Our law firm has obtained a substantial settlement for a bicyclist doored along North Milwaukee Avenue on August 10, 2010. The incident occurred at around 10:00 a.m. while our client was commuting to work in Milwaukee Avenue's southbound dedicated bike lane. When he reached the 1300 block of Milwaukee, near the intersection with North Paulina Street, a motorist, whose Ford Windstar was stopped along the right hand curb, suddenly opened his door without looking for traffic in the bike lane. The bicyclist tried to avoid a collision but his right hand struck the door causing him to crash and sustain a knuckle fracture along with numerous bumps and bruises.
Successful resolution of this matter required educating the motorist's out-of-state insurer, Geico, regarding both Illinois law and Chicago ordinance in place to protect bicyclists from dooring incidents. Illinois statute 735 ILCS 5/11-1407 and Chicago Municipal Code 9-80-035 prohibit persons from opening vehicle doors unless it is reasonably safe to do so.
Huzzah!
ReplyDeleteThanks, counselor for the casework and post. I hope this encourages people to follow up with legal remedies.
Driver education and motivation will be crucial in getting people to check their blind spots. You're helping every time you take a case like this.
Doug vanderHoof
Biker, producer, litigation media, including for some horrific bike accidents.
The bicyclist tried to avoid a collision but his right hand struck the door causing him to crash and sustain a knuckle fracture along with numerous bumps and bruises. somanabolic muscle maximizer
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