Schaumburg Motorcycle Accident Attorney
Bikers and passengers in a motorcycle accident must seek medical attention immediately and contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible. The longer they wait to start this process, the more difficult it will be to prove their case against the negligent party or parties involved with their serious injury.
Were you involved in a motorcycle accident in Schaumburg, Illinois? Are you seeking maximum compensation for your damages from the negligent party?
Our personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC are legal advocates for motorcycle crash victims just like you.
Call our Schaumburg personal injury law office at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form today for immediate legal advice and schedule a free consultation. All confidential or sensitive information you share remains private through an attorney-client relationship.
Motorcyclists and passengers in the Schaumburg, Illinois area enjoy taking the scenic adventurous motorcycle ride known as "Baby Face Nelson's Last Day" trail. The trip starts in downtown Barrington along Scenic Route 47/14, heading west before turning north at Woodstock.
The route travels through Hebron and across the Wisconsin border, becoming State Route 120, where it passes along the eastern edge of Big Foot Beach State Park just east of Geneva Lake.
Bikers then travel into the city of Lake Geneva and turn left, heading west on State Route 50 only a few miles before reaching Red Chimney Road. Next, turn north and go two miles to the Wakefield Euro Cuisine and Speakeasy on Lake Como.
The first part of the ride out of Barrington takes bikers and passengers along beautiful farmland and small community towns.
The famous historical marker positioned at the Wisconsin-Illinois state line brings visitors to the exact spot where the FBI confronted and captured Baby Face Nelson in 1937.
The shops, restaurants, hotels, and bed and breakfast inns make it the ideal location to shop, eat, drink, and enjoy the beautiful community and scenic lake.
The quality of the roadway on state roads 47, 14, 120, and 50 can become congested at times. Therefore, bikers and passengers are cautioned to remain alert even while traveling on the open roadway.
Recent Schaumburg Motorcycle Accidents
Nothing in the world provides freedom and an enjoyable sensation as riding a motorcycle in the open air. But, unfortunately, truckers and passenger vehicle motorists are not always good at sharing the roadway with bikers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
Distracted driving or a motorist's inappropriate behavior often leads to hazardous, dangerous, and deadly situations. For example, the Illinois Department of Transportation reports that motorcycle crashes caused 132 driver deaths and even more serious injuries in 2015.
The Illinois motorcycle accident attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC remind motorcyclists of the dangerous roadways in northern Illinois.
Recent serious motorcycle accidents around the Schaumburg area include:
- In August 2018, a nineteen-year-old biker lost his life after colliding with the school bus at Irving Park and Rodenberg roads. There were no children on the school bus at the time of the accident when EMTs transported the motorcycle accident victim to Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries about one hour later after the crash occurred.
- In July 2014, a motorcyclist lost his life in a wrongful death collision with an automobile at Hartford Drive and Roselle Road in Schaumburg. The biker was found by Schaumburg law enforcement, paramedics, and firefighters lying off the roadway at the intersection's northeast corner. The car accident involved a four-door sedan that collided with the bike, causing the rider to be ejected from the motorcycle. The lone female occupant in the automobile suffered only minor injuries and was transported to Hoffman Estates St. Alexius Medical Center.
- In July 2014, a 23-year-old Hoffman Estates man lost his life in a motorcycle accident in Schaumburg after colliding with an automobile. The crash occurred at Roselle Road and Hartford Drive, the same intersection as the incident above. The accident victim suffered only minor injuries and was transported to the local hospital.
According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) statistics, over 4900 motorcyclists died in crashes in 2018. Unfortunately, many of these accidents could have been avoided had other motorists sharing the roadway remained alert while driving.
Some motorcyclist fatalities resulted from not wearing proper protection while riding their bike or failure to use a helmet. Others died in the crash because of irresponsible riding by taking unnecessary risks.
Finally, others are riding while impaired under the influence of drugs or alcohol. They can quickly lose their balance, coordination, judgment, throttle control, or the control needed to shift years.
How Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC Can Help After a Motorcycle Accident
Although civil tort law in Illinois allows injured parties to seek financial compensation, it is their legal duty to prove their case preponderance of the evidence.
A Schaumburg motorcycle accident lawyer at our law firm represents many victims of motorcycle accident cases to ensure that they receive maximum compensation.
We build every personal injury lawsuit using available evidence, video surveillance cameras, eyewitness accounts, and the deposition from the negligent driver to prove fault and recover compensation.
We build our cases on the negligence of others and use the best investigation techniques to prove what happened exactly. Then, we review the police report, speak directly with the insurance company, negotiate a settlement, or take the case to trial, to resolve the motorcycle accident case.
We understand why you suffered serious injuries despite wearing the best motorcycle gear that offers virtually no protection.
Proving Fault in Schaumburg Motorcycle Accidents
According to tort law, the injured victim or their motorcycle accident lawyer must show the four elements who is at fault for causing the crash. First, drivers must drive safely on the roadways. If they do not follow this duty, then it is considered negligence.
- Duty: The law requires drivers to exercise a "reasonable and prudent" standard of care, which includes maintaining speeds safe for conditions, obeying traffic controls and signals, yielding the right of way when necessary, being cautious while changing lanes or passing other cars, being aware of blind spots, so they do not hinder others on the road, obeying the rules of the road, being on time for appointments, and complying with posted speed limits.
- Breach: Next, crash victims or their lawyers must show how the other driver breached that duty.
- Cause: Next, crash victims or their lawyers must show how the crash was caused by the other's breach of duty, not another factor.
- Damages: Finally, accident victims or their accident lawyers must show that they were damaged due to the crash and injuries sustained.
If crash victims or their accident lawyers can meet this legal standard, then the accident victim may recover compensation for damage.
