A delivery cyclist from Dublin is to receive €60,000 damages for injuries suffered in a dooring incident in the city, a driver having been partly stopped in a cycle lane when a door of their vehicle was opened into the rider’s path.

The cyclist, who was working as a food courier for Uber, sued the motorist and the driver’s insurer over the dooring incident seven-and-a-half years ago in December 2018. The Journal explained how 36-year-old Virgilio Almeida Cardoso Neto required surgery under general anaesthetic to have a wire repair to the fractured little finger of his left hand.

> Dooring – What is it, what does the law say and what should you do if it happens to you while cycling?

Mr Neto settled his claim against the driver Michael Joyce and the motorist’s insurance provider, Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland, for €60,000. Joyce’s car had been stopped partially in a cycle lane on Crumlin Road, blocking the infrastructure. At the time of the incident, Joyce’s vehicle did not have hazard lights nor any brake lights on.

The cyclist reported having no chance to react when a door was opened, knocking him to the ground, and alleged that Joyce got out the car and said: “Sorry, it was my children”, but refused to give his name. During cross-examination, the cyclist said it was his hand which was struck by the opening door.

Mr Neto also alleged that Joyce had not given him any other details and was only tracked down via a photo of his car’s number plate. The courier was treated at St James’s Hospital in the city and required surgery for the fractured finger.

Judge Terence O’Sullivan had said the claimant’s finger injury was absolutely consistent with his evidence, before the defendants’ legal representation sought time to discuss the case with Neto’s legal team.

The case was ultimately settled out of court, with the defendants to pay Mr Neto’s costs and €60,000. 

In the UK and several other countries, drivers and passengers are asked to open vehicle doors using the hand furthest from the door, encouraging people to turn and check the blind spot to avoid opening the door into another road user’s path — a technique called the ‘Dutch Reach’.

Dutch Reach
Dutch Reach (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

Double Olympic champion and world time trial champion Remco Evenepoel suffered multiple fractures in a dooring incident in Belgium involving the driver of a Belgian Post Group vehicle.

The dooring prompted Evenepoel and the postal company to team up on a road safety programme titled ‘Remco Reflex’ to remind drivers and passengers to use the Dutch Reach when opening their doors to avoid a passing cyclist.

Last month, back in the UK, Kent Road Safety Partnership came under fire from cyclists over advice for riders to leave one metre when passing parked cars in order to avoid getting doored. While that advice is supported by the Highway Code, cyclists took issue with the omission of a mention for reminding drivers to use the Dutch Reach.