Southern Illinois Motorcycle Accident Lawyers

The single most common serious motorcycle crash happens when a car turns left across a rider’s path at an intersection or driveway. The driver later says, “I never saw the motorcycle.” Under Illinois law, that is not a defense. A driver turning left has a duty to yield to oncoming traffic, including motorcycles, and to actually look before turning. A rider going straight with the right-of-way is almost never at fault in this situation.

Because motorcycles are narrow, drivers misjudge how close and how fast a bike is traveling, or they look right past it while scanning for cars. The result is often a violent impact that throws the rider. If a left-turning driver hit you, contact our office so we can document the intersection, the sightlines, and the driver’s failure to yield.

A motorcycle can sit squarely in a driver’s blind spot, and many drivers change lanes or merge without a proper head check. On multi-lane roads and interstates like I-57 and I-64, an unsafe lane change can sideswipe a rider or run them off the road entirely. Illinois requires drivers to signal and to make sure a lane is clear before moving into it. When they don’t, and they hit a motorcycle they should have seen, they are responsible for the harm they cause.

A driver looking at a phone for a few seconds can travel the length of a football field without watching the road. For a motorcyclist, that is enough time to be killed. Texting and handheld phone use behind the wheel are illegal in Illinois under 625 ILCS 5/12-610.2. Distraction is one of the most common causes of the rear-end and failure-to-yield crashes that injure riders, and phone records often help prove what the driver was doing in the moments before impact.

An impaired driver has slower reactions and poor judgment, a deadly combination for anyone sharing the road on two wheels. When a drunk or drugged driver injures a rider, that conduct can support not only your injury claim but, in extreme cases, a claim for punitive damages meant to punish the driver. A DUI conviction in the criminal case can also be powerful evidence in your civil claim. If you were hit by an impaired driver, we will pursue every source of recovery available to you.

A driver who is speeding or following too closely cannot stop in time when a motorcycle slows or stops ahead. Riders are especially exposed in rear-end crashes because there is nothing behind them but the road. Illinois law requires drivers to keep a safe distance and to drive at a speed that is reasonable for conditions. A driver who rear-ends a motorcyclist is almost always at fault.

“Dooring” happens when someone in a parked car opens a door directly into the path of a passing motorcycle. The rider has almost no time to react and can be thrown from the bike. Illinois law makes it illegal to open a vehicle door into traffic when it is not safe to do so, and the person who opened the door, not the rider, is responsible for the crash that follows.

Hazards that a car would barely notice can put a rider on the ground. Potholes, loose gravel, broken pavement, standing water, and debris are far more dangerous on two wheels. When a poorly maintained or defectively designed public road causes a crash, a city, county, or the state may share responsibility for failing to keep the road reasonably safe.

These claims come with a trap. When you sue a local public entity in Illinois, you generally have only one year, not the usual two, to file suit under the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 10/8-101. Miss that shorter deadline and your claim against the government is gone. If a road defect played a part in your crash, talk to a lawyer quickly so the deadline is protected.

Lane splitting, riding the line between two lanes of traffic moving the same direction, is illegal in Illinois under 625 ILCS 5/11-703(c). A rider who is hurt while lane splitting can be assigned a share of the blame, which can reduce the money they recover. That does not automatically end a claim, though. If another driver also acted carelessly, Illinois’s comparative fault rules may still allow a partial recovery. (Riding two motorcycles side by side in a single lane, sometimes called lane sharing, is allowed.)

When a rider slides across pavement, the friction tears away skin and tissue. Road rash ranges from a painful scrape to a deep wound that destroys layers of skin, exposes muscle, and requires skin grafts. Beyond the risk of serious infection, severe road rash often leaves permanent scarring and disfigurement, which is its own category of compensable harm under Illinois law.

A blow to the head can cause a traumatic brain injury (TBI), from a concussion to a life-altering brain injury, even when a rider is wearing a helmet. Symptoms like headaches, memory problems, dizziness, mood changes, and trouble concentrating can last for years. A serious TBI can affect a person’s ability to work and to live independently, which is why these injuries are valued so highly in a claim.

The force of being thrown from a motorcycle can fracture vertebrae and damage the spinal cord. Depending on where the injury occurs, the result can be chronic pain, loss of function, or partial or complete paralysis. These are catastrophic, permanent injuries that often require lifelong medical care, home modifications, and lost earning capacity, all of which a full claim should account for.

Riders instinctively put a leg or arm out and absorb the impact with their limbs, so fractured legs, ankles, wrists, arms, and shoulders are extremely common. Many require surgery, hardware, and long courses of physical therapy. Some leave the rider with a permanent limp, reduced range of motion, or chronic pain long after the bone has healed.

A hard impact can injure organs and cause internal bleeding that is not obvious at the scene. Damage to the lungs, liver, spleen, or kidneys can be life-threatening and is not always apparent right away. This is one of the biggest reasons to be checked by a doctor immediately after a crash, even if you feel “okay.”

In the most violent crashes, a limb is lost in the collision or so badly damaged that surgeons must amputate. Losing a limb changes every part of a person’s life, from working to driving to daily routines, and the cost of prosthetics and ongoing care is enormous. These cases demand experienced handling to make sure the full lifetime impact is valued.

