Personal Injury Law

St Louis Missouri Bike Accident with Serious Injuries - Alton Illinois cyclist Killed by Semi-Trailer Truck

By Benjamin J. Sansone, Esq.

Several months ago I posted a Missouri personal injury lawyer blog entry regarding the top causes of bicycle accidents with motor vehicles and trucks, (bike accident article link) and discussed a case I was handling that was caused by the "right hook". Recently I was retained to represent an injured St Louis bicyclist that was injured as a result of "The Right Cross". See image for bike accident description. In this current St Louis bike accident case, my client was riding in a designated bike lane on Russell in downtown St Louis city and the negligent driver was driving a Hummer H2 when she made a right turn directly into him as he was crossing the intersection. Traffic on Russel at that intersection does not have a stop sign, however, cross traffic does. Again, this is a common cause of bike accidents, simple failure of drivers to recognize or even be aware of cyclists around them.

As a practicing Missouri bike accident lawyer, I have handled a lot of bicycle personal injury cases in St Louis and throughout Missouri and Illinois, and in almost every case the police report is written with a clear bias toward the cyclist, however, in this case I must commend the St Louis city police officer for writing a proper and non biased report. As discussed in a previous bike accident injury lawyer post, I had to take a bike injury case to trial because the insurance company refused to pay based on the police report blaming the cyclist. After a St Louis bike accident personal injury trial, the jury decides that it was the driver's fault and came back with a Plaintiff's verdict in favor of the bike rider I represented and blamed the driver for the accident, despite the police officer's report, because they saw the bias and poor reporting that I and other Missouri personal injury lawyers often see.

Just recently, an Alton Illinois bike accident with a large truck resulted in the tragic death of a bicyclist. The details of the accident are being held as the family is still being notified. From what little is known, the Alton bike accident seems similar to an accident in Pennsylvania when a truck hopped a curb when making a right turn and killed a woman bike rider. The truck company settled that case for $5.1 Million. See Personal Injury Wrongful Death Bike Accident Lawyer Settlement.

Full post as published by Missouri Injury Law Blog on June 12, 2008 (boomark / email).