- Date: April 14, 2002
- Victim’s age: Adult
- Victim’s Sex: Female
- Occupation: N/A
- Place: Toronto, Ontario
- Circumstances: struck by a car door opened
- Injuries sustained: suffered injuries to her leg, and shoulder and had a concussion
- Settlement Amount: $1125.00
Summary
A woman was struck by a car door in Toronto and sustained injuries to her leg, and shoulder, and had a concussion. She received a settlement of $1125.00.
The Bike Accident
A woman in her 30s was biking home from a raptors game on April 14th, 2002, when a car door hit her. She was biking on a street that appeared to be bike-friendly. It had street signs indicating that it was a bike route. As she was passing a parked car the driver opened his door and struck the handlebars of her bike.
Victim injuries from the bike accident
She suffered injuries to her leg, and shoulder and had a concussion. Her injuries were all resolved within 3 weeks.
Compensation for victim
She filed a lawsuit against the City of Toronto and the driver of the vehicle for damages. The judge found the cyclist 25% liable, the driver 50% liable, and the city 25% liable for her injuries. Multiple reports indicated that the street on which she was biking was not safe for bikes since parked cars and traffic left minimal space for cyclists to maneuver safely. The city was aware that this street is prone to door crashes and had done nothing to fix this safety issue therefore it is partly liable for the accident. The cyclist was partially liable since she was not wearing a helmet which could have prevented her concussion. She also neglected to look into cars to see if someone was occupying the parked vehicles. The driver breached the highway traffic act by opening his door to oncoming traffic. He was found mostly responsible for the accident.
The city was ordered to pay $1,125 in damages to the cyclist due to their negligence in maintaining safe bike routes in the city.