The person who opened the door is at fault in most of these cases. California puts the duty on them, not on the rider.
The rule is Vehicle Code section 22517, and it is short enough to read in one breath.
What does section 22517 say?
It says no person shall open a door on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe. The section adds that opening it must not interfere with traffic.
Two things follow from that wording. The duty falls on whoever opens the door, and a bicycle counts as traffic.
Does it apply to passengers and rideshare riders?
Yes. The section says no person, not no driver, so a passenger in the back seat has the same duty.
That comes up often in Los Angeles, where a rider gets doored by someone leaving an Uber or a Lyft. Our guide to the three phases of Uber and Lyft insurance explains which policy may answer in that situation.
Can the cyclist be blamed for part of it?
Sometimes, and California divides fault instead of ending the claim. An insurer will look for a share to assign to the rider.
The arguments they use are usually one of these.
- Riding at night with no front light, which Vehicle Code section 21201 requires.
- Riding faster than conditions allowed on a narrow street.
- Riding against traffic.
- Swerving into the lane without looking.
None of those cancels the duty in section 22517. They change the percentage. In most of these cases the person who opened the door owns the larger share.
What about the door zone in a bike lane?
Many bike lanes in this city are painted right beside parked cars, so the safe line and the painted line are not the same line. Riding toward the outer edge of the lane is a reasonable response to that.
California does not require a cyclist to ride inside a hazard. A rider who moved left to clear the door zone was avoiding a known danger, and that is worth saying plainly in the claim.
Who pays for the damage and the injuries?
The driver’s auto policy usually answers, even where a passenger opened the door. Where the vehicle was working for a rideshare company at the time, that company’s policy may apply instead.
Your own uninsured motorist coverage can also come in when the driver has no insurance. Bring your own policy to the first meeting so nobody guesses.
What to do at the scene
- Call the police and ask for a report, even where the injuries look minor.
- Photograph the car, the open door, the bike lane paint and your bicycle.
- Get the name of the person who opened the door, not only the driver.
- Ask any witness for a phone number before they leave.
See a doctor the same day. Shoulder, wrist and head injuries from a door strike often feel worse on day three. A gap in treatment is the first thing an adjuster points at.
How this plays out in Los Angeles
Door zone bike lanes are common on streets with parking on both sides. The risk rises where a lane is narrow and the parking turns over quickly. Delivery and rideshare stops add to it, because those doors open in a hurry.
Our team pulls the street layout and the parking pattern for the block where it happened. A lane painted inside the door zone is part of the story, and it belongs in the claim.
Ask who is likely to be at fault in your case
We can look at the police report, the photographs and the street layout and tell you where the fault is likely to land. We can also work out which policy answers first.
There is no fee to ask, and no fee unless we win. Here is how we work as a bicycle accident lawyer in Los Angeles, and how to reach our team in English, Spanish or Armenian.
