Sequence and significance are not so linked as that.

+1

You definitely need to file a police report and as we tell people, fix your life, not your lawsuit. Having said that, the owner of the vehicle may be at fault and may not. It depends on the laws in your state. In Texas, the "vehicle" who controls the lane has the right to the lane. What that means is, did he open the door when you were too close to avoid the collision (sounds that way). If not, and it could come down to a he said-she said situation, then you might be liable. His admission of liability is only good in front of a jury and carries no weight with the insurance company.

You should contact his carrier if they have not contacted you within 48 hours of the incident. Talk about what happened but avoid such things as "I didn't see him" because that can be construed as fault on your part. Also make it clear you are not ready to discuss a resolution of your injuries until you have been cleared by your medical provider. You need to compile all of your expenses and present a demand to the insurance company in one fell swoop. That is the most effective. The general rule is to ask for three times the amount of your hard damages but expect to receive a third and negotiate from there. Make sure if they issue you funds that should represent reimbursement for hard damages that the check does not contain any type of release language nor should you sign any kind of release that is not specific to only what you are releasing. Make it be specific to the point of itemizing exactly what the payment covers and you are releasing.

Then know that sometimes it takes time and in most states you have a full two years from the date of the incident to bring legal action if necessary.

I am really shocked people have such a live and let live attitude about these things. How does only receiving compensation for medical bills and bike repair make the OP "whole" when he is injured and will have to deal with the inconvenience and pain associated with something that was clearly not his fault.

I stand by my statement, its not a mistake when someone gets doored because a motorist doesnt take the time to check for bikes/cars near his door. Thats just being selfish, not a mistake. A mistake is forgetting to look one time out of a thousand as compared to the systematicly myopic actions of the drivers of Los Angeles who routinely park their cars....pull out their cell phones...start texting and open their door while never looking away from their text messeges.

I hope the OP does well in his recovery and is compensated however he sees fit.....I on the other hand would persue damages in court to compensate for pain and injury and hope to make an example out of the driver. Everyone is apologetic after an accident, but where was their compasion when they didnt check their mirror before opening the door?

People learn by being punished, not by getting off the hook with ease. Litigate for damages and with any luck the guy will get stuck with the deductable from hell........he will check his mirrors after that.

In California, I seriously doubt the driver would EVER be called to court on this. It would be the attorneys for the insurance company. They driver will only feel the pain when his rates go up next year, which will happen whether the OP sues or not.

I agree that the body should be made whole, and the bike restored to the pre-crash condition. Additionally, he should ask for compensation for all lost work, time/travel in fixing things, etc. Not in excess, but at least what's fair.

Literally means you ran into the car, not rode a bike into it.

Since we only know about this one incident concerning this driver there's no way for us to determine if this was his 'one in a thousand' time that he forgot to look or if he does it routinely. But his insurance company will know if he's a careless driver in general and adjust his rates accordingly.

Note that deductibles only apply to comprehensive and collision claims that cover your own vehicle. They don't apply to liability claims that are paid out to others for damage or injuries for which you're responsible. But his insurance company is likely to take any settlement for an at-fault personal injury pretty seriously when they decide on his rate quote for subsequent renewals.

Good luck finding a lawyer willing to "litigate for damages" here. PI lawyers typically take cases on contingency.

Yes, isn't terrible that everyone isn't completely rapacious? Why the next thing you know, people might start thinking beyond their own narrow little worlds.

You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of being "made whole". It's a well-established idea in law. It encompasses everything necessary to put the victim in the state they were before, including dealing with any and all injuries, compensation for lost time from work, and so on.

Well, then you're simply illogical and ridiculous. What makes the one act a mistake, while the other is selfishness? You're drawing lines where no distinction exists.


Again, why are you jumping into the whole idea of winning the lottery with this constant bravado about "going to court"? That's not how the real world works. The vast, vast majority of the time everyone deals with the insurance companies, they come to an agreement, and everyone goes on their way. This is how adults deal with these things.


Wow, what a keen observer of human nature. I stand in awe.

I completely agree with your statements.

You may want to keep in mind that anyone 13 or older can post on BF.

@Mulveyr - with all due respect, welcome to Los Angeles.....where cycling is like one of those Japanese game shows where contestants dodge objects trying to knock them over, only here is cars and doors. I make generalizations about the non random nature of the accident because I live in the same city, in fact I have lived in Burbank as well and I know first hand the level of attention paid to cyclists by motorists. I commute 6 miles a day through a gauntlet of morons in SUV's and BMW's down one of Santa Monica's busiest areas every day 365 days a year and I garuantee you that your view of drivers would turn "rapacious" very quickly if you did the same.