Burns, deep road rash, and surgical scars can leave permanent, visible disfigurement. Illinois law treats disfigurement as a real and compensable harm, separate from medical bills. The emotional toll of permanent scarring is part of what your claim can recover.

Because riders are so exposed, motorcycle crashes are far more likely to be fatal than other collisions. When a rider is killed by another driver’s negligence, Illinois’s Wrongful Death Act allows the family to recover for their loss, including lost financial support and the grief and loss of companionship that follow. Nothing undoes that loss, but holding the at-fault party accountable can ease the financial weight on the family left behind.

What you do in the hours and days after a crash can shape your entire claim. If you are able, take these steps.

1. Call 911 and get medical care. Report the crash so police create a report, and get checked by a doctor even if you feel alright. Adrenaline hides injuries, and a gap in treatment is the first thing an insurer uses to argue you were not really hurt.

2. Document everything. If you can, photograph the vehicles, your bike, the road, skid marks, traffic signs, and your injuries. Get the names and numbers of any witnesses before they leave.

3. Exchange information. Get the other driver’s name, license, insurance, and plate number. Illinois law requires drivers to share this after a crash.

4. Do not admit fault. Stay calm and stick to the facts with the police. Do not apologize or guess about what happened.

5. Be careful with the insurance company. You can report the crash, but you are not required to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement, and you should talk to a lawyer before you do.

6. Call a motorcycle accident lawyer. The sooner counsel is involved, the more can be done to preserve evidence and protect your rights.

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Mt. Vernon Office
Olson & Reeves, Attorneys at Law
1015 Broadway
Mt. Vernon, IL 62864
Phone: (618) 316-7322

Centralia Office
Olson & Reeves, Attorneys at Law
217 S Locust St
Centralia, IL 62801

No. Illinois does not have a motorcycle helmet law and is one of only three states with no helmet requirement for any rider. The state does require eye protection, such as glasses, goggles, or a transparent shield, under 625 ILCS 5/11-1404, but helmet use is your choice.

Even though helmets are not required, safety agencies strongly recommend them, because they meaningfully reduce the risk of death and brain injury in a crash.

Because Illinois has no helmet law, you had no legal duty to wear one, and not wearing a helmet does not bar your claim. A defendant may argue a helmet would have lessened a head or facial injury, but that argument is limited to those specific injuries and cannot be used against unrelated injuries or the crash itself. Under Illinois’s comparative fault rule, you can still recover as long as you were 50% or less at fault.

In practice, we counter the “no helmet” argument with medical evidence about what actually caused each injury, and we keep the case focused on the driver whose carelessness caused the crash. If you were not wearing a helmet, do not assume you have no claim, talk to a lawyer first.

No. Lane splitting, riding between two lanes of traffic moving the same direction, is illegal in Illinois under 625 ILCS 5/11-703(c), whether traffic is moving or stopped. Riding two motorcycles side by side within a single lane, however, is allowed.

If you were lane splitting when a crash happened, you may be assigned part of the fault, which can reduce your recovery. It does not necessarily end your claim, especially if another driver also acted carelessly. Have a lawyer review the specific facts.

In most motorcycle crashes the other driver is at fault, most often a driver who turns left across the rider’s path or fails to see the motorcycle. “I didn’t see the motorcycle” is not a defense in Illinois, because drivers have a duty to look for and yield to motorcycles just like any other vehicle.

Fault is proven with police reports, witness statements, photos, and traffic citations. We investigate the crash thoroughly so the blame lands where it belongs instead of being unfairly shifted onto the rider.

You can still recover in Illinois as long as you were 50% or less at fault. Under the modified comparative fault rule in 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are found more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover.

So if your damages total $100,000 and you are found 25% at fault, you would recover $75,000. Insurers know this and push to inflate the rider’s share of blame, which is one of the most important things a lawyer fights over in a motorcycle case.

You generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit in Illinois under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. A wrongful death claim is also generally subject to a two-year deadline. If a city, county, or other local government is involved, the deadline can be as short as one year.

Waiting is risky. Evidence fades, witnesses move, and a missed deadline ends a claim no matter how strong it is. The safest step is to speak with a lawyer soon after the crash.

The value of a motorcycle case depends on the severity of your injuries, your medical bills and lost wages, whether you have permanent injuries or scarring, and how clear the other driver’s fault is. Serious motorcycle injuries often lead to larger claims than typical car cases because the harm is more severe.

No honest lawyer can promise a number before reviewing your case. What we can do is account for every category of harm, current and future, so the demand reflects the full impact on your life rather than just the bills that have already come in.

Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may pay for your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough. Illinois requires uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident on your policy.

For example, if the driver who hit you carried only $25,000 in coverage and your bills are higher, your underinsured coverage may make up part of the difference. We review every policy that might apply so no available coverage is left on the table.

We handle motorcycle cases on a contingency fee, so you pay no attorney’s fee up front and no fee at all unless we recover money for you. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, and case costs are advanced and repaid from the recovery at the end.

That means you can get experienced help without any out-of-pocket risk. If we do not recover compensation, you owe us no attorney’s fee.

You can report the crash to your own insurer, but you are not required to give the other driver’s insurance company a recorded statement, and you should be cautious before you do. Early statements are often used later to dispute fault or downplay your injuries.

It is reasonable, and usually smart, to speak with a lawyer before giving any statement or accepting any offer. A free consultation costs you nothing and can keep you from a costly mistake.