Almost every road user knows the scenario: the car is parked, a cyclist approaches, the driver's door opens and - bang - there's a collision. This or something similar happens every day on German roads. But when the worst comes to the worst, the motto is: Don't despair, keep a cool head. We show you how to react correctly in the event of a dooring accident.
Dooring, what is that actually?
Road accidents in which approaching cyclists collide with suddenly opened car doors are known as "dooring accidents". According to a recent Forsa survey, almost half of cyclists state that they have been in such a dangerous situation at least once. As many as 6 per cent have been directly involved in an accident caused by unexpectedly opened car doors. With 525 injuries, dooring was the most common Second most common cause of accidents in Berlin road traffic.
Situations of this kind are therefore not uncommon and will not become any less common in the foreseeable future with the rise of the e-scooter trend. This makes it all the more important to know what to bear in mind when reporting damage.
Collided with the driver's door - who pays for the damage?
In case of doubt, as is so often the case, it depends. Even if cyclists can be held partially responsible, recent court judgements in dooring accidents strengthen the injured party's position. The cyclist affected can assert claims against the car driver (Section 7 StVG), the vehicle owner (Section 18 StVG) and the liability insurer (Section 115 VVG). In addition, the burden of proof is eased for the biker: instead of having to prove the fault of the car driver, the biker only has to describe the underlying facts.
For car drivers, on the other hand, the following applies: As a road user, they must always behave in such a way when getting out of the car that they do not endanger others. In many cases, it is therefore sufficient to establish a temporal and spatial connection between the opening of the driver's door and the damage to the cyclist. In this case, a disregard of the duty of care in road traffic is assumed. In this case, liability is clear: the car driver is liable for the damage.
Difficult to prove: Contributory negligence of the injured party
These rules make it difficult to assert contributory negligence on the part of the injured party. The car driver must prove that the cyclist is partially at fault, for example by not keeping a safe distance. An additional hurdle: there is no clear definition of the minimum distance. What's more, in most cases it is difficult to reconstruct the course of the accident - after all, it is often only a matter of seconds.
The challenges of reporting damage
Basically, the quicker the notification is made, the better. If you dawdle on this point, you run the risk of losing your right to compensation. However, reporting a claim can be a real minefield for non-experts. The direct line via the insurance hotline may seem practical at first, but it can cost you money.
With fair-regulation.com you are on the safe side. We will check your claims for you - completely free of charge. You can report the claim quickly and easily via our online platform. The competent lawyers from our expert network will take care of the rest. For you, using our portal means: absolute legal certainty, data protection and the certainty of getting the maximum out of the claims settlement. The process is so simple that it can be carried out via smartphone - even from the scene of the incident.
Waterproof claim protection: step by step
Your guide to fair regulation at a glance:
- You suspect a claim that could be covered by your insurance.
- You can report the incident to us online or free of charge by telephone on 0800 30 111 60.
- Our experts will contact you immediately and discuss the process with you point by point.
- Claims settlement is initiated and you can go about your life without any worries.