I once again stand by my selfish vs mistake arguement as well. I avoid a dooring at least 2-3 times a week by riding on the extreme edge of the bike lane at all times and without fail its always someone on their phone, looking through their purse, or just not giving a f*ck that opens a door into my path. You can tell me the sky is orange but if every time I look up its blue, well, I guess you can keep calling it orange to sound like a more enlightened person, but in the end you are giving people the benefit of the doubt who truly do not deserve it.

Also, my very good friend was in an accident involving a cab and got 50K out of it, so the idea that you wont get proper compensation from the legal system is nonsense, you need a better lawyer....

In theory there's an age limit. I've been on BF long enough to question whether that's the case in practical terms. ;-)

I'm in awe of your clear maturity advantage and years of wisdom, it has helped you enormously to grossly misunderstand both the reality of urban cycling and the level of care people take in interacting with one another while commuting.

The OP has it right. He understands that he'll heal, but the bike won't.

That would make hanging out on BF an exercise in extreme masochism

You never mentioned what the guy's attitude was after he did this to you? Depending on that...maybe it is time to lawyer up..haha..

Bikelanes that allow parking, WTF is that? Cars are running to the left of the lane, opening a car door isn't going to result in an oncoming car collision. Cyclist trying to stay in the lane, gets doored.
My post above was about bike lanes not being that good an idea, necessarily. If there is a bike-and-park-your-car "bikelane", I'm riding outside the door zone, whether to far-left in the bikelane, or in the regular traffic lane. IF OP was in a designated bikelane, the city should be liable for creating a dangerous nuisance. If there was no bikelane, car-driver is liable, but in reality, OP should have been steering clear of the potential opening door whatever the striping was, for his own safety. That was the point of my last post: figure out what is SAFEST for you.

Like in my town, the cops recommend riding on the sidewalk (legal here). Great for slow riders who can stop when somebody coming out of a driveway or parking lot or cross street doesn't stop at the sidewalk line, but people go through this line all the time, so bad news if you ride fast. The best thing is to ride where drivers ARE LOOKING, which is car-traffic area, on the road.

For behind-me drivers I always use a Dinoitte 400R, which alerts behind-me drivers to my presence at a much greater distance than if I were not signaling them in advance, "Cyclist ahead of me, I have plenty of time and space to DELIBERATELY THINK about my pass."

So much of biking risks are a matter of us riders not maximizing our small-size low-profile visibility. There's a difference between claiming our legal rights in car v. bike accidents, versus making car v. bike accidents not happen. We have power to make the latter possible. Use the power, or don't, it's your choice.

It's about staying safe riding among 3000-6000+ lb motorized vehicles. I'm mostly into staying unhurt. You ride in LA. I did in the early 60s, SD in the 70s-80s, OC in the 90s. Guess what? I never had a car-vs.-me collision. Pretty high density car traffic.

I'm glad you are not permanently hurt. However, you need to reassess your claims.

If i were in your shoes, I would ask for (1) a new bike. I dunno whether yours is carbon or not, but if it is, i would not risk riding a frame that could be potentially be affected. (2) Medical costs of current bills and future therapy costs to get you back 100%. (3) Any lost wages you will incur while you recoup, and (4) pain and suffering.
Could you pursue this on your own? Sure, you could deal with the insurance company without the help of an attorney. Will you get more money if you had an attorney? Probably.
Good luck.
There are plenty of attorneys who are cyclists themselves. Do a quick google search on your area.

If you contact the insurance company, DO NOT tell them you are fine or minimize your suffering in anyway. Don't ask me how i know, but a "i'm doing fine" could come back to hunt you later on.

Visit your LBS and tell them you would like them to examine your bike and give you a written assessment to submit to an insurance company. Tell them you'd rather get a replacement. I'm fairly sure they'll work with you.

Don't feel bad for the guy that caused this, it's his own fault for not being observant. By your tone it sounds like you are a stand up person, please don't think this is in any way exploiting the system or taking advantage of the situation. This is simply making you whole.

Good luck and I wish you a speedy recovery.

1. Do you own a car?
2. Does your car have any blind spots?
3. Can you try to be reasonable and logical for 3 seconds and consider whether this could ever happen to you? You look over your shoulder and/or in your mirrors. Nothing is there so you open your door. All of the sudden something/someone is there.
4. Have you ever had a close call where you were nearly in an accident, barely missing a person or another car?

