Bicycle Injuries “Getting Doored”

Bicycle Injuries: “Getting Doored”

Bicycle riders are in danger of “getting doored”. That occurs when an automobile driver opens the car door into the bike lane. The hazard is huge. The bicyclist can be speared by the sharp corner of the door cutting into human flesh. Often, the direct trauma is to the chest or abdomen. In other cases, concussion injuries can occur as a result of the trauma of the bicyclist violently striking the roadway surface.

There are studies that have found that nearly 80% of collisions between bikes and cars occur when the bicyclist is exposed to the danger of a car door suddenly and unexpectedly opening into the path of the oncoming bicyclist.

Minneapolis bicycle injury lawyer Douglas Schmidt, the senior partner at the Schmidt Salida lot team personally experienced such an injury as a law student.

So who is at fault when the car driver? suddenly opens the car door into the path of the oncoming bicyclist?  The answer is that the car driver is totally at fault. The answer found in Minnesota statute 169.315 says, “No person shall open any door on a motor vehicle unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of other traffic.” Other traffic most certainly includes bicycle traffic.

The personal injury lawyers at the Schmidt & Salita Law Team have over 70 years of experience in representing bicyclists who are victims of injury in collisions between bicycles and automobiles.

Resources:

www.facesoftbi.com

https://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/

https://medlineplus.gov/traumaticbraininjury.html

https://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/understanding-tbi/what-is-traumatic-brain-injury/

https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/traumatic-brain-injury/basics/definition/con-20029302

Courage Center (Courage Kenny):  www.allinahealth.org/Health-Conditions-and-Treatments/Neurology/Concussions-in-sports

https://thebrainhealthonlinesummit.com

Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance: www.braininjurymn.org

Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayo.edu/research/centers-programs/traumatic-brain-injury-program/overview

HCMC Traumatic Brain Injury Center: https://www.hcmc.org/clinics/TraumaticBrainInjuryCenter/HCMC_CLINICS_448

REM Minnesota: https://www.remminnesota.com/standard/services.aspx?guid=0c1ec69e-9dcd-4523-8e8d-07db15138208

Regions Hospital Rehabilitation: https://www.regionshospital.com/rh/specialties/rehabilitation-institute/

MN Department of Education: https://www.education.state.mn.us/MDE/EdExc/SpecEdClass/DisabCateg/TraumBrainInj/index.html

https://www.brainline.org/tbi-basics

https://www.brainline.org/landing_pages/categories/concussion.html

https://www.healthline.com/health/concussion

https://www.brainline.org/article/get-stats-traumatic-brain-injury-united-states-2002%E2%80%942006

https://www.brainline.org/headlines