bike/car accident questions...

[dostoy]

So, I imagine that some of you must bike on roads sometimes, and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with bike/car accidents. My girlfriend was biking to work through downtown Minneapolis Friday, and someone opened their car door into the bike lane. She hit it and suffered a broken collar bone and some nasty bruises and scrapes.

Has anyone out there dealt with this? Are insurance companies pretty good about reimbursement in car/bike accidents? Normally, if you hit another car with your car, the two car insurance companies duke it out, right? What happens with a bike?

Any advice/previous experience stuff that anyone could throw out would be appreciated.

-AG

[Dominican boy]

Be very careful my friend [ ] had an accident. and he got screwed over because he DID NOT signal while this happened.

DId she have bike lights, or front blinkers while this happened (the cops can actually give your g-friend a ticket) . Did the person that hit her have insurance, cause it can be claimed under both peoples insurance.

Did she get a police report. If not call your insurance company, theyll give you all the stuff and suggestions

Hope she gets well and i send her good Healing Foo to her!!

Dominicano

[GearDaddy]

For the first time in 20 years, I was hit by a car about one month ago. The driver was talking on their cell phone and went through a red light to make a right turn (to go the same direction that I was). I saw the car and tried to take evasive action by moving further left but didn't have nearly enough time to evade. So, I got hit on my right side pretty good and then thrown to the left towards the the middle of the road.

The driver admitted fault right there in front of the police officer. The ambulance checked me over, but I turned down a trip to the hospital. I had pretty sore ribs and some contusions and bruises on my right side, but no broken bones. The top tube of my bike was smashed flat, and few other things were bent and scuffed. The driver had no damage to their car.

I found out later that medical costs are handled separately from any car/bike damages. Also, Minnesota is a "no fault" state for medical costs, which means that your insurance company actually processes the claim unless some pretty serious damage has occured. I was told that the criteria for "serious damage" was things like a) death, b) loss of work for more than 60 days, or some huge amount of money for medical expenses (I forget that number). Good thing I didn't take that ambulance ride, I guess.

I basically negotiated with the driver's insurance company over damages to the bike. I gave them some information on what I paid for the bike and what I thought it was generally worth. They admitted that they don't have nearly the same knowledge or resources to judge damage to bicycles as they do for cars, but they claimed they would call around to some bike shops, et. al. They came back with an offer of some money, and they wanted me to give them the bike. I responded that I would rather keep the bike and salvage parts on my own, because it was more convenient for me, and we negotiated a somewhat lesser price. They agreed, so I am keeping the bike and they are sending me a check.

[dostoy]

Signaling was not an issue, as she was just biking straight down 11th St. She doesn't have lights or blinkers, but this was at about 8:30 in the morning - pretty light out. The car that opened its door actually passed right next to her, then pulled up along the bike lane and opened their door.

This "no fault" thing worries me. So, what you're saying is that its possible that the driver's insurance could somehow get out of paying for medical costs? That sounds pretty insane. My girlfriend doesn't have medical insurance, so this could be an issue.

Her bike, oddly enough, is fine. It was her old beater Schwinn - built like a tank.

Thanks for the heads up on stuff guys

ag

[jeffgude]

If she has auto insurance of her own I believe it will cover her medical bills. she should contact her insurance company to find out.

The problem with the other driver's insurance will be whether the other driver was "at fault"in opening the door in front of her. Was this a marked bike laneor just a regular city street?

[jitterjepp]

If she has auto insurance of her own I believe it will cover her medical bills. she should contact her insurance company to find out.

The problem with the other driver's insurance will be whether the other driver was "at fault"in opening the door in front of her. Was this a marked bike laneor just a regular city street?

The driver should have looked before opening the door. The driver of the car is at fault. Just as a driver would not be at fault for a person who jumped in front of a car in a suicide attempt. It can't work both ways. The driver/drivers insurance company needs to pay and all bikers need to push the issue at every turn else we are always at fault unless we are hit on purpose by a drunk driver in broad daylight where the driver is going 50 mph the wrong way on a one way in front of a crowd of thousands and a baby is also hit in a stroler and also killed.

You can't just go swinging your door open without even looking. Even if drivers/cyclists were watching to see if people were in their cars parked on the side of the road some of the vehicles have high head rests and some people are not so tall so you couldn't even tell if they were there. It would be impossible. In my mind its no different than a guy hiding in a alley and chucking bowliing balls out at the street without looking to see if anyone is coming. It's careless and sooner or later someone is going to get hit and never see it coming and the person throwing the bowling balls is going to get in big trouble. What if the driver had thrown something out the window instead of opening the door? The fact that there actually was a bike lane gave the driver warning in the first place as well. Its unacceptable for the driver or drivers insurance company to go on without feeling any consequences for this and if just supports the whole thing about bikers being responsible for everything that happens and sends an inappropiate message to the general non-commuting/cycling public and if they don't care then the police can continue to do nothing.

