Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Chicago Bicyclist Severely Injured in Dooring

The Illinois Bicycle Lawyers at Keating Law Offices filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County on March 19, 2015 on behalf of a bicyclist who sustained severe injuries as a result of being doored in West Town. The dooring occurred in September of 2013.

The bicyclist was riding her bicycle northbound on North Wood Street when she came upon a Dodge Intrepid parked on North Wood. As the bicyclist approached, the motorist suddenly opened the driver’s door of his vehicle directly into the path of the bicyclist. With no time to react, the bicyclist violently crashed into the open vehicle door and her right arm sustained significant trauma as she crashed into the door. As a result of the impact, the bicyclist was thrown from her bike to the pavement on her right side and ultimately ended up in the middle of North Wood Street.

The lawsuit alleges that the motorist, and by extension, his insurance company, are liable for compensating the bicyclist for her injuries because of the motorist breaking the Rules of the Road. Section 11-1407 of the Illinois Vehicle Code and Section 9-80-035 of Municipal Code of Chicago provide that:

“No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so, and can be done without interfering with the movement of other traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.”

In addition, the motorist was uncooperative with the reporting police officer when asked to go to the police station and initially refused to cooperate with the police investigation.

Due to her severe injuries, the bicyclist was taken to the emergency room at Rush University Medical Center immediately after the collision. She was diagnosed with an injury to her spinal cord which has required ongoing treatment with a neurosurgeon and also suffered a permanent injury to her upper arm that resulted in a "crease" in the muscle mass of her arm. She continues to receive treatment for her injuries.

Illinois Bicycle Lawyer Mike Keating stated as follows regarding the filing of this lawsuit:

"Few people willingly want to participate in a lawsuit. However, sometimes in instances like this where there is an uncooperative defendant and that defendant's insurance company refuses to negotiate in good faith, we are left with no choice but to file a lawsuit to protect our client's rights. We are always willing to do whatever it takes to make sure our clients have the absolute best chance of receiving justice after being the victim of a bike crash." 

Lawsuit Filed for Schaumburg Bicyclist Injured When Avoiding an Oncoming Car

The Illinois Bicycle Lawyers at Keating Law Offices recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of an injured Schaumburg bicyclist against the driver of the car that allegedly forced the bicyclist off the road. The incident between the bicyclist and driver occurred on the morning June 15, 2012 near the intersection of Grove Avenue and Mercury Drive in Schaumburg, Illinois. The victim bicyclist was heading southbound on Grove past Mercury when the driver of the northbound car is alleged to have suddenly turned left, cutting off the bicyclist and causing him to lose control of his bike. The bicyclist was thrown from his bike and hit the road. 911 was called and paramedics from the Schaumburg Fire Department immediately responded to the scene and transported the victim to the hospital where he was treated for injuries.

Shortly after being released from the hospital, the victim went to the Schaumburg Police Department to file a traffic crash report. After a thorough investigation the driver of the vehicle was ultimately issued a citation for "failing to yield to a pedestrian/bicyclist" in violation of Illinois law. All Illinois drivers have a duty to "exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian, or any person operating a bicycle..." (625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-1003.1). A car driver may be liable for injuries to a bicyclist even if he does not strike a bicyclist directly. If a driver creates a risk of a collision with a bicyclist and the bicyclist is injured while reacting to an impending crash, or while trying to avoid a direct collision with the car, the driver may be responsible for any physical injuries to the bicyclist or damages to his bicycling equipment. This is the exact scenario alleged to have occurred in this case: the bicyclist's injuries were a direct result of the bicyclist reacting to being cut off by a turning carBicycle accidents and collisions are sudden and frightening.

Many bicyclists don't think about what they would do if they were the victim of a crash until it is too late. Our firm has created an "UPDATED 5 Key Steps to Follow After a Bicycle Accident" to help guide bicyclists through what to do after a crash. Bicyclists have the right to obtain compensation for injuries caused by a careless or reckless driver. An important first step in this process is to contact the police and complete a police report either at the scene of the accident or later at the police station. A police report is a key piece of information that can be used in any claim against a driver. 

If you have any questions regarding this post, or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney 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. Keating Law Offices offers free, no obligation consultations to injured cyclists.