ATV Accidents

ATVs are all about the thrill, and carry an unfortunate risk of injury. Ian Furlong explains what you need to know about ATV accidents, how the law treats them, and what your options are if you’re hurt.

One of our favourite pastimes in Ontario is ATV-ing. And what I’ve learned is, as fun as they can be, they can be dangerous. Often, people don’t understand when they need to have insurance for an ATV. If you’re going to bring that ATV on the road, it’s required to be insured.

Why is ATV insurance recommended?

If you’re driving your own ATV on your own property and it’s not insured, and you sustain a serious injury, you may have no recourse at all to the home insurer, auto insurer, or anyone. If you’ve been injured in an ATV accident, the most important thing to do is speak to a lawyer immediately. It may be that you’re still entitled to certain insurance benefits, even though the ATV is not insured by the owner.

What have you seen in your practice?

In my years of experience driving ATVs, owning ATVs, and being a lawyer for 21 years, I’ve seen people fall off ATVs and have nothing more than a bump and a bruise. But I’ve also seen the worst. Amputations, head injuries, broken necks, and broken backs. Those are the extreme cases. And we need to plan for the worst.

It starts with safety first. We can’t predict everything is going to happen in life, but we can insure against it. And that’s why it’s important to have insurance on your ATV.

Ian Furlong has practiced exclusively in the area of personal injury and insurance-related matters since his call to the bar in 2004. He primarily dedicates his practice to children and adult victims injured in motor vehicle accidents, including motorcycle accidents, pedestrian-car accidents, ATV accidents, and snowmobile accidents. He represents accident victims and their families throughout Ontario. You can reach Ian at 416-868-3226 or by email.