Schaumburg Motorcycle Crash Statistics
According to crash and fatality accident statistics, motorcycle victims often suffer severe injuries. While wearing a helmet may not prevent death or "road rash'; it can reduce the risk of dying in an accident by 37%.
Helmets also help protect against facial trauma, such as broken noses and other fractures. Motorcycle accident injuries may include:
- Broken bones and fractures
- Closed head injury
- Road rash
- Damage to internal organs such as the spleen, liver, and kidneys
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Visual impairment or blindness due to blood in the eye
Motorcycle accident victims also often suffer severe damage to their bikes, which might be more than the victim can afford if it is not covered by insurance.
What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident
Motorcycle accident victims need to understand that they have a little time to file a claim before it's too late after the crash.
Therefore, it is imperative to contact an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer as soon as possible after a crash to preserve all evidence and build a winning case.
- Motorcycle crash victims or their accident lawyers must act quickly to avoid losing valuable evidence that could prove the other driver's fault for causing the crash.
- The next step is to seek medical attention to treat severe injuries right away. Then, call 911 and ask for emergency help and transport to the hospital.
- Then crash victims must take photographs of the crash scene, injuries, and damage to their motorcycles.
- Follow your doctor's recommendation on treatment, rehabilitation, physical therapy, and care.
- Motorcycle accident victims must avoid speaking with the other driver or their passengers, as this could lead to a settlement without consulting a lawyer. We recommend not accepting any crash settlement from the other driver's insurance company until an attorney reviews the contract.
Finally, crash victims should contact their motorcycle accident lawyer to handle the claim for them. It is especially true when accident victims suffer severe injuries that cause them pain or suffering months after the wreck.
Sharing Fault in Illinois Motorcycle Crashes
So, what happens if accident scene investigators determine that both the motorist and biker are partially at fault for the crash?
Under Illinois law, victims would only receive accident benefits up to their percentage of fault in the crash.
If both accident victims are found to be partially at fault for causing the crash, accident benefits would only cover each victim's partial amount of injury damages even if no one suffered injuries.
The final decision on who is more at fault in a crash rests with accident investigators unless victims go to court to decide who was more at fault for the crash.
If accident victims choose to take their accident cases to court, there are certain steps they must follow for the judge or jury to consider how much each victim is at fault for causing the accident.
In Illinois, the law states that when multiple parties are at fault for a crash, accident victims can recover accident benefits only if they could not have prevented the crash.
How You Know You Have a Valid Motorcycle Accident Compensation Case
Were you in a bike collision caused by someone else's negligence, and wonder if you are entitled to more than minimal compensation to resolve your personal injuries?
Under Illinois civil tort law, accident victims may be entitled to recover damages for the wreck and crash-related injuries if another person's negligence caused their crash.
For example, you were injured in a bike collision because of faulty brakes on a truck rammed into your motorcycle or because the driver failed to maintain proper car control and crossed into your lane.
Suppose the negligence of another person caused your crash. In that case, you are entitled to recover damages for injuries that are not covered by any insurance policy or the insurance company.
Your accident lawyer in Schaumburg possesses the resources and experience necessary to prove who is responsible for your crash, including when it happened, where it happened, how it happened, and why.
Proving the Case
Your Schaumburg motorcycle accident lawyer can prove these facts either through your accident report or by obtaining the relevant crash records from police, medical officials, eyewitnesses, and crash scene investigators.
Your lawyer can also assemble a team of accident reconstruction experts to analyze how the accident occurred that caused your injuries based on crash scene evidence/photos, collision dent reports, and eyewitnesses.
Pay Medical Bills and Recoup Lost Wages
Compensation for accident injuries can include medical bills, medical treatment costs (past and future), lost income (past and future), pain and suffering, inconvenience, disfigurement, disability, loss of consortium (the ability to act like a couple in marital matters) damages.
Compensation for crash-related damages can include a complete accident re-creation, crash scene photos, collision scene videos, crash reconstruction reports, and crash diagrams.
It is important to hire an accident attorney in Schaumburg who has the resources, experience, and know-how to present evidence of your situation with accuracy to maximize your chances of obtaining maximum compensation for serious injuries.
The attorney will spend the necessary time to prove your compensation case and crash-related injuries to increase your chances of obtaining full or close to full compensation for injuries.
Contact a reputable accident lawyer, Schaumburg motorcycle law firm, at (888) 424-5757 for a free consultation.
Hiring a Schaumburg Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Hiring a skilled attorney can help you resolve your Schaumburg motorcycle accident claim if you have suffered a serious injury. Obtaining legal representation is vital because many jurors and claims adjusters have stereotyped views of bikers.
A Schaumburg motorcycle collision lawyer can help you determine if you have a case, its worth, the value of damages to obtain compensation, and whether you need legal help.
The law offices of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC specialize in motor vehicle accidents. Our team of attorneys can assist you in handling your case to seek compensation for your serious injuries.
Our team's Chicago motorcycle accident lawyer will discuss your legal options, build a solid case for compensation, negotiate directly with the insurance carrier, or take the motorcycle crash case to trial.
Our personal injury law firm accepts these types of motorcycle crash cases on contingency. This lawyer-client agreement ensures that your personal injury attorney will be paid only after we negotiate your accident claim settlement or win your lawsuit in court on your behalf. This arrangement frees you from paying any upfront legal fees until we obtain a settlement or verdict for you. If we do not win, there is no fee. Contact us today!
Our law firm invites you or your loved one to call us at (888) 424-5757 to schedule a free initial consultation to discuss filing a motorcycle compensation claim.
We can provide more information on the legal process of personal injury cases, our law office location, filing a personal injury claim, and Illinois law.
Our law firm currently represents motorcycle and car accident victims in various localities, including Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, McHenry County, Lake County, Will County, Sangamon County, Peoria County, and Winnebago County.