committee.

Highlights of Changes

Overall the changes improve the insurance coverage avaialable to consumers in Nova Scotia.

Repair Claims Covered By Drivers Own Policy

Persons involved in a collision caused by another party can deal with their own insurance company to get repairs done or get compensation for property damage. This was change was implemented in order to simplify and speed up the process that car owners have to go through so that they can get their car back on the road as fast as possible.

No Claim - No Premium Increase

It has become commonplace for parties involved in an accident to pay for claims themselves rather than being hit with massive premium increases after an accident. Even if the accident wasn't there fault. However insurers who become aware of the accident have still imposed rate increases, regardless of whether a claim was made against the policy.

The changes to the Insurance Act prevent auto insurers from increasing premiums for collisions where no claim is made and the driver paid for the damage, even if the driver was at fault.

Speed Access to Treatment

The legislation proposes to introduce treatment protocals that are designed to help injured victims get proper treatment faster.

Increase Medical Benefits

The legislation increases the minimum mandatory Accident Benefits found in Section B of the Standard Auto policy. This section of the policy covers things like medical and rehabilitation expenses, funeral costs, death benefits and income loss covereage for injured drives and passengers.

The changes increase the level of "no-fault" benefits to the same level as New Brunswick.

Optional "Full Tort" Coverage

The most interesting change will allow drivers to buy optional (additional) insurance coverage that will give consumers the right to receive full compensation over and above Nova Scotia's so-called "Minor Injury" Cap.

Regular Review

Finally, the legislation commits the province to conducting a review of automobile insurance laws in Nova Scotia every seven years.

Want More Information?

If you would like more information about Nova Scotia's Automobile insurance system and how it effects car accident victims, contact us for a free copy of Crash Course: The Consumer's Guide to Car Accident Claims in Nova Scotia.

Unbelievable. I was sent information about a local lawyer who is supposedly a plaintiff's personal injury trial lawyer and a Washington DC area bicycle accident victims' advocate. Yet, when I did not recognize the name, I looked to find his number in the Virginia Trial Lawyers directory, as VTLA is the group that lobbies for injured victims in Richmond, educates lawyers and the public, and helped me to distribute free helmets to school children. This lawyer was not listed as a member. So I looked in the Trial Lawyers Association of DC directory, as Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County are near the District of Columbia, and many good trial lawyers belong to both Virginia AND the DC trial lawyers associations in order to promote, and give voice to, their disabled clients' stories. Again, not listed. So I thought surely he must be a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association (formerly "ATLA," now the American Association for Justice, or AAJ), as AAJ lobbies on Capitol Hill and in the state legislatures for the rights and remedies of the injured and unfairly treated in the courts. Again, not listed as a member.

So, since this lawyer holds himself on his very fancy web site as being a "trial lawyer," I looked in the archives of the Virginia Lawyers Weekly, which is the newspaper area lawyers read to keep up on up to the minute cases, laws and procedural changes in the courts. No verdicts, settlements, cases or any mention of this lawyer could be found. Yet foolish cyclists fail to check a lawyer's "street cred" and see them "in action" in court. If a lawyer does not "walk the walk" and support the national and state injured victims' legal groups and ha no reported cases or settlements, then the injured bicyclist is picking based upon form over substance. At a minimum, I would not recommend retaining any lawyer who does not belong to his or her state trial lawyers association and the American Association for Justice for any injury or accident case. If they are not on their state or local bar association's "Lawyer Referral Service," which requires they have insurance and no Ethics complaints, that should raise "red flags." And, unless they are fresh out of law school, if they have no reported decisions, do not give you the opportunity to see them in court trying cases ("in action") and cannot show you actual results, do not walk out of their office. RUN FOREST, RUN !

You don't want just a good cyclist who is also has a law license. You want a good trial lawyer who actually tries cases in court who is also a cyclist to be your lawyer in a bike crash injury case.