Keating Law Offices Settles Case for Victim of Bike Crash in Jefferson Park

The Illinois Bicycle Lawyers at Keating Law Offices have successfully settled a claim on behalf of an injured cyclist for the full value of the $250,000.00 insurance policy. Our client was severely injured by a hit-and-run driver on August 7, 2012 while riding his bike in Chicago's Jefferson Park neighborhood. As we previously reported, the victim was struck by the still unidentified driver of an SUV near the intersection of Giddins Street and Milwaukee Avenue.

As a result of this impact the bicyclist suffered severe facial injuries that required extensive reconstructive surgery. The driver of the SUV immediately fled the scene and has never been located despite two extensive investigations by the Chicago Police Department and ongoing assistance from our firm.

Many injured bicyclists do not realize that if they are hurt as the result the negligent actions
of another driver -- and that driver is uninsured, underinsured, or never identified (which is often the case in a hit-and-run collision) -- they may be able to obtain financial compensation for their injuries from their own insurance provider. This type of insurance coverage is referred to as uninsured motorist coverage or underinsured motorist coverage. Even though all drivers in Illinois must legally have car insurance, there are many people who are willing to break that law and forgo this requirement. Time and again, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage has proven to be a vital protection for injured bicyclists -- the true victims who lose when drivers risk being on the road with no or insufficient insurance.

In this case, we were able to obtain all available compensation from the insurance company, via our client's uninsured motorist coverage, for our client's medical bills and resulting long-term effects of his injuries. Our firm's attorneys were able to successfully present our client's claim to his insurance company and make sure that he received the full benefits that he was entitled to under his policy. It is important to remember that even though a claim may by with your own insurance company, you will rarely be treated favorably. To many insurance companies a "claim is a claim" and having experienced representation is key.

The attorneys at Keating Law Offices have extensive experience negotiating with insurance companies and do not settle for less than our clients deserve. We are familiar with the frustrating tactics used by insurance companies that result in the denial of claims, low settlement offers, and long delays in receiving just compensation. If you have been injured while bicycling and need help negotiating with an insurance company, please contact our firm today.

If you have any questions about this post, or any other area of personal injury law in Illinois, please contact Illinois Bicycle Lawyer Mike Keating by calling 312-208-7702 or emailing him at mkeating@keatinglegal.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All emails and phone calls are returned promptly. All initial consultations are confidential and free.

Fox 32 News Story on Dustin Valenta

Fox 32 News broadcast a feature story on the case of Dustin Valenta. The story contains the surveillance footage that was recovered from a nearby bank. The vehicle that ran over Dustin as he laid on Milwaukee Avenue after being doored by a motorist exiting her vehicle appears to be a domestic GREY PICK-UP TRUCK WITH A CAB IN THE BACK.

If you have any information regarding this case, please contact 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.

Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Fundraiser for Injured Bicyclist Dustin Valenta on Mon. 2/25

On Monday, February 25th the Wicker Park bar Bangers & Lace (1670 W. Division St., Chicago, IL) will be holding A Benefit for Dustin Valenta. ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO DIRECTLY TO DUSTIN AND HIS FAMILY. The Benefit begins at 2 p.m. and goes until closing time at 1 a.m. A raffle, organized by Dustin's co-workers at Cut Cats Courier, will be held at 9 p.m. Raffle prizes include items from Ska Brewing, Spiteful Brewing, Solemn Oath Brewing, Olmeca Altos Tequila, Trash Messenger Bags, Freight Baggage, and more. Updated information on the Benefit is available at the event's Facebook page. 

Dustin is a bicycle courier who was critically injured when he was doored by one driver and then possibly struck by a second driver on Friday, February 8th near 1443 N. Milwaukee Avenue. He suffered severe injuries including a punctured lung and fractures of his skull, pelvis, and 23 out of his 24 ribs. He is still in the ICU at Northwestern University Hospital and faces a long recovery and rehabilitation process. Dustin's family came to Illinois immediately after he was injured, and have remained with him since then. 

If you are unable to attend the fundraiser on Monday there are other ways you can help Dustin and his family. On Saturday, February 23 a bake sale will be held at The Bike Lane bike shop (2130 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL). All proceeds from the bake sale go to Dustin and The Bike Shop will give a 15% discount to anyone who makes a donation. 

