a bicycle lying sideways on a roadShelby County offers some of the better riding in Central Illinois. The General Dacey Trail connects Forest Park to the Lake Shelbyville dam and visitor center, and the county roads beyond town are quiet, scenic, and well suited to distance riding.

If a car hits you while you’re riding, there’s no door, no seatbelt, no frame of steel between you and the impact. That’s why the injuries are so often serious — broken collarbones, wrist and shoulder injuries needing surgery, road rash, concussions.

 Fractured collarbones, wrist and shoulder injuries requiring surgery, road rash, and concussions are the routine outcomes. Riders also face an assumption, frequently voiced by the driver at the scene, that the cyclist must have done something wrong. Illinois law generally does not support that assumption.

Onward Accident & Injury Law maintains an office at 215 E Main Street in Shelbyville and handles injury claims of every kind across Shelby County. Consultations are free, and if we represent you, there is no fee unless we recover money on your behalf. To speak with our Shelbyville bicycle accident lawyers, contact our law firm today.

The Support You Need After a Bicycle Accident in Shelbyville

Leadership You Can Rely On

Managing attorney Josh Rohrscheib has represented cyclists and their families throughout Central Illinois. He has practiced in Illinois since 2006 and holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Backed by a Skilled Legal Team

These cases usually come down to one question: who could see whom, and when. That’s what our team digs into first. Our team obtains the crash report, photographs the scene and the equipment, secures witness accounts, preserves any available ride data from a cycling computer or phone application, and identifies every insurance policy that may apply.

Addressing the Assumptions Riders Face

Insurers commonly raise helmet use, clothing color, and lane position in bicycle claims. Insurance adjusters like to make those arguments sound stronger than they are. They’re not — and we push back on every one of them.

Cyclists Have the Same Rights as Drivers in Illinois

Under the Illinois Vehicle Code, a person riding a bicycle on a roadway has the rights and duties of the driver of a vehicle (625 ILCS 5/11-1502). A cyclist is legal traffic rather than an obstruction.

Illinois also requires a motorist overtaking a bicycle to leave at least three feet of space (625 ILCS 5/11-703). On a two-lane county road, complying with that requirement often means waiting to pass. Opening a car door into the path of an approaching cyclist is separately prohibited.

Illinois does not require adult cyclists to wear helmets. Riding without one does not defeat a claim, though insurers raise the point regularly. Illinois does require a front white lamp and a rear red reflector when riding after dark, and riding without them may support a comparative fault argument rather than barring recovery.

Where Bicycle Accidents Happen in Shelbyville and Shelby County

The General Dacey Trail. The General Dacey Trail opened in 2006 and is a designated National Recreation Trail. It runs from Forest Park past the Dam West recreation area, the dam overlook, and the Lake Shelbyville visitor center, then loops back toward the Kaskaskia River and the historic courthouse.  The surface is oil and chip, and the northern loops carry short steep grades and tight curves with limited sight distance.

Trail crossings and trailheads. Unleashed dogs are a recurring hazard along the route, and a rider brought down by one may have a claim under the statute described on our page for dog bites and animal attacks. Access points at Forest Park, the Dam West area near 9th Street, and the dam overlook return riders to vehicle traffic. Crossings and parking lot entrances account for the more serious collisions on the trail system.

Illinois Route 16. Riders traveling east toward the lake or west out of town share a two-lane state highway with cars, commercial trucks, and, during the recreation season, vehicles towing boats. Shoulders are narrow. This is where three-foot passing violations matter most, and where a collision with a motor vehicle raises many of the same insurance questions covered on our page for car accidents in Shelbyville.

The West Main corridor. Commercial driveways and angled parking combine with drivers whose attention is on locating a parking space rather than on approaching cyclists.

County roads. Quiet and scenic, and also posted at 55 mph with gravel edges, two-way stops, and sight lines restricted by standing crops from July through October.

Residential streets near Forest Park. Children riding to the aquatic center, the ball diamonds, and along school routes account for a meaningful share of bicycle injuries in the county, and those claims follow the different deadlines described on our page for child injury cases.

Types of Bicycle Accident Cases We Handle in Shelby County

  • Failure to Yield at Intersections and Driveways: The most common cause of urban bicycle collisions, including vehicles pulling out of commercial lots on West Main.
  • Unsafe Passing: Collisions and forced-off-road incidents arising from violations of the three-foot passing requirement.
  • Right-Hook and Left-Cross Collisions: Where a driver turns across a cyclist traveling straight.
  • Dooring Incidents: Where a vehicle occupant opens a door into a rider’s path.
  • Trail and Path Incidents: Including collisions at road crossings and injuries caused by surface hazards.
  • Animal-Caused Falls: A loose dog that causes a rider to crash may give rise to a claim under the Illinois Animal Control Act.
  • Injuries to Child Riders: Subject to different filing deadlines and often to different insurance considerations.

Steps to Take Immediately After a Bicycle Accident

Insist on a Police Report

Officers occasionally treat a bicycle collision as a minor incident. Without a report, the driver’s account becomes the only documented version. Within city limits, the Shelbyville Police Department responds; in the county, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

Prioritize Your Health

Seek evaluation even if you are able to stand and speak at the scene. HSHS Good Shepherd Hospital at 200 S. Cedar Street operates a 24-hour emergency department. Concussions and shoulder injuries are frequently missed in the immediate aftermath.

Obtain the Driver’s Information

Name, license, license plate, and insurance details. Photograph the license and the insurance card rather than relying on notes.

Preserve Evidence

Photograph the bicycle, the damage to the vehicle, your helmet, the road surface, sight lines, and the final positions of both. Keep the bicycle and helmet without repairing or replacing either, since a cracked helmet documents impact force. If you record rides with a cycling computer or phone application, download the file, as speed and position data frequently resolve disputes about where each party was.

