Wrongful Death: Aurora Motorcycle Accident Leads to 37-year old Man’s Death.

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

We just told you about a serious motorcycle accident that sent a 23-year old man to Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora with serious head injuries. The motorcyclist was riding his Honda GT647 on Hill Avenue in Aurora Friday afternoon when a Chevrolet Traverse crossover pulled out in front of him from a side street, causing the accident. The driver of the crossover vehicle is still at large. Less than four days later, another motorcycle accident required the victim to be transported to that same hospital – but this time, the motorcyclist did not survive.

On Monday night, a 37-year old man was riding his Kawasaki east on Route 30 in Montgomery just before 9:45pm. A Nissan Altima heading west on Route 30 tried to make a left turn in front of the motorcyclist on Prescott Drive into a subdivision. The bike struck the passenger side of the car, and the 37-year old was driven by ambulance into Aurora to Rush Copley Medical Center. But the man died of his injuries early Tuesday morning.

Montgomery Police have not yet filed charges in connection with the collision. But from the information given, it appears that the 18-year old woman who was driving the Altima will be held liable for the wrongful death of the motorcyclist. As a result, either the 37-year old’s wife or his parents could file a wrongful death lawsuit against the car’s driver to obtain reimbursement for hospital expenses and burial costs incurred by the family. Such legal action could also allow the plaintiffs to collect lost future wages that the Montgomery man would have earned had the accident never occurred. And since the man left behind three teenage children, the defendant might be ordered to pay monetary damages for loss of care and companionship because the kids will now have to grow up without a father.

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2 Motorcyclists Hit By Car After Bike Hits Deer, Car-Motorcycle Accident

Posted on May 2, 2012 by

When one vehicle collides with another, it is usually assumed that any injuries sustained by the vehicles’ occupants were caused by the accident. And the party which is at fault in the crash is subsequently held responsible for the injuries.

But what happens when there are two collisions which occur independently of each other?

Then it becomes less clear cut as to which injuries were caused by which collision. One example of this scenario was reported in Champaign County a few weeks ago.

Around 8pm Thursday, April 19th, a motorcyclist with two occupants was traveling eastbound on U.S. 136 just east of Fisher. Shortly after the 2002 Harley-Davidson passed County Road 700E, it struck a deer. The 39-year old driver and the 36-year old passenger then moved the bike to the ditch. However, the bike was reportedly still partially in the roadway when it was struck by a 2002 Toyota Corolla which was also heading east. Both motorcyclists and the 79-year old female driver of the car were taken to area hospitals.

There are a couple of questions which need to be answered before blame can be assigned in this car-motorcycle accident.

  1. Should the car driver been able to avoid the motorcycle, or was the bike blocking traffic?
  2. Did the two motorcyclists sustain their injuries when their bike hit the deer, or were they hurt when the car struck the Harley (or was it a combination of both)?

It is quite likely that the motorcycle driver and the elderly woman will share liability in this collision. If this is the case, the person whom the courts determines is least at fault will be eligible to collect damages from a personal injury lawsuit. But if the car’s driver is held mostly responsible, she will not have to pay for injuries the motorcyclists sustained from running into the deer.

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Fire Captain Killed in Motorcycle Accident in McHenry County

Posted on April 16, 2012 by

Some people might think that all motorcycle accidents occur in high-traffic areas like big cities or crowded roadways because there is a high number of other vehicles with which to collide. But in reality, quite a few motorcycle crashes occur on rural roads when there are only a few other vehicles around.

A fatal crash in McHenry County falls into this latter category. On Thursday afternoon around 3pm, a 54-year old captain of the Huntley Fire Protection District was riding his 2007 Harley Davidson west on Route 176 about a mile west of the Craig Woods Golf Club in Crystal Lake. A 2000 Chrysler Concorde on Mt. Thaber Road stopped at the intersection with the highway, but then tried to turn left to go east on Route 176. The car crossed in front of the motorcycle, which hit the driver’s side door and ejected the fire captain from the bike. The motorcyclist was rushed to a hospital in Woodstock, but never regained consciousness and eventually succumbed to his injuries.

