Serious bodily injury may occur when a car driver opens a car door and strikes a bicyclist. With any car bike crash accident in Oregon or Washington the car driver will (in most cases) be liable for injury done to the bike rider who passes by and gets struck by the car door.

The bicyclist who runs into the open door could possibly be thrown to the pavement. The usual and expected injury to a bike rider being thrown onto the road include contusions, possible broken arm and leg, as well as neck and back strain. Head injury and brain damage is common place with bike car crashes.

Since most bicyclists in Oregon and Washington don’t have PIP or medical on their bike, the at fault car insurance carrier will process medical bills through the at fault car’s pip policy.

With Portland Oregon once again leading the country in innovative safety measure relating to biking the new green bike boxes really create a strict liability area to protect bicyclists from bad car drivers. If you are a bike rider and get hit by a car in a bike box you may have a clear cut legal injury claim sort of similar to a strict liability claim if you can show the car driver came into the bike box and struck you.

With the tragic deaths of six cyclists Portland will be the first city in the US to install bike boxes at some 14 dangerous intersections throughout the city. Bike Boxes may ensure a motorist sees the bicyclist and avoid the deadly right hook of turning without looking. The intent of city planners is to make cyclist more visible.

The bike boxes will also prevent the motorist from making a right turn on red and follow a pattern of giving cyclist more protection under the law over car drivers.