Chicago Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Bicyclists in Chicago are subject to many of the same laws and regulations as motor vehicles. Also, there are laws regarding driving on the road with bicycles that motorists must obey.

In Chicago and Illinois, these cycling laws are in place to prevent traffic accidents and to protect riders from injury. Often when these rules are ignored, accidents occur, causing serious injuries. If an accident does occur and a driver was violating an ordinance, it may help determine fault or liability for injured bicyclists.

The Chicago Municipal Code (Section 9-52) requires cyclists to follow the rules of the road or be subject to a penalty. However, specific other laws target the prevention of accidents on the road in Chicago.

The following sections of the Code apply to drivers when cyclists are in the area and delineate the legal rights of riders:

• 9-16-020 e. Motorists must yield the right-of-way to bicyclists traveling the opposite direction when making a left-hand turn. This includes bicycles that are in or approaching an intersection.
• 9-36-020 f. When making a right turn, motorists must not turn in front of a bicyclist traveling in the same direction.
• 9-36-010 c. Motorists must give at least three feet of clearance when passing a bicycle in the same direction and maintain that clearance until they safely have passed the bicycle.
• 9-40-060. Motorists should never park, drive, or stand in a designated bike lane.
• 9-40-160. Motorists need to use due care to avoid crashing into a bicyclist.
• 9-80-035. It is illegal to open a vehicle door into oncoming traffic unless it is safe to do so and only to load or unload passengers.

Chicago bicyclists are also protected under the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5). Illinois statute also requires motorists to:

• Yield to bicyclists approaching an intersection
• Use caution when opening a car door or loading passengers
• Use ‘due care' when driving around bicyclists

The Illinois average for bike accident recoveries is approximately $300,000. State median recoveries for bike accidents range between $25,000 and $40,000. 75% of cases recovered under $100,000 and 10% of cases recovered more than $1,000,000.

Factors, which contribute to the value of a bicycle injury case, include economic and non-economic damages including:

• The severity of injuries sustained by the bicyclist
• Medical bills for past and future care
• Wages lost because of the incident
• Amount of insurance coverage
• The automobile insurance company for the responsible driver or party
• Opinions as to permanency of the injuries offered by a treating physician including future medical attention
• How an incident occurred and the severity of the impact
• The jurisdiction where the crash occurred

The law offices of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have represented many injured cyclists in Illinois. Nearly every car accident involving a bike tends to be serious. Below is data from representative Illinois bicycle accident settlements and verdicts.

• $499,000: A vehicle exiting a parking garage in Chicago struck a bike messenger. The attorneys proved through discovery that the driver was new to the area and did not know there was two-way traffic on the street he was entering. A successful resolution was achieved within four months and for virtually the full amount of available insurance coverage.
• $250,000: Uninsured motorist claim for a businessman involved in a hit-and-run crash. The recovery was made through his insurance policy.
• $250,000: The driver failed to yield to bike traffic on a busy city street during rush hour. The cyclist had damage to the knee and required arthroscopic surgery. Policy limits of the at-fault driver were tendered within 60 days of our involvement.
• $180,000: The 23-year old man was ‘doored' by a man exiting his vehicle on the northside of Chicago. The cyclist was thrown over his handlebars and fractured his clavicle and skull. Initially, the driver's insurance denied this claim due to road construction on the street.
• $105,000: An amateur triathlete was struck by a vehicle trying to pass her. The woman was thrown from her bike and injured her knee, requiring arthroscopic repair. This award represents the policy limits of the cyclist's uninsured motorist policy and the full amount of medical payment coverage.

Contact a Chicago bike accident attorney at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC for more information on the valuation of personal injury and wrongful death cases arising out of bicycle crashes.

The statute of limitations for bodily injury claims involving bicycle crashes in Illinois is two years from the date of the accident. See 735 ILCS 5/13- 202 & 205. This law limits the time you must file a lawsuit (take legal action) against the negligent party or accept a final settlement within two years, or you may lose your right to recover.

While this is the general rule, there are exceptions to this. Consequently, you should consult with a Chicago bike accident lawyer to determine how the law applies to your situation.

You can bring a lawsuit for yourself and on your child's behalf for the injuries, expenses, and physical and mental suffering caused by the accident. If your minor child was injured in an Illinois accident, you might be able to recover damages on their behalf.

You can bring a lawsuit against the at-fault party for negligence as your child's parent and "next friend." As the plaintiff, you need to prove that: (1) the defendant had a duty not to injure your child; (2) he or she breached that duty; and (3) your child was injured and suffered damages as a consequence of the defendant's breach.

If your child dies from injuries sustained in a bike accident, you would have to sue the responsible party for wrongful death. In a wrongful death lawsuit, you must prove that your child was fatally injured because of the defendant's misconduct, intentional or otherwise, and you suffered damages because of the death.

