Accident's involving Bicycles....

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Thermo1223

Thermo1223

Joined
Apr 18, 2005
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Location
Easton, PA
Well lets check this one of my list's of first.

Parked on the street, looked in my mirror, opened the door...count of 2 later & WHAMMMMMM!

Eldery guy went forward off the bike onto the ground. He must have had his head down. I almost stepped out of the car as well so if I did that would have hurt, a lot.

He didn't bleed or break anything on the bike that we could tell. My car of the other hand the door was ripped off, the fender crunched in. The hit was so hard it ripped the hinge stopper off the door. Needless to say he was moving along.

I asked him 5 times if he wanted an ambulance or go to the hospital. He said no and after giving him my auto insurance card/number and getting his he rode off. lol

So about an hour ago I get a txt saying his knee started to hurt and he went the hospital and it is a fractured patella(knee cap). I am hoping riding it home like that didn't aggravate it because I clearly asked him if he was ok.

So I called my ins. and ya know we play the waiting game now. Just wondering if there is anything else I should be doing.
 
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You are probably at fault here. The reason I say this is because my friend's wife opened up her car door and had it ripped off by a passing car. She was adamant that it could not possibly be her fault. She saw an attorney who explained to her that it was indeed her fault. Her insurance ended up paying for damages on the other vehicle.

As you said, you counted to 2 and then the guy hit your door. It sounds like you opened your door right in front of him.

It could have been much worse. I'd consider yourself fortunate the bicyclist was not more seriously injured.

Scott
 
reguardless of reality, almost all ped and bike accidents the cars driver will be found at fault.

a guy i know stopped at a light and a bike hit him in the rear and the bicycle rider did a cart wheel over the car and ended in front.

so you would think its the bikers fault no? he went to court and sued saying its the drivers fault and won. the judgement was for 85k.

with bikes and ped you are wrong even when you are right.
 
If you actually count to 2 you'll realize how little time that actually is, and that you pretty much opened the door with very little time for the biker to react. Unless the road had a bend, a look in the side and rear-view mirrors should have shown more than 2 seconds worth of traffic, unless this biker was really booking it.
 
I'm sure you will be found at fault. The problem I saw in the insurance world is that bikers don't follow their own laws. They run red lights, ride on sidewalks, across crosswalks, and even speed. The one case I saw that found the biker at fault was when he hit a car and tried to blame it on the driver not looking. Turns out he was on a downhill, was speeding so the driver couldn't see him, and went through a stop sign. The guy was a real d-bag too. Yeah not everyone sees bikes and they are more vulnerable, but they also have to obey the laws.
 
I even looked in my mirror and still didn't see him. I even waited because I car passed me right before he apparently tried. I guess wearing all white on a sunny day didn't help matters.

The funny thing I noticed him 2-3 blocks back on a different road because of the flashing light he had. He was also driving in the middle of the road too so I guess kinda hard not to notice that.

Chalk up on one more reason to not drive in Canada...$1000 fine and 3 points, that's just abuse of power.

Not trying to alleviate any blame but why he was hugging parked cars I'll never understand. Even with my door not open he would have clipped my mirror. based on his path.

Also my door was already open when the count started, I was just about to exit the car.

So car passed, saw nothing in mirror, door open...1....2...bam just so we are on the same page.

Also from the damage ya I'd say he was really booking it. 20-30 mph easy on this flat city street.

Edit: Also I didn't notice it right away but apparently in that whole ordeal he got me in the process. Took some skin off my wrist...I wasn't working with my hands today at work so I know it was not done there.
 
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Originally Posted By: mclasser
Pedestrian and bicyclist-related incidents are a slippery slope due to the strong possibility of litigation.


I always wondered about what would happen if someone was hit in the city's roundabout. There are signs posted everywhere to use the cross walks and wait for the lights. I must avoid 2-3 people a day who just across it like frogger.
 
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
Your insurance should sue him for hitting you and causing bodily harm. Wonder if the bicycler has insurance?.....


Lol I mean I guess, I mean auto but the only thing I could ever consider that would cover it is umbrella insurance.
 
That is why it is called an "accident". I was on the other side 4 years ago. I was going thru an intersection and the car rear ended me on my bike. Nothing malicious, just an accident, he didn't see me and I could not avoid him.
The crime is it took 4 years for Geico to settle with me and the attorney. It could have been settled early on and for a lot less money but the insurance companies want to low ball.
It was doubly frustrating for the car driver because of litigation, screwed him because of pending lawsuit even though I had no malice towards him or him to me.
I learned my lesson though, I ride mountain bikes and I was too lazy to put my bike on the rack and drive 2 miles to the trails. I now stay off the streets and stay safe off road
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
I'm sure you will be found at fault. The problem I saw in the insurance world is that bikers don't follow their own laws. They run red lights, ride on sidewalks, across crosswalks, and even speed. The one case I saw that found the biker at fault was when he hit a car and tried to blame it on the driver not looking. Turns out he was on a downhill, was speeding so the driver couldn't see him, and went through a stop sign. The guy was a real d-bag too. Yeah not everyone sees bikes and they are more vulnerable, but they also have to obey the laws.
These are the problems we have when the road lice come out during the summer. They follow 0 laws and put themselves in harms way all the time but its the drivers fault always. Our state spends plenty of tax money on trails but theyd rather ride 3 wide on two lane hwys (cant see them at the top and bottoms of hills)and blow stop signs because its too hard to click their riding shoes out of the pedals.
 
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Originally Posted By: WhyMe
reguardless of reality, almost all ped and bike accidents the cars driver will be found at fault.

a guy i know stopped at a light and a bike hit him in the rear and the bicycle rider did a cart wheel over the car and ended in front.

so you would think its the bikers fault no? he went to court and sued saying its the drivers fault and won. the judgement was for 85k.

with bikes and ped you are wrong even when you are right.


I think the douche bag on the bike should've been found liable and been made to pay for any damages done to the car.
 
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
Your insurance should sue him for hitting you and causing bodily harm. Wonder if the bicycler has insurance?.....


I'm with Nate on this one, those pedalists are with a God complex and a deathwish when they hit the road on their modified thooth-pick-mobiles. I like to ride a bike and have nothing but respect for pedaling, but I KNOW that a 2-6K lb vehicle will need to be avoided. Where I'm from, if you don't hurt too bad after an accident like that, the driver will make sure you are on your way to the hospital. PDX induced rant, I'm sorry.
 
Originally Posted By: Dyusik
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
Your insurance should sue him for hitting you and causing bodily harm. Wonder if the bicycler has insurance?.....


I'm with Nate on this one, those pedalists are with a God complex and a deathwish when they hit the road on their modified thooth-pick-mobiles. I like to ride a bike and have nothing but respect for pedaling, but I KNOW that a 2-6K lb vehicle will need to be avoided. Where I'm from, if you don't hurt too bad after an accident like that, the driver will make sure you are on your way to the hospital. PDX induced rant, I'm sorry.


And I'm with you and Nate on this one too!
 
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