Keating Law Offices Reaches Settlement in Arlington Heights Bicycle Collision

Keating Law Offices has secured a settlement for an Arlington Heights man who was struck on his bicycle by a teen-aged driver on April 23, 2011. The attorneys at Keating Law Offices were able to comprehensively investigate the bicyclist's claim and present overwhelming evidence and legal analysis to the insurance company prior to filing a lawsuit. Faced with such a challenge, the insurance company for the teenage driver offered a large enough settlement that the injured bicyclist was able to choose to avoid the legal system.

At the time of the collision, the injured bicyclist was riding his bicycle near the intersection of Dunton Avenue and Oakton Street in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The evidence in the case showed that the driver failed to meet her legal duties under the Illinois Rules of the Road to yield to the bicyclist as he traveled on his bicycle, to keep a proper lookout, and to exercise due care to prevent striking the bicyclist.

As a result of the collision, the bicyclist sustained bruising to his stomach, neck and back. Most significantly, the bicyclist was diagnosed with a concussion. For years insurance companies have argued that concussions were not serious, but advances in science and medicine in recent years have shown that there is no such thing as a "minor" traumatic brain injury. Keating Law Offices takes a hard stance in cases involving collisions and refuse to accept insurance companies' arguments that concussions are not serious.

If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All e-mails and phone calls are returned promptly. All initial consultations are confidential and free.

Chariot Carriers Recalls Child Trailers

Chariot Carriers, a company that distributes bicycle trailers for transporting children, has issued a recall on two of their products. The recall was announced because the company learned that the hitch, the piece that connects the trailer itself to the bicycle, can crack and break. In this event the trailer could detach from the bike.

Under Illinois law, a manufacturer can be held liable for a defective product if the consumer was using the product in a foreseeable manner and the product fails. This simply means that if a consumer was using this product in its intended matter, i.e. attached the trailer to a bike correctly and the hitch broke and there was an injury, Chariot Carriers could be liable under the law for the injury.

The first recall is on 44,000 bicycle trailers that were sold at nationwide specialty bike shops and online between December 2005 and August 2010. The second recall is on 70,000 bicycle trailer conversion kits. These conversions kits were also sold at nationwide specialty bike shops and online between December 2005 and August 2010.

Keating Law Offices has significant experience and success with product liability cases. If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All e-mails and phone calls are returned promptly. All initial consultations are confidential and free.

This blog post was written with the assistance of Jason Lee, a Law Clerk at Keating Law Offices and 3rd Year Law Student at DePaul University College of Law.

Attorney Mike Keating Again Named a "Rising Star" by "SuperLawyers Magazine"

Press Release:

Attorney Michael S. Keating of Keating Law Offices, P.C. in Chicago, Illinois has again been named to SuperLawyers Magazine's annual list of "Rising Stars." Only 2.5% of the Lawyers in the State of Illinois are named to this list which will be published in the annual edition of Illinois SuperLawyers Magazine and in an upcoming edition of Chicago Magazine. Mr. Keating was previously named a "Rising Star" in 2011 and last month was named to the "40 Under 40" list of top young trial attorneys in Illinois by the National Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. Keating was nominated by fellow attorneys and that nomination was reviewed by an attorney-led research team that reviews the credentials of potential candidates and assigns points based on a set of defined evaluation criteria. The point totals from the general survey and research process are then added to arrive at a final tally.

Mr. Keating practices with the Chicago-based firm of Keating Law Offices, P.C. which he founded in 2008. The firm concentrates its practice on personal injury and wrongful death cases stemming from transportation negligence, nursing home negligence and abuse, medical malpractice, premises liability and product liability. Keating Law Offices, P.C. may be found on the internet at www.KeatingLegal.com. The firm is located at 79 West Monroe, Suite 1024 in Chicago, Illinois. Phone: 312-239-6787.

Performance Bikes Recalls 2011 Fort Pro Carbon Pedals

Performance Bikes of Chapel Hill, North Carolina has recalled nearly 3,000 sets of its 2011 Fort Pro Carbon Pedals. The pedal body, made of a lightweight carbon injected thermoplastic, can break or crack. This could result in the rider losing control and crashing. In Illinois the manufacturer of a product can be held liable when their product fails and the person was using the product in a reasonably foreseeable manner. Obviously, if would be reasonably foreseeable for a rider to expect a bike pedal to not break so any injury that occurred could be the basis for a claim against the manufacturer.

The attorneys at Keating Law Offices have handled numerous product liability cases. Earlier this year the firm settled a significant product liability case for a rider who suffered a severe injury when the fork on her mountain bike failed while landing a jump. The specifics of the case and the terms of that settlement are confidential pursuant to the settlement agreement.

If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All e-mails and phone calls are returned promptly. All initial consultations are confidential and free.