Originally Posted by Schiek
Okay, here are some facts....
On Oct. 16, 2000, plaintiff Mohamed Savane, 32, a bicycle messenger, was injured in a traffic accident on 39th Street, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway in New York. Savane was riding his bicycle west on 39th Street. He was passing a stopped taxi when the taxi's passenger opened the vehicle's street-side door, which struck Savane and knocked him to the ground. The passenger left the accident scene; no witnesses were retained.
Does Mohamed recover any damages?
Hmmm... My stepdad played this game with me one time when he was giving me a ride to the Rainbow Gathering in Oregon... We really didn't have much to talk about...
The fact that there were no witnesses is surprising - one would think that the cab company would keep track of which drivers were where... Also what their fares were...
I'm going to go with your choice of words here 'which struck Savane and knocked him to the ground' - this sounds as if he was parallel to the door when he was struck. If he 'ran into' the door, or 'his path was obstructed by the door' or 'the door presented an unforseen obstacle in his path', I would see something different in my minds eye... If he is already overtaking the car, and the door opens, then pushes him to the ground after hitting him in the leg and knocking him down... It probably makes a pretty big difference to a jury - did the biker hit the door, or did the door hit the biker?
Then for all means, he should flip a finger at them, shrug off the road rash, and complete the delivery...
Forgive me, I am not a lawyer....