The 27-year old female driver of the Concorde claimed that she saw the bike at the last second when she pulled out onto the highway, but could not avoid a collision. Based on the information provided, it appears that she will be held primarily or completely responsible for the death of the 54-year old man.

As a result, the man’s wife (who is a fire department dispatcher) could file a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver of the Concorde. This type of suit could help her collect the wages that her husband would have earned had he remained alive and working with the fire protection district until retirement. The plaintiff may also be ordered to reimburse the widow for hospital and burial expenses, and perhaps pay monetary damages for pain and suffering and loss of care and companionship.

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Double-Motorcycle Accident in Chicago Kills 1, Injures 1 Thursday on Kennedy Expressway

Posted on April 13, 2012 by

It’s great to go on a motorcycle ride with another biking buddy in Illinois. But if you’re inside the city limits, you may have to settle for freeways if you’re looking for “open roads” on which to ride. And the scary thing is, if a pair of motorcyclists is riding on an expressway and one of them makes even the slightest wrong move, it could result in tragedy for both bikers.

That’s apparently what happened in Chicago Thursday night on the Kennedy Expressway. Shortly before 11:45pm, a 2010 Harley Davidson and a 2008 Kawasaki were riding side by side westbound about four miles away from O’Hare International Airport. Illinois State Police say that the Harley Davidson swerved slightly to avoid an object in the road around Canfield Avenue. The Harley struck the Kawasaki, and both bikes went to the pavement and crashed.

The driver of the Harley, a 43-year old man from the Chicago neighborhood of Harwood Heights, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Kawasaki driver, a 22-year old man from Mundelein, was rushed to Park Ridge’s Advocate Lutheran General Hospital with serious injuries.

As sad as the death of the Chicago man is, the Mundelein man may face a long road to recovery from his injuries. Generally speaking, injuries sustained in motorcyclist accidents are more severe than those suffered in auto crashes. This recovery may cost thousands of dollars (or more) depending on how severely the Kawasaki motorcyclist’s injuries are. In order to offset some of those costs, the 22-year old man could file a personal injury lawsuit against the estate of the 43-year old man. The plaintiff could potentially receive compensation for medical expenses, physical therapy, medications, and lost time at work.

This Chicago motorcycle accident reiterates the need for caution and safety when riding on the freeways in Chicagoland, especially at night.

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Group Motorcycle Ride in Perry County Turns Deadly After Hit by Pickup Truck

Posted on April 10, 2012 by

A group motorcycle ride can be an exhilarating and enjoyable activity. Not only do you experience the fun of cruising on your motorcycle, but you can also build friendships and camaraderie by riding with fellow bike lovers. But one of the dangers of group motorcycle rides is that if one rider gets involved in an accident, the rest will probably follow suit because of the small distances between bikes.

That’s what happened in Perry County. On a Sunday evening at about 5:30pm, a group of six motorcycle riders was traveling southbound on Illinois Route 51 about a half mile south of Tamaroa. A pickup truck traveling north tried to pass a minivan, but sideswiped the vehicle when trying to reenter the northbound lane. The truck then spun out of control and struck one of the lead motorcyclists in the group before skidding off the roadway and rolling over.

When the motorcycle was hit by the pickup, the other motorcyclists in the group took evasive action. Two of the motorcycles emerged unscathed, but three of them laid their bikes down. One of the passengers on bikes who went to the pavement, a 56-year old Pinckneyville woman, died as the result of her injuries. (Ironically, her husband was driving the motorcycle which was hit by the pickup, but he and his passenger only sustained minor injuries.) Two of the motorcycle drivers were transported to hospitals in surrounding areas with major injuries, while the two other people on the third bike had to be hospitalized with moderate injuries.

In addition, two passengers in the pickup truck – a 31-year old woman and a 13-year old girl – had to be airlifted to a hospital with injuries. The pickup truck driver, a 43-year old man from Clarksville, Tennessee, failed a sobriety test and was arrested on DUI charges. It appears that he will be held liable for the death of the Pinckneyville woman and the injuries to the motorcyclists as well as the passengers in his truck.