You can also support Dustin and his family by donating online to Dustin Valenta's Hit & Run Medical Fund.  We are still seeking information about the incident in which Dustin was injured. If you have any information please contact Dustin's attorney, Mike Keating, by emailing mkeating@keatinglegal.com or calling him at 312-208-7702. All phone calls and emails are returned promptly.  

Everyone here wishes Dustin a complete and speedy recovery. We also extend a sincere thank you to everyone in the Chicago bike community and Wicker Park community for their assistance in investigating this matter. 

Champaign, IL Seeks "Bike Friendly" Designation

The city of Champaign is looking to join its sister city, Urbana, as one of the few cities in Illinois designated as a "bicycle friendly community" by the League of American Bicyclists. According to the Daily Illini, the city will be submitting their application to the League for the February deadline, which is listed for the 26th.

The Bicycle Friendly Community Program was established for the purposes of instituting standardized measurements in comparing the efficacy of an individual city's bike advocacy. The five categories upon which the League tests an applicant city's bike friendliness is colloquially termed the "Five E's:" Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation.

In order to qualify for the application, the city has undergone a series of changes with regards to both its infrastructure and its motorist-cyclist culture. Just in the past few years, Champaign has installed roughly 9 miles of painted bike lanes. In addition to the city's efforts, businesses in the city have proactively pursued receiving bike friendly business designations with three of Illinois's ten bike friendly businesses being in Champaign (the most of any city in Illinois). The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is Illinois's only bike friendly university.

The Illinois Bicycle Lawyers at Keating Law Offices applaud both the cities of Champaign and Urbana for actively seeking to increase their bike advocacy efforts and for seeking to make cycling safer and more accessible for newcomers and veterans alike. Even though our firm is based in Chicago, we are licensed and available to handle cases throughout Illinois. Just a month ago, Keating Law Offices successfully settled a case on behalf of a Champaign cyclist who had been injured in a Champaign bicycle accident.

If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Lawyer Mike Keating by calling him at 312-208-7022 or emailing him at MKeating@KeatingLegal.com.

Cook Co. Forest Preserve Dist. Announces Extension of North Branch Trail

Good news for cyclists in the northern suburbs of Chicago as the Forest Preserve District of Cook County has announced an extension of the North Branch Trail; the trail runs from Devon and Caldwell northwards to the Botanic Gardens in Glencoe. The extension is going to be installed both north and south of the current trail boundaries.

These extensions have great potential to not only increase the riding distances for existing cyclists but to also attract newcomers to take up cycling as an alternative to motor vehicular transportation. The Forest Preserve District is planning on installing 3 miles of trail south of the Devon and Caldwell boundary, allowing cyclists to connect to painted bike lanes on Chicago streets. They are also extending the trail northwards so that there is a direct connection to the Greenway Trail, providing accessibility to Metra and PACE lines.

Work is scheduled to commence this summer with plans to finish the trail extensions by 2014. Already the longest linear trail in Cook County, the proposed extensions will solidify that distinction all while providing cyclists an opportunity to access areas previously left unexplored.

Driver in Deadly Skokie Crash that Killed 9-Year Old Pleads Guilty

The Illinois Bicycle Lawyers of Keating Law Offices have been following the ongoing case from a terrible cyclist-motorist collision that occurred in Skokie this past 2012 summer. A 9-year old boy tragically lost his life after a 23-year old woman, Hanin Goma, of Skokie struck him while he was bicycling this past May. Ms. Goma has been charged with felony aggravated DUI resulting in death and misdemeanor driving under the influence of drugs, charges that she had plead not guilty to in previous court showings. This was in spite of that fact that the prosecution made great efforts to get a guilty plea to spare the family the pain or protracted court appearances. The judge in case previously refused to lower the motorist's bond.

The Tribune is reporting that Hanin Goma has finally plead guilty to all charges. By doing so, Goma ultimately plead guilty to the charges that she was on drugs at the time of the collision. With this admission, she could potentially face up to 14 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced in March. The local authorities and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office deserve great credit for their consistent and stringent prosecution of this heinous crime. Our thoughts and prayers have been, and will be, with the boy's family.

