As the bicyclist lay in the street he looked down at his limb and saw a huge bloody curtain of skin and muscle drawn back revealing the two large bones of his lower right leg. It seemed as if a shaky surgeon cut a large slab from the side of his leg below the knee. The instrument of this carnage, however, was a car door.
At around 4:00 p.m. on July 10th, a 34 year old male cyclist was doored on his way home from work on North Lincoln Avenue, just north of West Webster Avenue, in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. He was pedaling at a leisurely pace in Lincoln Avenue's dedicated bicycle lane when the driver of a 2002 Mitsubishi parked along the curb carelessly open her door just as the cyclist was riding by. The bottom of the door sliced open the man's leg as he passed and caused him to crash hard to the street. Thankfully, he avoided being hit by passing vehicles. The wound to his leg was very serious however. He was rushed via ambulance to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he underwent surgery that evening.
After extensive treatment, the bicyclist retains an ugly scar on his lower leg and suffers from numbness that radiates into his right foot. He has recovered full use of the leg, however.
My law firm has been retained to represent the bicyclist.
Was the driver even ticketed?
ReplyDeleteThis is why I allow a 3-4 foot "door zone" when riding along parked cars, even if it makes me harder to pass.
Shockingly, the driver was not ticketed. I have no explanation as to why. You are absolutely correct to ride at least 3' to the left of parked cars.
ReplyDelete