Parents of 3-Year-Old Killed in Bicycle Accident Sue City, Truck Companies
Illinois bicycle accident lawsuits involving commercial trucks can raise questions about negligence, roadway obstructions, comparative fault, and governmental immunity.
In June 2022, 3-year-old Elizabeth Grace “Lily” Shambrook was killed in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood after the bicycle she was riding with her mother was forced around a ComEd truck that was parked in a designated bike lane. The family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against ComEd, trucking companies and their affiliated parties, and the City of Chicago. The lawsuit alleged that the illegally parked truck created a dangerous condition that contributed to the fatal collision and that the City failed to adequately enforce bicycle-lane restrictions.
Why This Type of Case Is Complicated
A truck parked in a bicycle lane may violate Chicago’s traffic code, but proving that the violation legally caused a person’s injuries is a separate question. A lawsuit against a private company is also governed by different rules than a lawsuit against the City of Chicago, which may have statutory governmental immunities that affect particular theories of liability.
What Happened in the Chicago Bicycle Crash?
On June 9, 2022, Lily Shambrook was riding in a child carrier attached to her mother’s bicycle on Leland Avenue in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. Lily’s father was riding behind them.
According to the family’s lawsuit and contemporaneous reports, a Commonwealth Edison utility truck was parked in the designated bicycle lane near Leland and Winthrop avenues. Lily’s mother moved into the traffic lane to get around the obstruction as a semi-truck was also traveling through the area.
The bicycle was struck, Lily was thrown from the carrier, and she was killed when she came beneath the semi-truck. The family later filed a lawsuit naming ComEd, the City of Chicago, Mondelez International, the semi-truck driver, and Penske among the defendants and accused the private parties of negligence.
Bike Lane Obstruction
The family alleged that the ComEd truck was illegally parked in the bicycle lane.
Bicycle Entered Traffic Lane
The obstruction allegedly forced the bicycle into the lane used by motor vehicles.
Collision
The bicycle was struck by a passing semi-truck, and Lily sustained fatal injuries.
Is It Illegal to Park a Truck in a Chicago Bike Lane?
Yes. Chicago Municipal Code section 9-40-060 generally prohibits a vehicle from standing or parking on an on-street bicycle path or lane designated by signs or pavement markings. The code also prohibits placing a vehicle in a manner that impedes bicycle traffic on the lane.
The ordinance gives designated city personnel authority to enforce the parking prohibition. Chicago’s code also provides specific penalties for violations, including an increased fine when a violation of section 9-40-060 causes a collision between a motor vehicle and a bicycle.
A Traffic Violation Is Not Automatically Civil Liability
The existence of a parking violation can be important evidence in a civil case, but an injured person would still need to establish the applicable elements of the civil claim, including causation and legally recoverable damages. A traffic citation and a personal injury judgment are separate matters.
Could the Trucking Company Be Liable?
A private company or truck operator may be held responsible for negligent conduct that contributes to a bicycle accident. Depending on the evidence, a claim could involve the manner in which a commercial vehicle was parked, operated, or moved through the roadway.
In the Shambrook lawsuit, the family alleged that the ComEd truck created the obstruction that forced the bicycle into the traffic lane. The family also asserted claims involving the semi-truck and its driver, alleging that the moving truck contributed to the collision. Those allegations were disputed and were not findings of liability.
Creating an Obstruction
Whether the parked vehicle created an unreasonable danger for cyclists can be relevant to negligence and causation.
Operating a Commercial Vehicle
A truck driver has a duty to operate the vehicle with reasonable care under the circumstances and to follow applicable traffic rules.
Proximate Cause
The plaintiff must connect the alleged negligence to the collision and resulting injuries.
What About the City of Chicago?
The claims against the City present a substantially different legal question from the claims against the private companies. The family alleged that the City contributed to the danger by failing to enforce bicycle-lane parking restrictions and by permitting work or activity that resulted in the truck being positioned where it was.
Illinois has a broad statutory framework governing when local governments can be sued for injuries caused by governmental acts or omissions. The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act contains specific provisions that can bar certain claims against a municipality even when the underlying conduct might otherwise be characterized as negligent.
Two Immunity Provisions Are Particularly Important
745 ILCS 10/2-103
A local public entity generally is not liable for an injury caused by its failure to adopt or enforce a law.
745 ILCS 10/2-104
A local public entity generally is not liable for an injury caused by the issuance, denial, suspension, revocation, or failure or refusal to issue certain permits or similar governmental authorizations when the entity is authorized to make that decision.
These provisions are important because the family’s allegations concerning the City’s enforcement practices and permitting decisions potentially implicate statutory immunity. The availability of immunity depends on the precise conduct alleged and the legal theory asserted.
The City’s Potential Liability Requires a Separate Analysis
It is not enough to say that the City failed to keep an illegally parked truck out of the bike lane and therefore must be liable. Illinois law specifically addresses governmental liability for failures to enforce laws and for permit decisions. An attorney evaluating a claim against the City would need to determine whether an immunity provision applies and whether another recognized basis for liability or an exception changes the analysis.
What If the City Issued a Permit?
