The number of bicyclists on our streets and roads have increased significantly over the last several years as more people have begun to rely on this means of transportation than to commute to work, to shop, and go to school. Cities and towns have responded to the increased number of bicycles on the road by increasing bicycle accommodations, such as bike paths along streets.
However, this increase in bicyclists also means there is more competition between bicycles and motor vehicles for control of the road. When an auto accident occurs involving a bike and car, the bicyclists are much more subject to severe injury with a motor vehicle than the other way around. Bike riders have been injured in Illinois car/ bike accidents and Illinois trucking/bike accidents much more frequently now than in the recent past.
One such example of this increase in bicycle personal injury cases is a September 2008 bicycle-auto accident that occurred when a 56 year-old woman was riding eastbound on her bicycle in the crosswalk with the walk signal. The defendant driver was driving southbound on Western Avenue turning onto westbound East Westleigh Road in Lake Forest, Illinois when he struck the bicyclist.
The woman bicyclist here suffered a fractured wrist, fractured ankle and developed complex regional pain syndrome in her left leg that required lumbar epidural injections. Her medical bills, past and in the future were over $450,000.
The woman who was a real estate agent was unable to work for more than a year as a result of her injuries. The case settled before trial in Lake County, Illinois.
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling Illinois bike accident lawsuits for over 30 years, serving those areas in and around Cook County, such as Arlington Heights, Barrington, Lisle, and Chicago.
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