Lawyer for Pedestrians and Bicyclists Struck by Vehicles in Joliet and the Surrounding Areas
Traveling by motor vehicle is an essential and often cherished part of modern American life. However, many people use alternative methods to get from place to place, including walking and riding bicycles. Unfortunately, pedestrians and bicyclists are at increased risk of serious injury when sharing the roads with cars and trucks. Whether a person is using sidewalks or bike lanes, crossing the street, or walking or riding in parking lots or other public areas, they can suffer severe harm or wrongful death if they are hit by a motor vehicle. In these cases, injured people will need to work with an experienced Joliet pedestrian accident lawyer to receive the maximum compensation provided for by law.
Michael J. Lichner provides vigorous and diligent representation to all of his clients. With over 10 years of legal experience, he has represented clients in a wide variety of cases, and he has helped his clients receive millions of dollars in compensation through personal injury settlements and jury verdicts. Our firm has the resources to handle cases involving large insurance companies and other defendants, and we fight to make sure our clients will have the financial resources they need to recover from their injuries and return to their normal lives.
Driver Negligence Leading to Pedestrian and Bicyclist Injuries
Many times, when a pedestrian or bicyclist is hit by a car or truck, the driver of the vehicle is primarily or entirely at fault. There are a variety of forms of driver negligence that commonly cause collisions with pedestrians and cyclists, including:
- Distracted driving: Drivers who are distracted are very likely to fail to see people who are crossing the street, walking adjacent to the roadway, or riding a bike on the roadway. For example, if a driver takes their eyes off the road to read or send a text message on their phone, they may not notice a child who has chased after a ball that wandered into the street, and often cannot stop in time to avoid striking the child and inflicting serious injuries.
- Drunk driving: Intoxication by alcohol or drugs tends to greatly impair a driver’s ability to safely operate his or her vehicle. A driver’s vision, perception and reaction times, coordination, and judgment are negatively affected, which drastically increases the probability that the impaired driver will not notice pedestrians or bicyclists and react in time to avoid a dangerous collision.
- Traffic violations: Traffic laws are in place for many reasons, but most importantly, the laws are there to protect people and their property. Motorists who violate these laws put people in danger. Drivers who exceed the speed limit may be unable to slow down in time to avoid striking a bicyclist or pedestrian. Those who do not stop at red lights or coast through stop signs tend to strike people who are crossing the roadway. Aggressive or reckless driving, such as driving too closely behind a bicycle or refusing to give bicyclists the right-of-way (yes, bicyclists on the roadway are entitled to many of the same traffic laws and protections as all other motorists), can cause a driver to strike a cyclist or pedestrian.
- Dooring: When a vehicle parks next to a bike lane or an area where bicyclists are using the road, drivers and passengers are legally required to check that the road is clear before opening their doors. When a person opens their door into the path of a bicycle, this can cause a cyclist serious injuries. In some cases, a cyclist may be thrown into traffic and struck by another vehicle, resulting in severe injuries or wrongful death.
Since pedestrians and bicyclists have little in the way of protection, they are more likely to be seriously injured when they are struck by a motor vehicle. Cyclists often suffer serious fractures, severe lacerations, scarring, disfigurement, concussions, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries that can result in partial or total paralysis and/or death. An injured person has the right to pursue just compensation for the medical treatment needed to address these injuries, to replace their lost income while recovering from a short-term or permanent disability, and pain and suffering, to name a few categories of recoverable damages.
Contact Joliet Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
Michael J. Lichner is a Will County and DuPage County personal injury lawyer, and he understands that “pedestrian accidents” and “bicycle accidents” are rarely accidental. If you or a member of your family have been injured after being hit by a car or truck, he will work to ensure that you are fully compensated for your injuries. For a free consultation, contact our office at 815-258-7877. We handle pedestrian and bicyclist injury cases throughout Will County and the surrounding areas, including but not limited to Romeoville, Naperville, Mokena, Bolingbrook, Joliet, Homer Glen, New Lenox, Plainfield, Frankfort, Lockport, and Shorewood. We also provide legal help to injury victims in Cook County, DuPage County, and all other surrounding counties in Northern Illinois.