The family also alleged that the City had issued a permit relating to work in the area while the ComEd truck was ultimately parked on Leland Avenue. That allegation raises a different issue from ordinary traffic enforcement.
Under 745 ILCS 10/2-104, however, a local public entity generally is not liable for an injury caused by the issuance, denial, suspension, or revocation of a permit or similar authorization when the entity or employee was authorized by law to make the decision.
As a result, simply identifying a permit does not automatically establish municipal liability. The specific permit, what it authorized, where work was supposed to occur, what municipal employees allegedly knew, and the precise conduct forming the basis of the lawsuit would all matter.
What Would Need to Be Examined?
- The terms and location identified in the permit
- Where the truck was actually parked
- Who authorized or supervised the work
- Whether employees knew the bike lane was obstructed
- The specific legal theory asserted against the City
- Whether statutory immunity applies to that particular theory
Can an Illegally Parked Truck Be a Legal Cause of a Bicycle Crash?
Potentially. In a negligence case, the fact that another vehicle directly struck the bicycle does not necessarily end the analysis. A prior act can still be a proximate cause of an injury if the later event was a foreseeable consequence of the initial conduct.
Here, the family’s theory was that the illegally parked truck blocked the bicycle lane, forcing Lily’s mother into a lane of moving traffic and creating the circumstances that led to the collision with the semi-truck.
Whether that theory ultimately establishes legal causation would depend on the evidence. The court could consider the exact roadway layout, the location of the trucks, the visibility of the bicycle and vehicles, the conduct of the drivers, the timing of the movements, and other surrounding circumstances.
Obstruction
Did the parked truck force the bicyclist into a dangerous area of the roadway?
Traffic Movement
How did the semi-truck enter or move through the area when the bicycle was alongside it?
Foreseeability
Was the collision a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the obstruction and surrounding conditions?
Could More Than One Party Be Responsible?
A bicycle accident involving multiple vehicles can involve competing allegations of negligence. Illinois generally uses a modified comparative-fault system under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116.
When a plaintiff’s contributory fault is 50% or less, the plaintiff’s damages are reduced in proportion to the plaintiff’s share of fault. When the plaintiff’s contributory fault is more than 50% of the proximate cause of the injury, recovery is barred under the statute.
Multiple Sources of Conduct Can Be Relevant
Depending on the evidence, a lawsuit may examine the conduct of the parked truck operator, the moving truck driver, the trucking companies, contractors, municipalities, or other parties. Comparative fault allows the court to allocate responsibility among parties when the statutory requirements are satisfied.
What Evidence Can Help in a Bicycle Accident Case?
When the accident involves a commercial truck and a roadway obstruction, evidence collected immediately after the crash can become particularly important.
Crash Reports
Police reports, photographs, measurements, diagrams, and statements from witnesses can help reconstruct the accident.
Video and Photos
Security footage, traffic cameras, dash cameras, photographs, and witness photographs can show the positions and movements of the vehicles.
Commercial Truck Records
Driver records, company policies, dispatch information, vehicle data, and other commercial-vehicle evidence may become relevant.
Permit and City Records
If a municipal permit is part of the allegations, the permit itself and related city records may be important to the liability analysis.
What Makes Bicycle and Truck Accident Cases Different?
A collision between a bicycle and a commercial truck can result in catastrophic injuries because of the significant difference in size and weight between the vehicles. When a roadway obstruction is also involved, the investigation may need to examine events that occurred before the actual impact.
In the Shambrook case, the family’s theory was that the accident was not simply a collision between a bicycle and a moving truck. The family alleged that an illegally parked utility truck created the initial obstruction that forced the bicycle into the traffic lane and contributed to the conditions leading to the fatal collision. That was an allegation in the lawsuit, not a final judicial finding.
The Chain of Events Matters
In a complicated bicycle accident, investigating only the final point of impact may not reveal the entire chain of events. The position of parked vehicles, roadway restrictions, traffic movement, visibility, and the actions of multiple parties may all be relevant to determining how the crash occurred.
Talk to a Champaign Bicycle Accident Lawyer
Bicycle accidents involving commercial trucks can raise difficult questions about negligence, roadway obstructions, comparative fault, and governmental immunity. When a serious injury or wrongful death occurs, preserving evidence and determining every potentially responsible party can be important.
Patel Law, PC represents people injured in bicycle and motor vehicle accidents in Illinois. Our Champaign personal injury lawyers can review the circumstances of your accident and discuss the potential claims available under Illinois law.
Injured in a Bicycle Accident?
Talk with a Champaign personal injury lawyer about your accident and potential claim.
Sources
- Chicago Municipal Code § 9-40-060 — Driving, Standing or Parking on Bicycle Paths or Lanes Prohibited
- Chicago Municipal Code § 9-4-025 — Bicycle Safety Violation Penalties
- 745 ILCS 10/2-103 — Failure to Enforce Laws
- 745 ILCS 10/2-104 — Permits and Similar Authorizations
- 735 ILCS 5/2-1116 — Comparative Fault
- Chicago Sun-Times — Parents of 3-year-old Lily Shambrook hope lawsuit improves safety for Chicago cyclists
- ABC News — Parents of 3-year-old girl killed while riding Chicago bike lane file wrongful death lawsuit
