Compensation for Cyclist Doored by Car

Penalty

K.Flyer wrote: »

Car insurance is going up, because a lot of motorists do not pay attention to what they are supposed to be doing and cause accidents.

Motorists have always caused accidents and always will - that's why we have insurance.

The main reason for the current increasing motor insurance is the ridiculously high liability payments being given in court, PIAB not being fit for purpose and fraud.

Legal fees make up between 40-60% of claims.

blackmadra

K.Flyer wrote: »

Car insurance is going up, because a lot of motorists do not pay attention to what they are supposed to be doing and cause accidents.
Swinging a car door open and hitting a cyclist is the fault of the car driver and the person who opened the door.
The cyclist has every right to claim for any injury or loss suffered as a result of been knocked from his bike by some idiot not checking before opening the door.
Yes he is entitled to claim, yes insurance goes up, but blame the right person for this, the ar$ehole who opened the car door.

Here here!

Also I should add that there is no question as to who was at fault here. The passenger who opened the door accepted the blame at the scene and two witnesses would verify this for me.

Contributor 2013

Litigation nation.

In all fairness, you "might have" scuppered your plans for the weekend and the following one.

I wouldn't be looking for a claim out of this unless I had significant injury. I.e something which would keep me off of work = me losing money. As a previous poster said, the van will need fixing and it was a good job to report it to the Guards. That would be down to the driver/passenger.

Head to a doctor get checked out, if it's just bumps and bruises and the van driver doesn't contact you, don't be a little vampire, chalk it down to exp and move on. Accidents do happen, and they can happen to anyone.

Imagine if someone in your family had a claim made against them for the same situation and could end up losing their no claims and an insurance hike. If their financial situation wasn't good at the moment it could lead to a lot more (not being able to afford to keep the car on the road - etc) You don't know the people involved or what circumstances they are under.

Justice for an accident?

Please.

wadk

Sure go ahead and file against the city council for the amount of bad roads that caused your punctures and damaged wheels.

Traumadoc

wadk wrote: »

Sure go ahead and file against the city council for the amount of bad roads that caused your punctures and damaged wheels.

I did , pothole wrote off the rims on my car. Actually very easy to do, just contact your local council.

Robbo

Watch the tone here please, people.

Contributor 2013

In fairness I did not see the mods post just previous to mine.

Traumadoc

Contributor 2013 wrote: »

Litigation nation.

In all fairness, you "might have" scuppered your plans for the weekend and the following one.

I wouldn't be looking for a claim out of this unless I had significant injury. I.e something which would keep me off of work = me losing money. As a previous poster said, the van will need fixing and it was a good job to report it to the Guards. That would be down to the driver/passenger.

Head to a doctor get checked out, if it's just bumps and bruises and the van driver doesn't contact you, don't be a little vampire, chalk it down to exp and move on. Accidents do happen, and they can happen to anyone.

Imagine if someone in your family had a claim made against them for the same situation and could end up losing their no claims and an insurance hike. If their financial situation wasn't good at the moment it could lead to a lot more (not being able to afford to keep the car on the road - etc) You don't know the people involved or what circumstances they are under.

Justice for an accident?

Please.

He is not being a "little vampire" , if he was injured through no fault of his own, he may be awarded compensation for those injuries.

marklazarcovic

Traumadoc wrote: »

I did , pothole wrote off the rims on my car. Actually very easy to do, just contact your local council.

is this true? a pothole cost me a spring,shock,and bearing last month..awful sting in the pocket

Traumadoc

marklazarcovic wrote: »

is this true? a pothole cost me a spring,shock,and bearing last month..awful sting in the pocket

Yes, best if you have photos of the pothole in question.

http://www.backroads.ie/forums/archive/index.php/t-8084.html

doolox

I had never thought of the consequences potentially being heaped on the driver in this case because of the stupid actions of his witless passenger in this event.

I do not recall anywhere in the rules of the road where the actions of passengers must be taken into account by the driver but I can see the logic of a driver being a sort of master and commander of a moving object much like a pilot or a captain of a ship would be responsible for all the actions and safety impacts of all occupants of a vehicle under his control.

