Dockless Bike Share Comes to Chicago

Divvy is in for some competition in the bike share market. A number of companies are trying to bring "dockless" bike share to Chicago. The idea behind dockless bike share is that bicyclists can rent a bike on a short term basis but without having to return the bike to a bike share location. While this sounds simple and convenient, it raises the issue of where and how the dockless bikes will be parked. The City of Chicago is requiring these dockless bikes to be affixed with hardware that will require to dockless bikes to have a "lock to" mechanism so that these bikes will not just end up in the middle of the sidwalk.

While dockless bikes have found some success in other cities, the success of dockless bike share will take some time to evaluate in a metropolitan city and vast and densely populated as Chicago. Dockless bikes also raise the issue of how they will be maintained and who will be accountable for the bicycles if they are left in an area where the bicycle is a danger to pedestrians, bicyclists or motorists. The operators of bike share systems have a legal duty to not create any potentially harmful situations and to warn of any risks. Legal issues will arise in the event that someone is injured because a dockless bike was left somewhere and an accident happens. 

Attorney Mike Keating of Keating Law Offices recently had an article published in "Trial Magazine" entitled "Bike Share Roadblocks" about the potential risks that bike share systems can present to attorneys representing bicyclists injured while use a bike share bicycle. Now with the presence of dockless bikes, bike share usage in Chicago continues to evolve. 

Keating Law Offices Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit on Behalf of Fallen Chicago Bicyclist Louis Ray Smith

North Homan Avenue Towards Scene of Crash

Keating Law Offices has filed a Wrongful Death lawsuit on behalf of the family of deceased Chicago bicyclist, Louis Ray Smith. The lawsuit is against the driver of the motor vehicle involved in the fatal crash on the evening of June 5, 2017 near Chicago's East Garfield Park neighborhood.

Prior to the crash, Mr. Smith, a bicyclist was riding northbound on Homan Avenue near its intersection with West Lake Street. At the same time, the driver drove her motor vehicle southbound on Homan Avenue through its intersection with West Lake Street. The collision occurred on Homan Avenue.  Mr. Smith was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital following the collision, but unfortunately, he was pronounced dead within the hour.

On June 5, 2017 the City of Chicago Police Department issued the driver a citation and the traffic court proceedings are currently on-going. The crash also remains under investigation by the City of Chicago Police Department Major Accidents Investigation Unit. Investigations by MAIU can take days or even months before their findings are released. The Chicago Police Department has obtained video from a nearby business that depicts the fatal collision. 

According to the lawsuit filed on April 24, 2018 in the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, the driver allegedly failed to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a person operating a bicycle, an action that is in direct violation of 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code and Section 9-40-160 of the Chicago Municipal Code. The lawsuit also alleged that the driver disregarded a traffic control signal, drove too fast for the dark conditions and failed to yield the right-of-way and these failures caused Mr. Smith to suffer injuries that resulted in his death.

All Illinois drivers have a duty to keep a proper lookout for bicyclists or other vehicles upon said streets. If a driver were to fail to keep a proper lookout for a bicyclist and then struck said bicyclist, that driver would be liable for the injuries the bicyclist suffered. All Illinois drivers also have a duty to make sure that their vehicles move into a lane of traffic safely and that they exercise due care to avoid colliding with any person operating a bicycle. 

The Estate of Louis Ray Smith is represented by attorneys Michael Keating and Catelyn Viggiano of Keating Law Offices.