Taxi passenger opened door and hit cyclists, who’s to blame?

Housebuy12345

I witnessed an accident where a cyclist was hit by an Uber passenger. The passenger got out at the traffic lights, the cyclist was coming the other side down the road, she was knocked of her bike.

Who is the personal injury claim against? Sure she shouldn’t be coming down the wrong way and taxis shouldn’t be letting passengers out at traffic lights. Etc.

kozlikha

Housebuy12345 wrote: »

I witnessed an accident where a cyclist was hit by an Uber passenger. The passenger got out at the traffic lights, the cyclist was coming the other side down the road, she was knocked of her bike.

Who is the personal injury claim against? Sure she shouldn’t be coming down the wrong way and taxis shouldn’t be letting passengers out at traffic lights. Etc.

IMO passenger would be liable. Uber drivers do not have door locking mechanism, so if passenger decides to leave a vehicle and by doing so cause risk to other road users, then it's his/her fault.

Housebuy12345

^surely the taxi has insurance that covers the damage done by passengers. Eg the passenger doesn’t want to put the date, makes a quick exit, opens the doors and hits a row of cars. The insurance company can peruse the passenger for damages but they still pay out the door/cyclists damages?

Kim_kim

Housebuy12345 wrote: »

I witnessed an accident where a cyclist was hit by an Uber passenger. The passenger got out at the traffic lights, the cyclist was coming the other side down the road, she was knocked of her bike.

Who is the personal injury claim against? Sure she shouldn’t be coming down the wrong way and taxis shouldn’t be letting passengers out at traffic lights. Etc.

Was the bike coming down the wrong side of the road?
In that case I would say the bike was at fault. But I’m no expert.

Housebuy12345

^it doesn’t work like that.
I wanted to know who’s paying, passenger through any insurance they have or taxi.

Johno100

You need to be clearer about how this supposed accident happened "the cyclist was coming the other side down the road" can be interpreted in various ways.

Car_54

Both the driver and passenger may be guilty of an offence: "No person shall open, or cause or permit to be opened, any door of a vehicle on a road so as to injure or endanger any person" [The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, swection 105].


The cyclist should claim against the driver - he's insured, the passenger probably isn't. But be prepared for an argument.

wymondham

As an aside, do Uber drivers have a corporate Uber insurance or do they insure themselves?

neilmcl

wymondham wrote: »

As an aside, do Uber drivers have a corporate Uber insurance or do they insure themselves?

They will be self-insured.

wymondham

neilmcl wrote: »

They will be self-insured.

So, this may cloudy the waters as they won't want to involve the insurance companies?

maisie_cat

I believe that filtering by cyclists is okay according to the highway code. There was a case a few years ago where the taxi driver was held liable because he unlocked the door, in this case I guess the driver could not prevent the passenger alighting. I suspect in insurance world the driver will be liable for the actions of their passengers. I can't see it being the cyclists fault.