Chicago Bicyclist Struck, Injured In Bucktown By Uninsured Driver

A 30 year old male bicyclist was struck by a car while riding in the shared bicycle lane of North Milwaukee Avenue in Bucktown on April 7th.  The crash caused fractures to the cyclist's right clavicle and left hand.  He remains in treatment with future surgery a possibility.  The driver that struck him failed to provide proof of insurance in violation of Illinois law.

The collision occurred near 1653 North Milwaukee Avenue at around 2:30 p.m.  The cyclist was riding home from a supermarket on a vintage steel Raleigh bicycle with a pannier full of groceries secured to a rear rack.  He was riding northbound along the right side of the road, a safe distance from cars parked along the right curb.  As he did, without warning a dark blue Volkswagon Jetta, also northbound on Milwaukee, suddenly veered sharply right, crashing into the left side of the man on his bicycle.  The driver may have been attempting to snatch a parking slot.

The heavy impact threw the cyclist off his bike and to the street where he landed heavily on his right shoulder, the impact fracturing his clavicle and hand.  His head bounced twice off of the pavement, cracking his helmet.  Emergency response personnel from the City of Chicago arrived shortly afterwards, placed him in a neck brace and on a backboard.  He was transported to the nearby Resurrection St. Mary and St. Elizabeth Medical Center.

Though no longer in the hospital, the cyclist remains in treatment.  An IT professional, he has not yet been able to return to work.

My law firm has been retained to represent the bicyclist.  Because the driver was apparently uninsured, we will pursue an uninsured motorist claim with the bicyclist's own auto insurance provider.  Nationwide, roughly one in seven drivers lack auto insurance.  In Chicago, the numbers of uninsured drivers are much higher.

Bicyclist Injured In Bucktown By Motorist Who May Have Grown Impatient With Congestion

A 44 year old Chicago bicyclist was struck by an SUV and injured while on his way home from work on February 2nd in the Bucktown neighborhood.  The cyclist was riding southbound in the dedicated bike lane on North Damen Avenue at around 6:20 p.m. when he was hit.  The driver was stopped in traffic along southbound Damen when, perhaps growing impatient with the congestion, he suddenly peeled-off to the right in an attempt to turn onto West Willow Street hitting the cyclist.  The motorist did not signal his impending maneuver and claims that he did not see the bicyclist who was riding with an operating light on the front of his bike and lights attached to his wheel valve stems.  Also in the SUV was the driver's wife and child.  They told the cyclist they were on their way to the United Center for an ice skating show.

Despite the cyclist's split second effort to avoid the collision, the SUV banged into his left knee, the impact throwing him to the ground.  Immediately following the crash, the bicyclist attempted to stand but was unable to put any weight on the injured knee.  He was transported via ambulance from the scene to Resurrection St. Mary's Medical Center.  He is still undergoing treatment.  My personal injury law firm is representing the bicyclist.