"All Politics Is Local" - The Battle Over Protected Bike Lanes

The famous Bostonian Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill, once famously wrote, "All politics is local." The idea of this political principle is that for a politician to succeed, they must be able to meet their constituents' basic needs. To fail at meeting one's constituents' needs is to fail poltically. This is why the issue of protected bike lanes will be at the heart of a battle between the "locals" (Mayor Rahm and City Hall) and the "outsiders" (the Springfield-based Illinois Dept. of Transportation).

Mayor Emanuel's Bike 2015 Plan for the city of Chicago and his ambitious goal of installing 100 miles of protected bike lanes. However, the Tribune has recently reported that IDOT, has decided to exercise its authority over state-designated routes that fall within its jurisdiction. A direct result of IDOT's intervention in the city's bike route planning is that any protected bike lane proposed for installation on a state-designated route will be stalled while IDOT compiles and analyzes data. Their stated justification is that the current statistical information available is insufficient to satisfy the state's safety requirements.

With the IDOT superseding the Chicago Department of Transportation over these state-designated areas, plans for installing protected bike lanes--lanes that have actual physical barriers separating cyclists from motorists--may be compromised with outcomes that could fall short of expectations.

For example, the strip of road on Jackson Street between Western Avenue and Ogden Avenue has a protected bike lane, complete with physical barriers, installed for cyclist use. However, the route between Ogden and Lake Shore Drive has only a buffered lane painted since that area falls under the State of Illinois's jurisdiction.

The Illinois Bicycle Lawyers at Keating Law Offices have been firm supporters of the Mayor's ambitious plan to improve the city's infrastructure for not only its cyclists but for its motorists and pedestrians alike. While news, like that mentioned in today's Tribune, may signal that progress may be stalled for the short-term future, we remain hopeful that the momentum for better cycling conditions will ultimately roll forward unhindered for Chicago. Tip O'Neill was right, all politics is local. And if the City of Chicago wants to move forward with the protected bike lanes, then Springfield shouldn't stand in the way.

Request for Information Related to Hit-and-Run Bicycle Crash

Keating Law Offices has been retained to represent a Chicago cyclist who was very seriously injured as a result of two separate collisions involving two separate motor vehicles. The driver of the first motor vehicle doored the victim and caused the cyclist to fall to the street. The driver of the second motor vehicle then struck the cyclist in the street and fled from the scene. The victim and his family are requesting assistance from the Chicago bicycle community regarding this incident.

The 27 year-old bicycle courier was critically injured near 1443 N. Milwaukee Avenue in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois on Friday, February 8th, 2013, at approximately 11:40 a.m. The photograph to the left depicts the scene of the incident. Preliminary investigations indicate that the motor vehicle involved in the dooring was parked in roughly the same location as the red car in the photograph.

The bicyclist suffered severe and life-threatening injuries included a fractured skull, punctured lung and broke 23 out of his 24 ribs. The victim, who has shown remarkable resiliency and strength in the face of these injuries, is now recovering in a local hospital but faces a lengthy recovery process.

The Illinois Bicycle Lawyers have been retained to help the victim bicyclist seek justice against the drivers who nearly took this life. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THIS INCIDENT, INCLUDING INFORMATION ABOUT THE DRIVER OR VEHICLE INVOLVED IN THE HIT-AND-RUN IMPACT, PLEASE CONTACT THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT OR ATTORNEY MIKE KEATING. Any piece of information, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant can help! 

The driver who "doored" the bicyclist has already been identified. The Chicago Police Department is still searching for the driver of the second vehicle who was involved in the "hit-and-run" of the victim. The attorneys at Keating Law Offices have already contacted a nearby bank to secure their video footage and are in the process of securing a protective order from the Circuit Court of Cook County regarding the footage. Nonetheless, any information could assist in pursuing justice.

The location of the hit-and-run, 1443 N. Milwaukee Avenue, is near the intersections of Milwaukee Avenue with Wood Street, Wolcott Avenue, Evergreen Avenue and Honore Street. If you work in any of the stores/shops near 1443 North Milwaukee, and saw anything relating to this February 8th incident, we would appreciate a few minutes of your time. 

Attorney Mike Keating can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling 312-208-7702 or emailing mkeating@keatinglegal.com. All phone calls and emails are returned promptly.

We sincerely thank you for your assistance.