Dooring Accident Lawyer: Claims for Cyclists Hit by an Opening Car Door

Who is responsible when a car door hits a cyclist

The person who opened the door is usually responsible. Pennsylvania law says no one may open a door on a motor vehicle until it is reasonably safe and can be done without interfering with moving traffic, and no one may leave a door open on the traffic side longer than needed to load or unload passengers (75 Pa.C.S. § 3705). A bicycle in the lane is moving traffic.

The rule applies to "any person," so it covers passengers as well as drivers. A rideshare or taxi passenger jumping out on the street side, or a parent opening a rear door to get a child out, owes the same duty to look before opening.

The two ways dooring crashes happen

Riders describe two patterns, and they lead to different injuries and evidence:

• Direct strike: the rider hits the edge of the door, usually with a shoulder, hand or face. Broken collarbones, wrist fractures, facial injuries and dental damage are common.
• Swerve into traffic: the rider sees the door at the last second and swerves left into the travel lane, where a passing car or bus hits them. These crashes can involve two at-fault parties, the door opener and the passing driver, and often the worst injuries.

Answering the "you were riding in the door zone" argument

The door opener's insurer will often say you rode too close to the parked cars. The reply starts with the law: the duty to check before opening falls on the person in the car. Riders on narrow streets also have real limits. Painted bike lanes are often placed right next to parked cars, and moving farther left can put a rider in conflict with drivers who are required to give a four-foot passing distance but frequently do not (75 Pa.C.S. § 3303(a)(3)).

Pennsylvania's modified comparative negligence rule means any share of fault assigned to you reduces your recovery, but it does not bar it unless your share is greater than the defendants' combined fault (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102). Evidence such as a helmet camera, a store camera on the block, the position of the door and the damage to your bike usually shows how little time you had.

Which insurance pays after a dooring

Your medical bills are paid first through Pennsylvania first-party benefits, starting with any auto policy on which you are a named insured, then a household relative's policy. If neither exists, a person who was not in a vehicle can claim against the policy on a motor vehicle involved in the accident. The statute says a parked and unoccupied car is not "involved" unless it was parked so as to cause unreasonable risk of injury (75 Pa.C.S. § 1713(a)(4)). In a dooring, the car usually had someone in it opening the door, which is why the details of who was inside and what they were doing matter.

The liability claim for your other losses normally runs against the auto policy covering the car whose door was opened. If a passenger opened the door, the claim can involve both the passenger and the driver's coverage, and in a rideshare trip the ride company's insurance may also be in play. If the driver pulled away after the crash, report it to police at once and notify your insurer within 30 days so uninsured motorist coverage stays available (75 Pa.C.S. § 1702).

Streets where doorings happen and what to do now

Doorings cluster where riders share the curb lane with parked cars and constant turnover: the business blocks of West Chester Pike and Lansdowne Avenue in Upper Darby, State Road and Garrett Road through Drexel Hill, and the commercial corridors of West Philadelphia, where delivery vehicles and ride-hail pickups double-park beside bike lanes. A crash in Delaware County is usually filed in Media, and one in Philadelphia in the Court of Common Pleas at City Hall.

At the scene, get the name and insurance of the person who opened the door and the driver if different, photograph the car, its plate and which door opened, and ask nearby shops to save their video. Do not repair your bike before it is photographed. A lawsuit must generally be filed within 2 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524).

Your Legal Warrior works on a 100% contingency fee: no attorney fee unless we recover, all case costs advanced by the firm and repaid only from a recovery, and nothing owed if there is no recovery. Call (267) 412-4601 or send the free case review form.