Car Door Accident...

Yes, he is at least as much at fault as you are, probably more so. The onus is on the person opening the door into traffic to ensure that it is safe to do so. Tell him he can take a running jump if he thinks you're paying any damages on his car, and that he's lucky not to be hearing from your solicitor.

He is completely, 100% at fault. Nearly had the same thing happen to me on Tuesday. Taxi driver had to swing around me to pull in down the road and then opened his door as I passed. If I'd been half a second earlier, his insurance premium would have skyrocketed. Morons.

Looking in your mirror before opening the door into traffic isn't sufficient and anyone who would claim so is also a moron. You wouldn't pull out into traffic without looking over your shoulder, so why would opening your door be any different?

What action to take I guess would depend on the extent of the damage. If it was less than €200 I'd probably take the hit. Any more and I'd make a claim with his insurance company. Either way I'd tell him to go and jump for his costs.

im not a cyclist by any stretch, my friends are tho, and regardless of what he says he is totally 100% at fault.

However you have already lost the case. The second something like that happens you should call the gards and get it on record.

A door is a tricky thing to fix. It could be done a few different ways depending on the car. It could be a panel beat, fill or a panel replacement.

The pandel beat will cost at least 3 hours labour at roughly 80 an hour. Then you would have to pay for a respray. The total would be around 500 i would assume. Thats being lucky.

The fill would act like polyfiller on a wall, thats cheaper and quicker (as such not the dry time) but you will definitly have to pay for a respray. Not even sure if this is done anymore.

The panel replacement is quicker, but it also includes a respray.

There could also be alignment issues with the door, not to mention the front arch panel being bent out of shape, which would also cause alignment issues.

If the paint doesnt match, he might request another respray to make sure the shades are just right.

Taxi drivers are the scum of the earth, one of them scratched my cars front wheel arch which knocked it out of alignment and cracked my front light (instant NCT Fail). He wanted to offer me 50 quid to call it quits and fought tooth and nail against the 1600 quid damage that he actually caused. Theres alot more than the untrained eye will see in cases like these.

But again, your in the right, but you seriously should have called the gards if there were damages caused.

Absolutely not.

This has happened to every one of us at some stage or another (three times for me, I think) and the first reaction of almost every driver is to try and put the blame on the cyclist because they don't want to admit they did something stupid. And having done that, they won't back down because then they'll look stupid again. Conversely, you tend to be a bit shocked by the experience and generally relieved not to be hurt, and don't stand up to their bull**** as you might ordinarily do.

However the likelihood of ever hearing from this guy again should you ignore his demands is vanishingly small. He is in the wrong, and he is very fortunate that you were not seriously injured (as, of course are you). I don't think the guards would necessarily take his side - I imagine they'd would most likely take a few details and then stick it in the never to be examined again file.

The one thing to take away from this is always to keep your distance from parked cars and be specially wary of any car where you see the tail lights switch off as that often means the driver is about to get out of the car. After a while you get into the habit of peering into cars as you approach them to see if anyone is in them, and believe me, it's a good habit to have.

red_ice wrote: »

However you have already lost the case. The second something like that happens you should call the gards and get it on record.

This is not correct. Admitting liabilty at the scene doesn't confer liability. It can damage your defence, but it's not a "lost case" by any stretch.

Peleus wrote: »

So you think i should go and report it to the guards. would that help?

Yes. Go to Terenure Garda station at your earliest opportunity (i.e. on your way home this evening). File a report, be completely honest and give them whatever details you have about the other guy.

In the unlikely event that the taxi driver wants to pursue you for damages, it will help your case immensely if your statement is in first as it will devalue any embellishments on the part of the taxi driver, ("I opened my door, went around to the back of the car, stood there for five minutes and then he hit my door Garda.").

If it went to court, there is the possibility of partial liability but any insurance company with a bit of sense wouldn't let it get remotely that far, especially when you're not pursuing for damages.

I'm a cyclist and a motorist and you'd be surprised at how difficult it is to see cyclists in the dark if they are not either using lights, or wearing a hi-vis.

Yes, maybe he should have looked longer and harder but you can't really blame people for not having supersonic sight. The amount of times I've nearly hit cyclists because they were cycling in the dark, with no lights and wearing dark clothes and it drives me up the wall because if there was an accident I'm sure the blame would be put on me.

I would never dream of cycling in the dark without at least a hi-vis. I would go so far to cycle on the path sooner than a busy road with no lights. It's just too easy to cause an accident and personally I don't think it's fair to then put the blame onto the guy who didn't see somebody in the dark, with no lights on them! I would go so far as to say I think that gardai should start fining people for not using lights in the dark.

OP, you said your light was stolen which is bad luck, and I'm not trying to have a go at you and thank god you weren't injured. But people who do this regularly....I just think it's inviting disaster sooner or later.

seamus wrote: »

This is not correct. Admitting liabilty at the scene doesn't confer liability. It can damage your defence, but it's not a "lost case" by any stretch.