Monetary compensation available to you includes not only economic damages like medical bills and burial costs but non-economic damages such as anguish and loss of companionship.

Typically, if a child acted negligently in an accident that injured him, the legal doctrine of comparative negligence will reduce the amount he can recover from another party or even bar his recovery completely. However, Illinois adopted the tender years' doctrine, which establishes that children under seven years of age are categorically incapable of negligence because they cannot recognize risk, and thus cannot legally contribute to an accident (Appelhans v. McFall, 325 Ill. App. 3d 232 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001)).

In Illinois, if a minor child between the ages of seven and fourteen is involved in an accident, there is a rebuttable presumption that the child is not capable of contributory negligence. This law presumes that the child cannot be responsible for the accident, but the opposing party can overcome that presumption by showing sufficient evidence.

The jury must consider the child's age, capacity, intelligence, and experience in determining his or her fault (Savage v. Martin, 256 Ill. App. 3d 272 (Ill. App. Ct. 1993)).

Depending on the circumstances, the driver and the driver's employer might both be responsible for your personal injuries and damages under the theory of respondeat superior.

Determining Responsibility After a Bicycle Accident in Illinois

In most Cook County bicycle accidents involving an on-the-job driver, the employed that the driver was working for at the time will be vicariously liable for any damages arising from the accident. This legal theory is based on respondeat superior, which is a common-law legal doctrine that holds that employers are responsible for their employees' actions when made within the scope of their employment.

For an employee to be acting within the scope of employment, "the conduct must be (1) of the kind the employee is employed to perform, (2) must occur within the authorized time and space limits of the employment, and (3) must be done at least in part to serve the employer, rather than be for the employee's personal ends" (Bagent v. Blessing Care Corp, 224 Ill.2d 154 (Ill. 2007), quoting Restatement (Second) of Agency). The employer most likely would be liable unless the accident occurred outside the scope of the at-fault driver's employment.

Examples of Vicarious Employer Liability

You can pursue damages in a personal injury case against the employer of the driver responsible for your injuries. However, that person must have been working at the time of the event to hold their employer vicariously liable.

These are some common examples of employee conduct sufficient to trigger vicarious liability:

• A driver was traveling from one job site to another
• A driver was making a delivery to a client on behalf of an employer
• A driver was going to pick up supplies for an employer

These are examples of conduct not considered within the scope of employment:

• A driver was commuting to his job but had not started working yet
• A driver was running a personal errand
• The employer's car was being driven by someone who stole it

Yes. Illinois law allows multiple parties to be held responsible for bicycle accidents in certain situations.

Bike Crashes Involving Impacts From Multiple Drivers

Many Illinois bike collisions involve contact with more than one vehicle. In many cases, a bicyclist will be struck by a vehicle as he or she is attempting to avoid a collision with a different vehicle. These "dooring" accidents happen when a driver opens their door into the path of an oncoming bike, causing the bicyclist to swerve and be hit by another driver. Under both Chicago and Illinois law, it is illegal to open a car door on the side of moving traffic unless it is safe to do so. In this type of case, both drivers could be at fault and liable for injuries to the individual (625 ILCS 5/11-1407).

Joint & Several Liability in Bike Accident Cases

First, you need to sue everyone who may have caused the accident that injured you. Then you need to show in court that their actions contributed to causing your injuries. After that, you can seek damages from each defendant. Illinois lets you do this because it follows the theory of joint and several liability.

This theory claims that any member of a defendant class can be held responsible for the plaintiff's entire damages even if its role in the accident was minor. This theory gives an inherent advantage to claimants because it allows them to recover from defendants with the most significant ability to pay.

For instance, a trucking company or other commercial defendant could be held accountable regardless of the defendant's percentage of fault for the accident. If a defendant believes that it paid more than its fair share to the plaintiff, then it can seek reimbursement from the other defendant(s), but only after fulfilling its obligation to the plaintiff.

No. Following an accident in which you were injured, you are not legally obligated to give an insurance company representative, or any other person, any statement about the incident, except for law enforcement.

By law, you are not required to give insurance carriers any verbal or written information or documents they might request of you before you have legal representation. Before discussing any details of your bicycle accident with the at-fault driver's auto insurance carrier, you should speak with an experienced personal injury attorney.

In the immediate aftermath of an accident, insurance companies for the responsible party often try to obtain as much information as possible from the injured person to negotiate a low claim settlement. They are not looking out for your best interests, and often later use what you tell them against you.

Yes, an experienced bicycle accident attorney in Chicago, IL, can assist you with all issues involved with your case. However, the decision to hire an attorney to represent you in a bicycle accident case is a personal decision. A qualified personal injury firm will be able to offer substantial resources, experience, skill, and care to your bicycle accident case.

Attorneys obtain police reports and help you through the insurance claim process and give you a good idea as to the value of your case. Our Chicago personal injury lawyers negotiate with insurance companies to provide the best outcome for you.