Dooring Accidents Can Lead to Serious Injuries, Even Disabling

According to studies, dooring accidents cause less severe injuries than other crashes. However, this doesn’t mean that you sit back and relax when you have been injured in a dooring accident –instead, you need to make sure justice is served. west palm beach personal injury lawyer can take charge and help you get compensated.

About 870,000 people in the US cycle to work every day. This puts the figure at 0.6 percent of all workers. With the rise in the number of cyclists on the road, the likelihood of accidents increases.

What is a Dooring Accident?

This type of accident occurs when a vehicle occupant, whether a driver or a passenger, opens their door suddenly without checking if there is oncoming traffic. In most cases, dooring occurs when someone carelessly opens the car door into the path of a cyclist.

Quick Fact

Dooring accidents make for almost a fifth of all dooring accidents each year. An estimated 8 percent of all serious injuries reported by cyclists resulted from collisions with a car door.

This has several consequences. First, the cyclist runs into the door, getting thrown over it and into the road. In the second scenario, the cyclist tries to avoid the door by swerving, only to be hit by another car or cause another accident.

When it comes to liability, the person that opened the car without checking to see if there was oncoming traffic is held accountable for the injuries. You aren’t liable for hitting the door or as the motorist of the other vehicle.

Dooring leaves the cyclist with serious injuries, missed income, costly medical bills, and permanent disabilities.

What Do You do After a Dooring Accident?

Call the Police and Make a Report

Most cyclists involved in a dooring accident hesitate or take time before involving the police in the matter. Whether they were liable for the accident and are afraid of the outcome or believe that they can handle the case by themselves without the help of the authorities, many legal issues arise due to a lack of police involvement.

The moment you make a police report, you protect yourself and your witnesses a little bit more.

Collect Relevant Evidence

Take photos of the accident scene and the vehicle(s) involved using your camera. Additionally, collect the contact information of the negligent driver, including a photo of his driver’s license and registration details.

Don’t forget to note down the contact information of the witnesses who saw what happened. Be patient enough to collect a copy of the police report as well.

All this information goes a long way in helping you prove that the accident happened the way you describe it. Once you have the information, share copies with competent west palm beach personal injury lawyer so that they can preserve them for use during the claim process.

Identify Witnesses and Talk to Them

Witness statements can make or break your case. Having another person substantiate what happened can be the difference between winning compensation for your losses and injuries and losing the case altogether.

Identify any bystanders that might have witnessed what happened and talk to them. The main aim is to discover what they saw and how this information can assist you in the claim process.

Take down their contact information and request them to stay around until the police officers arrive at the scene.

Witnesses are also important because they help you identify other people that saw what happened. Witnesses also allow you to get a record of what happened from different angles.

Talk to a Certified west palm beach personal injury lawyer

Before you take any step regarding the claim, you must contact a west palm beach personal injury lawyer to help you determine if you have a legal claim against the negligent person or not.

If you have a case against the motorist, the lawyer comes in as an expert to help you understand what legal options you have and to help you handle the case.

The lawyer you hire should have experience handling similar cases before so that he can help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to discuss the legal options available to you.