It's simply amazing to me that we can be in a city where people want a law to ban smoking which takes many years to actually do harm and it's a choice to enter the enviornment where there is smoke but you can get the cycling equivlent of a punch in the face and its just no big deal to the police the county the state or the entire judicial system until a ten year old gets killed by a drunk driver.

In Minnesota as far as I am aware you are not required to have insurance to ride a bicycle. I wouldn't even give them the information unless they refuse to pay. (is this going to then go on your girlfriends insurance as an accident and make her rates go up?) I would go after the drivers insurance company and get a lawyer and add those fees onto the bill if they wont pay. I would let them know this is what you are going to do if they refuse to pay. They don't even need here insurance information and they should'nt get it period because she wasn't driving a car.

There is a law in Minnesota of driving called "Unsafe change of course" which carries the same penalties as wreckless driving that states "any use or opperation of a motor vehicle that endangers others" As far as I am aware it doesn't say you have to be driving or the car even has to be running. You just have to use it in a way the endangers others and I think its safe to say someone was put in danger. The driver should have been issued a ticket. This is another case where in my opinion the police did not do thier job if they were in fact there. If it had a been a five year old kid who was killed by incident the police would have reacted very differently because it would have been all over the news. ...maybe they would have.

[FSSS]

If it had a been a five year old kid who was killed by incident the police would have reacted very differently because it would have been all over the news. ...maybe they would have.

I actually saw it, or a very similar story, on the news (I think it was channel 4 or 5). Not the same kind of coverage as a kid though. From the news, it looked like an ambulance and cops were there.

Was there a police report filled out?

Was the person that opened the door issued a ticket?

I would think if the answer is yes to both of these, your girlfriend, or her insurance company, could take this to court.

Also... if she gets screwed over, call Channel 4 or 5 News (whoever ran the story) and tell them about it.


tp

[dostoy]

My girlfriend contacted her car insurance company today and they said that they cover all medical bills up to $20K for bike accidents. She said that there was a cop there, and that he was a dick. While they were loading her into the ambulance, he was asking her if she saw the car and why she didn't slow down when it stopped. The paramedic actually stepped up and pointed out to the cop that she was IN A BIKE LANE. Then, she started crying and the cop informed her, sternly, that "the people who hit you are just as upset as you!"

She hasn't seen a police report yet, so she doesn't know if the people were issued a ticket.

FSSS, did you really see this on the news? It's funny, this happened right in front of WCCO on 11th, and my girlfriend said that while she was lying on the sidewalk, and they were trying to get her onto the stretcher, some guy from the station started filming her. The woman who opened the door into the bike lane works for WCCO.

It's unfortunate that people aren't more aware of bikers on the streets/ in bike lanes, but I have to admit, I too have opened doors without looking. Sometimes you just blank. Although, opening the door into a bike lane after you just passed a biker is pretty weak.

[soupboy]

...like another man-anus cop story...

It's tough to say. An accident with two cars is one thing - a car with something else is another.

The driver of the car is at fault regardless. They opened their door into a bike lane without looking. The burden doesn't lie on the biker.

I'm not sure how the "no fault" thing plays into this situation. Most personally injury attorneys will work on a success-fee basis so that your GF owes nothing unless she wins.

Sean


My girlfriend contacted her car insurance company today and they said that they cover all medical bills up to $20K for bike accidents. She said that there was a cop there, and that he was a dick. While they were loading her into the ambulance, he was asking her if she saw the car and why she didn't slow down when it stopped. The paramedic actually stepped up and pointed out to the cop that she was IN A BIKE LANE. Then, she started crying and the cop informed her, sternly, that "the people who hit you are just as upset as you!"

She hasn't seen a police report yet, so she doesn't know if the people were issued a ticket.

FSSS, did you really see this on the news? It's funny, this happened right in front of WCCO on 11th, and my girlfriend said that while she was lying on the sidewalk, and they were trying to get her onto the stretcher, some guy from the station started filming her. The woman who opened the door into the bike lane works for WCCO.

It's unfortunate that people aren't more aware of bikers on the streets/ in bike lanes, but I have to admit, I too have opened doors without looking. Sometimes you just blank. Although, opening the door into a bike lane after you just passed a biker is pretty weak.

[FSSS]

FSSS, did you really see this on the news? It's funny, this happened right in front of WCCO on 11th, and my girlfriend said that while she was lying on the sidewalk, and they were trying to get her onto the stretcher, some guy from the station started filming her. The woman who opened the door into the bike lane works for WCCO.

Absolutely, I think it was the noon/mid-day news. I guess it was channel 4 then - too bad the dumba$s works for WCCO... they probably won't be too much help. Conveniently, I couldn't find it on their website either.

You should contact channel 5 or 9, they seem to love it when people get hurt.

If it were me, I'd be contacting the police regarding the following:
- The police report (she may need it for the insurance company?).
- The ticket that they issued (and if there wasn't one issued, why the hell not?????).

I'd probably be contacting a lawyer too.