I have always found driving in congested areas stressful because of the need to look out for cyclists on BOTH sides of the car when changing lanes, turning left or right, opening a door to get out etc... but mostly I have been on my own or with responsible people like my wife and daughters who are naturally cautious and responsible people who can be trusted to do the right thing at all times.

I won't be giving too many lifts to people in future. I might even erect warning signs in the car warning of the dangers of opening doors in a stupid manner when exiting. This is probably why many commercial vehicles are not insured to carry passengers not working for the company.

The cyclist in this case should make a claim get the medical expert to access the damage and engage a solicitor to help him deal with the insurance company. He should certainly be entitled to something, preferably directly from the errant passenger but in reality, since passengers do not have insurance in their own right, from the driver of the car.

I personally know a middle aged cyclist involved in a similar crash who was a year out of work over it and on half wages after 6 months and nearly dismissed and the injury did not feel bad initially but got worse over time.
So, cyclist, get it checked out now by a medical professional and get and keep records of all expenses incurred and the names and addresses of all parties involved. Also the name and Badge number of the Garda involved or reported to so you can follow up on progress.

As to Irelands reputation for flippant claims put it down to an extremely demanding work culture where only the fittest are kept on in many sectors and the expense of treating or curing injuries here with little or no Public Health cover for personal injuries if an insurance claim can be made.

In the event of a chronic injury developing you can be sure that the cyclists fellow workers and his boss will not carry him along in his workplace and he will loose out financially unless checked out and told otherwise by a medical professional.

Johnboy1951

Swinging a car door open and hitting a cyclist is the fault of the car driver and the person who opened the door.

I have seen a few statements like the one quoted and I have some difficulty with them.

I believe we should make a differentiation between 'fault' and 'legal responsibility'.

While I can accept that according to the law of the land the driver might have legal responsibility for what their passenger does (even though he has no control over it), I cannot accept that the driver is 'at fault' for those actions described.

MarkAnthony

The driver has legal responsibility, in part because they are the insured party. Insurance and Tort law more generally is a loss distribution mechanism. There would be nothing to stop the driver joining the passenger in an action against them or suing the passenger afterwards to recover their losses.

Balmed Out

I've had similar happen to me plenty of times as I would have cycled past a primary school on my own way to school growing up and the drop off was done very rushed but never more then bumps and bruises.
I can't help wondering just how fast you were overtaking to have managed to damage a van.

Traumadoc

Balmed Out wrote: »

I've had similar happen to me plenty of times as I would have cycled past a primary school on my own way to school growing up and the drop off was done very rushed but never more then bumps and bruises.
I can't help wondering just how fast you were overtaking to have managed to damage a van.

Probably less than the speed limit, 20kmph stopping suddenly would probably throw you 4 mts .

idnkph

I find it funny that people are having a go at the OP for thinking of claiming.
He has suffered pain and injury because of someone else's negligence.
He has every right to claim because he has no idea if the injury will cause him problems in the future.
It's not him putting the insurance premiums up.
People need to blame the solicitors and judges for the premiums going up. Solicitors push for more money and charge crazy amounts. Judges award some ridiculous amounts to be paid out.

Bigus

It would need to be a very severe crash to receive similar injuries to the ops a passenger inside a vehicle to ,

people would have no problem with somebody seeking compensation in such a case particularly if there was a pic attached of the wrecked car that caused such injuries.

TheExile1878

And how would a driver be able to sue a cyclist if it was their fault ?

We need plates for bikes now.

And OP - grow a pair, and suck it up. #moaner

TheExile1878

idnkph wrote: »

I find it funny that people are having a go at the OP for thinking of claiming.
He has suffered pain and injury because of someone else's negligence.
He has every right to claim because he has no idea if the injury will cause him problems in the future.
It's not him putting the insurance premiums up.
People need to blame the solicitors and judges for the premiums going up. Solicitors push for more money and charge crazy amounts. Judges award some ridiculous amounts to be paid out.

Despite the name, solicitor don't go looking for clients - let's blame the greedy bastards who see a big screen TV in every trip.

Heisenberg1

OP get your self to a doctor for an examination you have know idea what damage you may have sustained and talk to a solicitor. I opened my car door and hit a cyclist they came off there bike no serious injures damage to the bike nothing too bad they took a claim against my insurance and received in excess of £10000 so get yourself checked.

