A cyclist was catapulted from his bicycle when a van driver suddenly opened the door of his vehicle. He has been awarded €30,000 in damages in the Circuit Court for his injuries.
He had been cycling along the roadway when the driver’s door of van had been suddenly opened in his path.
The cyclist said that the driver had been on his phone while seated in the van as he heard him speaking on just as the door had been opened.
He had been catapulted across the roadway, and Robertson came over and said: “I didn’t see you. Are you OK?”
The driver parked his van fully on the footpath. His front door and the van’s sliding side door were both open and he had been looking towards the inside of his van. He had suddenly heard a noise, and it had only been then that he realised there had been an accident.
The Judge said he preferred the cyclist’s account of what had happened. He did not accept that if the van door had already been open just prior to the incident that any cyclist would have ridden straight into it.
The cyclist’s medical reports of his injuries and treatment had been accepted by the defence, awarding him €30,000 and costs.
“People are not entitled to suddenly open doors without first checking that all is clear,” said the Judge.
