A plaintiff had her right leg amputated below the knee after she was hit by a semi-trailer tractor truck while riding her bike. Her lawsuit, settled for $17.5 million was the highest reported Illinois bicycle verdict or settlement and higher than any previously reported Illinois verdict involving a single leg amputation.
Evidence Video created a Progressive Day in the Life for the plaintiff. Filmed seven times between November of 2016 and September of 2019, the video demonstrated the horrific physical burden placed on her and the emotional toll and its effects on a previously active, fit, young woman.
According to the arguments in the case, in 2016, the woman was riding north on Wood Street to the right of a semi trailer owned by RAI Corp. When they both reached the street’s intersection with Roosevelt Road, the driver started to turn right and the plaintiff was hit by one of the serrated metal steps on the passenger side of the truck, causing her to fall off of her bike and into the path of the truck’s rear tires. Attorney Joseph Power contended, based on state law and municipal ordinances, the client was correctly riding next to the curb. There was no designated bike lane on the road.
Attorneys Joseph A. Power Jr., James I. Power and Kurt Ensign of Power Rogers