TheExile1878

Heisenberg1 wrote: »

OP get your self to a doctor for an examination you have know idea what damage you may have sustained and talk to a solicitor. I opened my car door and hit a cyclist they came off there bike no serious injures damage to the bike nothing too bad they took a claim against my insurance and received in excess of £10000 so get yourself checked.

TEN GRAND ????

FFS for something that was probably partly his fault ?

I'm off to get a bike - there's money in this scam.

Heisenberg1

TheExile1878 wrote: »

TEN GRAND ????

FFS for something that was probably partly his fault ?

I'm off to get a bike - there's money in this scam.

In fairness I didn't check my blind spot when I opened the door so it was all my fault I did damage the hinge of my door that wasn't fixed. At the time I couldn't believe that they caught that amount.

blackmadra

Balmed Out wrote: »

I can't help wondering just how fast you were overtaking to have managed to damage a van.

I don't have a speedometer on my bike but I wasn't going that fast. The damage to the van is not that bad either (although could be expensive to fix).

I have bull horn handlebars on my bike. When I hit the van one of the bullhorns put a circular dent about 2inches diameter and about a 2 inch scratch to the paintwork.

I love the way some people here are desperately trying to find a reason to blame me for this incident.

blackmadra

TheExile1878 wrote: »

TEN GRAND ????

FFS for something that was probably partly his fault ?

.

Partly his fault??? I love how you can say that with so much conviction and so little evidence!

I do agree that £10,000 seems very excessive. I doubt I would get anything close to that for my case.

gizmo555

blackmadra wrote: »

Partly his fault??? I love how you can say that with so much conviction and so little evidence!

I do agree that £10,000 seems very excessive. I doubt I would get anything close to that for my case.

My brother was knocked off his bike in similar circumstances over 20 years ago. His case was settled for £7,000. In my view, given the pain & suffering he experienced, this was fully justified, even though he did not have any long-lasting ill-effects - it took him about six months to fully recover. As it happened, the insured party was a solicitor, so it appears their professional opinion was that it was a fair settlement too.

Given inflation in the meantime, €10k doesn't necessarily seem at all excessive to me.

Stealthfins

blackmadra wrote:

I love the way some people here are desperately trying to find a reason to blame me for this incident.

The law will be on your side,let's just say you've 5K in your pocket as it is.
First offer from the insurance company will be around 7K just to forget about it and say nothing.

You'll probably get 15 to 18 K deservedly so.

Too many here living in LA LA land feeling the car drivers feeling s.

mrs vimes

gizmo555 wrote: »

My brother was knocked off his bike in similar circumstances over 20 years ago. His case was settled for £7,000. In my view, given the pain & suffering he experienced, this was fully justified, even though he did not have any long-lasting ill-effects - it took him about six months to fully recover. As it happened, the insured party was a solicitor, so it appears their professional opinion was that it was a fair settlement too.

Given inflation in the meantime, €10k doesn't necessarily seem at all excessive to me.

Insurance companies do not ask the opinion (professional or otherwise) of their client (the driver) before making a settlement. Solicitors, in my experience, are generally well advised not to get involved in steering cases where there won't be fee for them

Baby01032012

idnkph wrote: »

I find it funny that people are having a go at the OP for thinking of claiming.
He has suffered pain and injury because of someone else's negligence.
He has every right to claim because he has no idea if the injury will cause him problems in the future.
It's not him putting the insurance premiums up.
People need to blame the solicitors and judges for the premiums going up. Solicitors push for more money and charge crazy amounts. Judges award some ridiculous amounts to be paid out.

It's more the fact that his emphasis was on getting revenge on driver. He had no concerns regarding his recovery as he didn't seek immediate medical attention and his only concern was that he might have to spend weekend indoors. His reference to the amount of compensation had no bearing on extent of injury. This compensation culture and sense of entitlement in our society is disgusting.

To Elland Back

blackmadra wrote: »

I think I will see a GP today and call a solicitor on Monday.

So you've decided to see a solicitor on Monday, no matter what your doctor tells you today.

The car owner is liable, no dispute. You decide where you want to take it from here.

Parchment

I really dont see how people think this is the cyclists fault.