Since i bought my bike from competitive cyclist how would a frame replacement work? I was just gonna take the bike into a local shop and if it ends up having a crack in the frame do i get a replacement and have the guys insurance cover the new bike, i'd probably just end up purchasing a new bike from the shop i take it to instead of shipping anything to competitive cyclist. I'm gonna have his insurance replace anything that got damaged so in this case, my jersey got torn, helmet cracked, medical bills and won't be working for at least a couple weeks simply cause my job entails physical labor, and if the frame needs to be replaced or any other component that got damaged i'll have replaced as well. I'm only 22 and work part time so its not like i make tons of money to start with but every little bit helps so any lost wages from this injury i want to be reimbursed.

I have been road cycling all over Los Angeles since 1991, and don't have nearly as frequent of close calls as you. In fact, I often get respect from drivers once they see me obeying the same laws they are bound to, signaling my lane changes and turns, and not doing stupid things like hog the right-turn lane when I'm going straight. Perhaps your jaded outlook comes from riding with a chip on your shoulder enough to attract such actions. I'm saying this as someone who had a riding partner of his killed by a drunk driver last week.

Just because a lawyer got it doesn't mean it's "proper". If your friend truly suffered 50k worth of damages and pain, then great, everything's square. If he got some minor wounds and was back on the bike in a few weeks, he milked the system.

Unfortunately, too many stupid people are aloud to live and breed in this world. I understand your frustration with people who make the same mistake over and over again, but stupid people do exactly that. In my opinion, victim's of those stupid mistakes are entitled to exactly what damages are incurred. That does include pain and suffering, but it should be reasonable. Some people will roll over and take the first lowball offer an insurance company might offer, some will state exactly what they are out and get that, and yet others will find a "Larry H. Parker" and get X.X million because they're selfish. That's just how it is. However, you're crazy to think the driver is going to feel it any more or less. He gets X points on his record and his insurance rates are adjusted accordingly. The rest is worked out between the victim and the insurance company without the driver's participation or knowledge of it.

i'm curious.. what kinda bike do you have?
Ultimately, it is likely you'll get a check for the cost of the bike. What you do with the money afterwards is none of the insurance business, so either get another bike from cc or one from your shop.

Good luck.

2010 BMC Pro Machine

Take your bike into the shop and ask them to help you determine how much it would cost to replace all broken parts, including labor; or you could ask them to help you find a bike in the shop the same value as the damaged one and ask the insurance to just pay for the replacement (it seems they are usually often fine with this option to avoid any hassle, but some may not agree to it).

Add up the total cost of the helmet, jersey, and anything else damaged. Calculate the wages lost from not working, including any pension credit or other benefits you would have accrued. Calculate the value of the time you have to miss on the bike (including time waiting for the replacement bike or prts if applicable), or any other activity you will miss as a direct result of the accident. I believe the driver's insurance company offered me $200/day of training missed when I had an accident in 1994. Finally, if you suffered any pain that decreased your quality of life for any time, try to place a dollar amount on that. Be reasonable and the insurance company will probably agree. Add all these to the price of the replacement bike (or parts) and that's what you are entitled to (in my opinion).

Also, don't allow them to settle with you until you know all of these figures and the doctor has determined that you have a clean bill of health. You wouldn't want to settle for getting paid for 2 weeks off of work only to find a previously undetected back injury that will require surgery and more time off work.

1. Do you own a car?

Yes, but havent driven it in 10 months, which is a shame because its a 350z

2. Does your car have any blind spots?

Yes, and I have learned to how to check them before opening my door, which is large in a 2 door car

3. Can you try to be reasonable and logical for 3 seconds and consider whether this could ever happen to you? You look over your shoulder and/or in your mirrors. Nothing is there so you open your door. All of the sudden something/someone is there.

Never been in a car accident or doored anyone, not even close, I consider others when I do things in life, which is unusual for LA

4. Have you ever had a close call where you were nearly in an accident, barely missing a person or another car?

Yes, and with the exception of 1 time I can think of they were because of terrible weather....torrential rain in Georgia, rain in CA, snow in Boston

I am not trying to be a smart ass, I really do believe a little thought can actually prevent nearly all accidents

@Urbanknight - I ride main st in Santa Monica and a portion of downtown and the near doorings/right hand turns on main st would shock you. I ride assuming everyone will always do the wrong thing and thus far it has kept me safe, but that doesnt excuse the insane number of bucket drooling morons who test my reflexes everyday.