I said he was in the right, the fact that he did nothing about it on site and didnt grab the bull by the horns(as you should do in this situation) means his defence(because now he needs one) is damaged more so now than ever. Think about it, if your house is robbed and you catch the thief, do you let him go having got all his details? Or do you report him right away on the scene? You make sure the guy cant get away!

seamus wrote: »

Yes. Go to Terenure Garda station at your earliest opportunity (i.e. on your way home this evening). File a report, be completely honest and give them whatever details you have about the other guy.

As a rottenhat said, it will now go in the never to be looked at again pile. And if it does, the scales will be tipped big time!

seamus wrote: »

In the unlikely event that the taxi driver wants to pursue you for damages, it will help your case immensely if your statement is in first as it will devalue any embellishments on the part of the taxi driver, ("I opened my door, went around to the back of the car, stood there for five minutes and then he hit my door Garda.").

Thats how he can word it if he wants. No proof of anything else, no witnesses, no on site report.

seamus wrote: »

If it went to court, there is the possibility of partial liability but any insurance company with a bit of sense wouldn't let it get remotely that far, especially when you're not pursuing for damages.

again, imo thats a sign of weakness! This shows you feel guilty for what happened in some way or another. If someone does something that directly effects an asset of yours you should demand compensation with no exception.

I've been involved in many an incident with my car(im a pleb magnet!) and the first 2 times i lost the plot, nearly didnt chase up certain things etc. Now its a case of

*bang*, here we go again, details pls, your fault not mine, gards arrive on scene, i point out whats wrong, other party pleads case, insurance get involved, assessors arrive, agree with said case, car gets fixed, end of story.

Honestly seamus, if that were you would you do it any other way? I hope to god that i never hit someone on a bike incase of a situation like above(and other more obvious ones). Id lose hands down.

It sounds like it was mostly your fault. If you're cycling without a front light, the least you can do is keep a distance from stationary vehicles.

His mistake (not seeing an unlit cyclist after sunset) is arguably escusable. Yours (recklessly cycling without lights) isn't.

When my Mini door lock got screwdrivered, it cost over £1k to get the door reskinned by the BMW dealer. So, this could be expensive. But IANAL.

I'd try and keep him onside if possible. I've crashed into other cars (in my own car) before, more than once, and I found myself surprised by how incredibly reasonable people can be if you 'fess up, offer to cover costs, but plead poverty.

Silenceisbliss wrote: »

you had no front light at the time. you are liable.
Link

i don't see where it says that failure to comply with the lights law = automatic liability in case of an accident.

maybe the OP bears some responsibility here, but it's certainly not a clean cut issue.

Don't have time to read all the posts on this thread so apologies if I'm repeating stuff that's been said... Anyway, I just wanted to say that I have a bit of experience with this sort of thing so if you have any questions, PM me and I'll respond over the next day or so. (I was "door-ed" last year and eventually received compensation for my medical bills.)

My one single bit of advice right now would be to go to a Garda station and make a statement. It shouldn't matter if it happened yesterday or even a few days ago. Just give them all the details.

Peleus wrote: »

Hi all,

Couldn't find any old threads on this, which is surprising cos it happens alot. Basically I was in an accident yesterday in Terenure. I was cycling along, minding my own business, :P, when a taxi driver opened his car door on me and knocked me off onto the road.

Initially i thought he was liable for the accident but since my front light was missing, he's claiming that he looked in his mirror and didn't see me. So now I've got a messed up bike and apparently i have to pay for this guys door to get fixed. Should I have to pay for everything? Considering i was in a well lit up area and had cars around me. I know i'm at fault but surely he is a bit too?

also, out of interest, how much approximately would it cost to fix a car door. The door could close fine but it was dented in a bit so when he opened it it was rubbing near the hinge against the front panel on the car. Anyone know?


Thanks for the help.

red_ice wrote: »

Taxi drivers are the scum of the earth

In fairness they are not all that bad, there is one on this very forum! I have had a few run-ins with them in my time but the one time damage was caused due to my fault, I managed to cycle into the back of an unoccupied and parked one, breaking his rear light and leaving a bit of a scratch. 100% my fault. Left a note on the car and he was very good about it, got the new light cheap from a trade contact and fitted it himself, said not to worry about the scratch. I know how much these things cost and I can assure you he only asked for the bare minimum.

@OP- you should have had a light but personally I find it inconceivable that you would be held liable in this case. He should have looked more than in his mirror before opening the door and if you were close enough to crash into it I find it difficult to believe he would not have seen you had he looked. I would refuse to pay anything and let his insurance come after you if they want (they won't.) Make sure to make a statement now though, with all the details (e.g. include that you did not have a light.)

@Silenceisbliss- that is rubbish, jaywalking is illegal but that doesn't mean you can just plow into someone illegally crossing the road.