Bicycle Accidents

Many bicyclists are severely injured due to the negligence of other drivers on the road who fail to pay attention or drive recklessly. Although there is very little reliable data on the exact percentages of who is more often at fault, most data points to motor vehicles being at fault at least 50% of the time.

In some cases, there may be more than one person contributing to the accident, making determining who is financially responsible even more blurred. Obviously, when cars or other types of vehicles hit bicyclists, there is little room for forgiveness and most bicyclists hit by motor vehicles sustain serious or even fatal injuries.

Bicycle-motor vehicle accidents can be especially dangerous for the cyclist due to the obvious difference in size and protection. There are many serious injuries that can occur such as fractures, contusions, head injuries and even death. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over 600 cyclists die each year and over 52,000 are injured in bicycle-motor vehicle crashes. Most alarming is the significant percentage of children involved in bicycle accidents, many of whom will require ongoing medical care.

Even as Chicago attempts to make the city more “bike friendly”, cyclists navigating city and suburbs face dangers while riding on marked bike lanes and bike paths. Many of these amenities were added to the existing city infrastructure and are simply poorly designed or implemented. Consequently, Urban & Burt counts bicyclists injured on bike lanes and paths as its clients.

The popularity in using bicycles to commute to and get around in congested business areas has led to an increase in the number of “door injuries.” As the name suggests, a door injury occurs when the occupant of a car fails to look before opening the door to make sure there are no cyclists in the vicinity.

Not only is it common sense to look before opening car doors after stopping a vehicle, some municipalities, such as the City of Chicago, have made such door opening precautions the law, by adopting them within the Chicago Municipal Code with the intent of allocating fault on dooring accidents.

Take action today to ensure your legal rights are not compromised following a bicycle accident.

Illinois law affords an injured bicyclist to recover compensation for the following elements of damages:

• Medical Expenses: including past and future care
• Pain and Suffering: from the time of the incident through the time the injury is resolved
• Lost Wages: When a cyclist cannot work or return to his or her employment at the time of the accident, he may recover lost wages
• Property Damages: a cyclist may recover compensation for damage to his bicycle and gear damaged in an incident caused by a negligent driver

Even a victim of a hit-and-run bike accident can be compensated for their injuries. Even though bicyclists may have sustained injuries when they were not in a car, they may be entitled to recover from their own automobile insurance or that of a member of their household. Under Illinois law, all insurance carriers must provide an uninsured motorist policy that covers owners of a vehicle or members of their household who are injured by an uninsured or unknown driver whether they are in the car on foot or on a bike. Our lawyers can help decide the best solution and course of action to take in your case.

Whatever the circumstance of your bike accident, we encourage you to contact the team at Urban & Burt, Ltd. As with all of our personal injury cases, bicycle accident cases are handled exclusively on a contingency fee basis when we only earn a fee when there is a recovery for you. In other words, if we are unable to secure a recovery for you, our services are completely free. Call us anytime to set an appointment for a free consultation.