Keating Law Offices has secured another personal injury settlement for a Chicago, Illinois bicyclist whose case was originally denied by the driver's insurance company. A denial of liability is a position by an insurance company that, while there may have been an incident resulting in an injury, their insured driver was not responsible and therefore the insurance company does not have to provide insurance coverage.
Upon notice of the denial of liability, Keating Law Offices filed a Complaint at Law against the driver, a former police officer, in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The firm immediately began preparing the case for trial. Throughout the case, the attorneys at Keating Law Offices were able to discover and present evidence that showed that the collision was the driver's fault. This was critical as the insurance company and its attorneys initially argued that the bicyclist should have "watched where she was going" and was intoxicated at the time of the collision.
The collision occurred at the intersection of California and Fullerton. Prior to the collision the motorist was traveling eastbound on Fullerton and turning northbound onto California. The bicyclist was traveling westbound on Fullerton across California. The collision occurred when the motorist did a "left-hook" and turned left immediately in front of the bicyclist.
Based on these facts, the attorneys at Keating Law Offices successfully argued that under the Chicago Municipal Code and the Illinois Rules of the Road that the motorist should have yielded to the bicyclist and only turned when it was safe to do so. Moreover, the firm and its client were able to demonstrate that while the bicyclist drank at a Memorial Day picnic that afternoon that she was not intoxicated. Ultimately, the insurance company and its attorneys were forced to conclude that their initial position was wrong and that the injured bicyclist had a valid and meritorious claim.
In this latest case, the insurance company for the driver paid the bicyclist the entire $50,000.00 of its policy limits. Attorney Mike Keating of Keating Law Offices said:
"Given the history of the insurance company denying this claim completely from the onset, this was a particularly positive result. Being able to recover every penny of the insurance policy in the case shows the insurance companies that this firm and its clients will not be intimidated by aggressive tactics like denying legitimate claims."If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All e-mails and phone calls are returned promptly. All initial consultations are confidential and free.
