Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog

A tragic Chicago area car-motorcycle accident resulted in the death of a motorcyclist on Sunday around 5:30 p.m. The accident occurred at the corner of U.S. route 12 and Old McHenry Road in Lake Zurich, IL. According to the Lake County coroner, 56 year-old Anita Zaffke of the 1500 block of Eddy Lane in Lake Zurich, died from chest and abdominal injuries suffered when she was thrown about 200 feet from her motorcycle. She died about an hour after the accident at Advocate Good Shepard Hospital in Barrington, IL.

Zaffke was reportedly stopped at a red light when she was struck from behind by a Chevy Impala. Reports indicate that the unidentified female driver that caused the fatal accident told the police that she was painting her fingernails when she ran the red light striking the motorcyclist. According to Lake County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Scott Morrison, “It appears to be a tragic accident and it appears (Zaffke) did nothing wrong…She (Zaffke) was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and she could not have done anything to avoid it.” The driver has been cited with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. The driver may still face additional charges as the accident remains under investigation.

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Posted by Joseph G. Klest | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bike Accidents

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Clinton Miceli age 22 died of head injuries he received Monday on the north side of Chicago when the driver of a parked SUV opened his door into Miceli’s path.

On Tuesday another bike rider was struck by a CTA bus and injured.

It seems that the streets of Chicago are becoming less and less safe for bike riders as the city is trying to encourage more and more people to bike to work. Gas prices are also adding to the bike traffic, while drivers are more and more distracted by cell phones and other electronic devices.

I would encourage all bike riders to ride defensively and assume that they are not seen by people driving cars. They should also use designated bike lanes when possible and always always wear a helmet.

If the City of Chicago wants to encourage more people to ride their bikes the should be more proactive in developing wider bike lanes, perhaps even eliminating parking lanes and converting them to wide bike lanes on the heaviest bike trafficked roads.

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Posted by Joseph G. Klest | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bike Accidents

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A bicyclist suffered serious head injuries on Lasalle Street in Chicago Monday night when the driver of a parked car opened the door in his path. The bicycle rider was thrown under an on coming car and suffered critical head injuries.

Four bicycle riders have been killed this year riding their bikes on the streets of Chicago.

Several years ago I represented the family of a man who died in a similar accident on Fullerton Avenue in Chicago. He was riding his bike to work when the driver of a parked car opened his door without looking back and pushed him under the wheels of a tractor trailer truck.

The jury held that the driver who opened the car door and the truck driver were each 50% at fault for the death of the bicyclist. The jury awarded a substantial 7 figure verdict which greatly helped the family of the bike rider. Without the jury award the family would have been impoverished. Because of the jury award the children were able to finish school in a good suburban school and the mom was able to be around to help keep them out of trouble. I recently ran into one of the boys and he told me that they are all doing great.

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Posted by Joseph G. Klest | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bike Accidents , Brain Injury , Car Accidents

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