Hit by a Bicycle?
Injury Law Made Personal®
A bicyclist who passes too fast and too close is not having an accident — they are being careless. If you were struck while running or walking, that bicyclist can be held personally responsible. Ankin Law has fought for injured Illinois victims for over 35 years.
Call 312.600.0000 Free Case ReviewHow a Bicycle Strike Becomes a Case
The Situation
You are running or walking on a path meant to be shared. A rider comes up behind you at twenty miles an hour, decides there is room, and does not call out. You cannot hear a bicycle coming and you have no reason to expect one at your shoulder. Nothing about being on foot on a shared path is careless.
The Accident
A loaded road bike and rider weigh close to two hundred pounds and arrive with no warning at all. Struck from behind, you go down onto pavement without ever getting a hand out — which is how these become shoulder, collarbone, wrist and head injuries rather than scrapes. Many people insist they are fine at the scene and find out otherwise days later.
The Solution
Who was riding, how fast, whether they warned you, and which policy stands behind them — Ankin Law investigates all of it. A bicyclist has no license plate, but they usually do have insurance, and there is almost always a way to identify them. Howard Ankin has fought for injured Illinois victims for over 35 years, and no fee is owed unless we win.
Is a Free Consultation Really Free?
Howard Ankin answers your questions directly.
What Illinois Law Says About Being Struck by a Bicycle
is generally the Illinois deadline to bring a personal injury claim — but the witnesses who saw it and the cameras that recorded it are gone in a matter of days
as a driver. Illinois law gives a person on a bicycle the same rights and the same responsibilities as a motorist — including the duty to control their speed and to pass safely
and renter’s policies are where these claims are usually paid. Personal liability coverage commonly extends to injuries the policyholder causes on a bicycle — which most people on both sides never realize
Who Is Responsible — and What You Can Recover
The Bicyclist
The rider is personally responsible. Passing too close, carrying too much speed for a crowded path, giving no audible warning, riding distracted or in the wrong direction — each is ordinary negligence, and none of it is excused by the fact that they were on a bicycle rather than in a car.
The Policy Behind the Rider
People assume there is nothing to recover from someone on a bike. Usually there is. A homeowner’s, renter’s or umbrella policy frequently covers personal liability for injuries the policyholder causes, on a bicycle as anywhere else. If the rider was working — a delivery or courier rider — their employer may be responsible as well.
What You Can Recover
Emergency care, surgery and physical therapy, wages for every day you cannot work, future treatment for a shoulder or wrist that never fully returns, and pain and suffering and loss of normal life — including the running, walking and everyday activity you lose while you heal.
Why Ankin Law Is the Right Call After a Bicycle Strike
Riders Leave, and Often Are Never Identified
The single hardest part of these cases is naming the person who hit you. Ankin Law moves at once — canvassing park, business and doorbell cameras before the footage overwrites, tracking down the people who stopped to help, and following up through cycling clubs and ride-tracking records.
They Will Say You Stepped Into the Bike Lane
It is the first thing said in every one of these cases, and in Illinois it matters: your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and if you are found more than half responsible you recover nothing. Establishing early where you were and where the rider was is what protects the whole claim.
No Fee Unless You Win
You pay nothing to start and nothing unless Ankin Law recovers for you. You get the same aggressive representation whether you can afford it today or not. Howard Ankin has been doing this for over 35 years.
Get Your Free Case Review
If a bicyclist knocked you down, the witnesses and the camera footage that identify them are already disappearing. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with no obligation.
📞Free Case Evaluation
Your information is confidential and protected by attorney-client privilege.