Avoid Admitting Fault

Do not provide a recorded statement to the driver’s insurer before speaking with a lawyer.

Laws That May Affect Your Case

Comparative Fault

You may recover as long as you are not more than 50% responsible, with recovery reduced by your share of fault (735 ILCS 5/2-1116).

Statute of Limitations

Most claims must be filed within two years (735 ILCS 5/13-202). Where a city, county, township, or park district is responsible, including a hazard on a municipal path or a defect in a roadway, the deadline may be limited to one year (745 ILCS 10/8-101). Trail-related claims frequently fall into that shorter category. For most claims involving a minor, the two-year period does not begin until the child turns 18.

Claims on Federal Property

Portions of the trail system and the recreation areas surrounding Lake Shelbyville are managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Claims arising on federal property follow separate procedures and deadlines.

Insurance Coverage

The driver’s auto liability policy is the usual source of recovery. Your own auto policy also matters more than most riders expect, because uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage frequently applies while you are riding a bicycle, and medical payments coverage may pay treatment costs regardless of fault.

How Much Compensation Can You Recover?

  • Medical Expenses: Emergency care, imaging, surgical repair, physical therapy, and anticipated future treatment.
  • Lost Income: Wages lost during recovery and any reduction in future earning capacity.
  • Pain and Suffering: The physical pain caused by the injury and its effect on daily life.
  • Changes to Normal Life: Including the loss of riding itself where an injury prevents a return to the activity.
  • Long-Term or Permanent Effects: Lasting impairment, scarring, and the ongoing effects of a head injury.
  • Property Damage: Repair or replacement of the bicycle, helmet, components, and cycling equipment.

Time off the bike is its own kind of loss, and our article offering tips for staying motivated after an injury speaks to that side of a long recovery.

Head injuries deserve particular attention, because their effects are frequently underestimated in the weeks after a crash and are addressed further on our page covering catastrophic injury claims. The rights described above apply to cyclists throughout Illinois, though the roads and trails involved differ from one county to the next.

Case Results

Bicycle recoveries obtained by Onward Accident & Injury Law in Central Illinois:

  • $1,000,000: Bicycle accident, Wabash County
  • $200,000: Bicycle accident, Macon County
  • $121,000: Bicycle accident, Livingston County
  • $100,000: Bicycle accident, Macon County

Past clients have also shared their experiences working with our law firm:

“Josh is amazing, he answers everything with an immense amount of knowledge, is so kind and helpful, will give you other sources for your area or if you need something further, and will do anything he can to point you in the right direction.” Paige, Google review

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different, and the outcome of any case depends on its own facts.

 

Why Local Knowledge Gives You an Advantage

Understand Where Riders Are at Risk in Shelby County

IDOT’s 2024 Crash Facts & Statistics recorded 3,413 crashes involving bicycles in Illinois in 2024, injuring 3,001 riders and killing 37, with more than 400 riders sustaining incapacitating injuries. Bicycle crashes accounted for approximately 1.1% of all Illinois crashes but 3.4% of fatal crashes. Shelby County recorded 317 crashes overall in 2024, including 4 fatal crashes and 55 injury crashes.

Know How Claims Are Handled Locally

Bicycle cases arising in Shelby County are filed at the Shelby County Courthouse within the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Knowing whether a trail section is city, county, or federally managed determines both the deadline and the procedure that applies.

Remain Committed to Improving Safety

Our firm distributes bicycle helmets to children across Central Illinois and supports [INTERNAL LINK: /community-involvement/coats-for-kids/ “Coats for Kids”] and [INTERNAL LINK: /community-involvement/backpack-blitz/ “Backpack Blitz”].

Local Resources in Shelbyville

Frequently Asked Questions About Bicycle Accident Claims

I was not wearing a helmet. Does that end my bike accident claim? 

No. Illinois does not require adult cyclists to wear helmets. An insurer may raise the point, and it carries far less weight than the argument suggests. It does not by itself bar recovery.

The driver says I appeared on my bike without warning. How is that addressed? 

With evidence. Damage patterns on the vehicle and bicycle, final resting positions, photographs of sight lines from the driver’s approach, witness accounts, and ride data where it exists. That account most often reflects a driver who did not look rather than a rider who was not there.

Which insurance policy pays when a car strikes my bicycle? 

Typically the driver’s auto liability policy. Your own auto policy may also apply, because uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage frequently extends to cyclists and medical payments coverage may pay bills regardless of fault.

I crashed on the trail because of a surface hazard. Is a bicycle injury claim possible? 

Possibly, though the timeline is short. If a city or park district is responsible, the deadline may be one year rather than two. If the section is federally managed, the claim follows a separate process.

A dog on the trail caused my bike crash. Is that covered? 

Often, yes. The Illinois Animal Control Act addresses attacks and injuries generally rather than bites alone.

My child was struck while riding their bicycle. Is the deadline different? 

Generally, yes. For most injury claims, a minor’s two-year period does not begin until they turn 18. Evidence, however, does not wait.

Contact a Shelbyville Bicycle Accident Law Firm That Gives a Damn

A collision while riding can affect your health, your income, and an activity that matters to you. Our attorneys understand what riders face in these claims and have represented injured clients across Central Illinois. We are committed to holding negligent drivers accountable, pursuing fair compensation, and promoting safer roads and trails in our communities.

Consultations are free, there is no fee unless we recover money for you, and someone is available to take your call 24 hours a day.

Call 217.906.4668 or request your free consultation online. Onward Accident & Injury Law, 215 E Main St, Suite A, Shelbyville, IL 62565.

 

Attorney advertising. The information on this page is general in nature and is not legal advice regarding your situation. Contacting our firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.