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Illiopolis Man Dies in Dawson, IL Motorcycle crash

Posted on April 9, 2012 by

One of the complaints that car and truck drivers have about motorcycles is that the two-wheeled vehicles are hard to see. Sometimes, this protest is used when a four-wheeled vehicle is involved in a motorcycle crash. Thankfully, authorities do not accept that excuse as a justifiable cause of motorcycle accidents.

That’s why a pickup truck driver has been cited with a traffic violation in connection with a collision with a motorcycle last March in Sangamon County. On Sunday, March 18, a 19-year old man was driving his pickup north on Constant Street in Dawson at around 3:30pm. As the driver approached the intersection with Old U.S. 36 (about a mile north of Interstate 72), he claims that he looked both ways but did not see a motorcyclist which was traveling westbound toward him on Old U.S. 36. When the pickup driver tried to cross the highway, the motorcycle slammed into the truck’s passenger-side fender. The 33-year old Illiopolis man driving the motorcycle succumbed to his injuries later that day.

Authorities charged the 19-year old man with disregarding a traffic control device, which implies that police don’t believe that the driver stopped at the intersection before pulling into it. Additional charges may be leveled against the man before his April 12 court date.

Not only the does the pickup driver face criminal penalties, but he also might be named as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit which could be filed by the Illiopolis man’s surviving family members. This type of legal action may force the teen to compensate the family for lost future wages which may have been earned by the motorcyclist and reimburse them for hospital charges and burial expenses that they have incurred. The plaintiffs may also be entitled to additional damages for pain and suffering as well as loss of care and companionship.

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Motorcycle Passengers and Accident Lawsuits

Posted on November 23, 2011 by

People who don’t know much about motorcycles and their operation are often cynical about the individuals who ride them. They might believe that any motorcyclists who get into an accident deserves whatever harm comes to them because of (what these cynics believe to be) the inherent hazards involved with motorcycling.

Thankfully, the civil and criminal laws of Illinois provide the same protections for motorcycle riders as they do for drivers of four-wheeled vehicles. Passenger car drivers must share the roads with motorcyclists, and the party responsible for a motor vehicle collision can be held accountable for the victim’s medical expenses and vehicle repair costs – regardless of whether the victim was in a car or on a motorcycle.

The same concept holds true for motorcycle passengers. As drivers of cars are responsible for the safety of their passengers, motorcycle operators are required to protect the well-being of their riders sitting behind them on the seat or next to them in a sidecar.

Therefore, if you are a passenger on a motorcycle who gets injured due to the recklessness or negligence of the person driving the motorcycle, you are entitled to seek relief. The fact that you willingly agreed to be a passenger on the bike is not a relinquishment of your rights to be transported safely from one place to another.

Furthermore, the motorcycle operator is also responsible for maintaining the roadworthiness of his or her bike. Illinois law mandates that every motorcycle should have a seat and footrest if the driver will be transporting any passengers. Each motorcycle should also be equipped with a side mirror, handlebars that sit below the level of the driver’s shoulders, and a working headlight (which should be illuminated even during the daytime). If a motorcycle is not completely compliant with these measures, the driver could be held partially liable for an accident which injures his or her passenger.

If you are injured in a motorcycle accident in which you were a passenger, and the motorcycle driver’s insurance does not adequately reimburse you for your injuries, then you should strongly consider taking legal action. A qualified motorcycle accident attorney can assist you in obtaining compensation for medical expenses, hospitalization costs, prescription medications, and physical therapy sessions. If the accident caused you to miss work, a lawsuit can help you get compensated for the wages you would have earned during that time.

Regardless of what motorcycling detractors may think, you do have rights as a passenger on a bike. Any motorcycle operator who infringes on your safety should be held accountable for his or her actions.

 

Barry G. Doyle is a personal injury lawyer in Chicago and the founder of the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, an Illinois motorcycle accident law firm dedicated to representing families of people injured in a motorcycle accident.  If you or a loved one has been killed or injured in a motorcycle accident in Illinois, please order your free copy of When You Are Injured: The Insider’s Guide to Illinois Accident Law.  It’s full of helpful information that will help you protect your legal rights and is free to all Illinois residents.

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