“Dooring” is among the top reasons bicyclists are injured in San Francisco says Brian Wiedermayer of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Dooring happens when a passenger opens the door of their car on the traffic side into the rider’s path. The rider is in the right place and they pay the price in both injury and death.

Last year Uber acquired Jump Bikes and Lyft bought Motivate. That means that the prospect of someone who is riding one their bikes could be injured by someone getting out of one of their cars has increased. Uber and Lyft are sending in-app messages to drivers that stopping in bike lanes is a safety hazard and encouraging them to do pickups and drop-offs elsewhere.

Rider Elizabeth Gjelten was doored by an Uber passenger 2 years ago. “A car stopped in front of me and didn’t signal, stopped in traffic and suddenly the door opened and I hit it.” She suffered chest contusions, couldn’t ride for 6 weeks and still has trouble sleeping. She admits she was lucky because she was riding slowly when she got hit. Many injured cyclists report ride-hailing drivers just drive away after incidents like this assuming incorrectly that it’s not their responsibility. It’s actually hit and run, it’s a crime and the police should be notified.

We represent people who are injured because of the careless and reckless acts of others. At the end of the day your case can only be settled one time and you need to know all of the facts beforehand. The reason that insurance companies have paid our clients in excess of $130,000,000.00 is that we get the facts and are not intimidated at the prospect of going to trial when they refuse to follow the law. We help with serious issues that require serious representation. We are the Law Offices of Guenard & Bozarth. We have almost 60 years of experience in our plaintiff’s only law firm. Call GB Legal 24/7/365 at 888-809-1075 or visit www.gblegal.com We Can Help!