Dooring Accidents in California: Who Is Liable When a Car Door Hits a Cyclist?

What Is Dooring?

Dooring happens when a driver or passenger opens a vehicle door into the path of an oncoming bicyclist. Dooring is illegal under California Vehicle Code (CVC) section 22517.

Also known as California's "Dooring Law," CVC 22517 states: "No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers." Cyclists are considered part of "moving traffic" under this law, which places the duty of care entirely on the person opening the door, not on the cyclist approaching the vehicle, regardless of lane position.

Despite this, most cyclists injured in a dooring accident end up being blamed by the driver, the passenger, or even the responding police officer. Cyclists who are unaware of CVC 22517 often assume they were at fault. They were not. Any cyclist involved in a dooring accident should contact a personal injury attorney immediately to access the legal support and compensation to which they are entitled.

Keep in mind that some of the most important evidence in a dooring case is fleeting: CCTV footage from nearby businesses, dash cam footage from bystanders, rideshare app screenshots, and witness statements can all disappear quickly. Contacting a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible helps gather this evidence before it disappears.

What Does California Law Say About Dooring

California law makes clear that drivers and passengers are responsible for checking for oncoming traffic, including vehicles, motorcycles, cyclists, and pedestrians, before opening a door. CVC 22517 places that duty of care entirely on the person opening the door, not on the cyclist, and it applies equally to passengers.

If you or a loved one were riding a bike and were struck by a driver or passenger opening a door, the person who opened the door bears a significant share of the fault. This is why seeking legal counsel immediately, even before contacting your insurance company, is so important.

Who Is Liable in a Dooring Accident?

California follows a pure comparative negligence standard, established in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975). Before that decision, fault was all-or-nothing, with 100% of the negligence assigned to a single party. After Li, courts could split fault between the parties based on the evidence. Under this standard, even a cyclist found to be 20% at fault still recovers 80% of their total damages.

Several parties can be liable in a dooring accident, depending on the facts:

• The driver who opened the door.
• A passenger who opened the door (a common scenario with rear-seat passengers in traffic).
• The vehicle's owner, if different from the driver.
• A rideshare company, depending on which insurance period was active at the time (see the rideshare section below).

The most common excuses offered by drivers or passengers after a dooring accident are that the cyclist "was going too fast," "was riding too close to the cars," or that they could not tell the door zone overlapped a bike lane. None of these excuses matter. It is the driver's or passenger's responsibility to look carefully for other motorists, motorcyclists, and cyclists before opening a door.

It is also common in dooring cases for the at-fault driver's or passenger's auto insurer to try to redirect the claim to a homeowner's or renter's insurance policy. This is another reason an Oakland bicycle accident attorney is essential: your attorney will know that the applicable coverage is the at-fault party's auto liability policy, not their homeowner's or renter's insurance, and will pursue the claim accordingly.

How Oakland's Bike Lanes Affect Your Dooring Case

At-fault drivers and passengers in dooring cases often try to shift blame to the cyclist by arguing that the bike lane sits within the door zone. That argument does not hold up. Riding in a door-zone bike lane is not an assumption of risk. There are three common lane types in Oakland, and CVC 22517 applies to all of them.

Oakland's daily bicycle commuters and recreational cyclists are most likely to encounter these three lane types on corridors like Telegraph Avenue, Broadway, Lake Merritt, and Adams Point:

• Parking-protected lanes physically separate cyclists from the parking lane using a buffer or parked cars. The Telegraph Avenue and Broadway corridors have been moving toward this design. A parking-protected lane lowers the risk of dooring but does not eliminate it: delivery vehicles and double-parked cars still create door-zone exposure at the edges.
• Door-zone bike lanes are painted lanes that sit within the swing arc of parked car doors. Riding in a door-zone lane does not mean a cyclist has assumed the risk of being doored. The lane is a designated cycling space, and using it is legally appropriate, not negligent.
• Sharrows (shared lane markings) are painted chevrons indicating that cyclists and vehicles share the lane, without any physical separation. Cyclists on sharrow routes are fully within the door zone of any parked car.

Class IV separated bike paths, which have physical barriers between cyclists and traffic, exist in parts of Oakland but are not universal. On surface streets near Lake Merritt, Adams Point, and other dense parking corridors, cyclists more often encounter some combination of the first three lane types.

Oakland has continued to invest in parking-protected designs and designated bikeways in high-risk areas. The Maia Correia Memorial Bikeway is one example: this parking-protected corridor along Lakeshore Avenue is named for four-year-old Maia Correia, who died in 2023 after a driver opened a car door into her path.

Regardless of the safety improvements underway in Oakland and other Bay Area cities, CVC 22517 continues to control. Riding in a door-zone lane is not an assumption of risk, and riding outside a painted lane does not prevent you from recovering damages.

When an Uber or Lyft Driver Doors You

Rideshare dooring accidents work a bit differently. California's vehicle codes still apply, but liability in a rideshare dooring case also depends on which insurance period was active when the incident occurred, which can complicate a claim.

The driver's app status determines which insurance period was active. "TNC" stands for Transportation Network Company and refers to the rideshare company's own insurance coverage.

If a rideshare passenger is exiting the vehicle when the dooring accident occurs, that still qualifies as a Period 3 event, and the TNC's $1 million liability policy applies.

Frequently Asked Questions About Dooring in California

What is dooring?

Dooring happens when a driver or passenger opens a vehicle door into the path of an oncoming bicyclist. It also includes accidents where a cyclist swerves to avoid an open door, or a door that is being opened, and crashes as a result, even if the door never makes contact with the bicycle or rider.

Whose fault is a dooring accident in California?

Under CVC 22517, the person who opened the door is presumed to have acted unlawfully unless they can show it was safe to do so. It is the driver's and passenger's responsibility to check mirrors and blind spots and to open the door carefully while watching for approaching traffic.

Can I still recover if I was riding outside the bike lane?

Yes. California does not require cyclists to use a bike lane in all circumstances. Lane position may be raised as an argument for comparative fault, but under California's pure comparative negligence rule, any percentage of fault above zero still allows a cyclist to recover the remaining percentage of damages. A cyclist found 20% at fault still recovers 80% of their damages.

What if an Uber or Lyft driver doored me?

Coverage depends on which insurance period was active when the door opened. Rideshare app data is not necessarily preserved by the company for long. Take a screenshot of the app right away and request trip data from the driver and any passengers as soon as possible to preserve evidence.

How long do I have to file a dooring claim in California?

California's personal injury statute of limitations is generally two years from the date of injury (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). If a government entity, such as a city vehicle or transit authority, is involved, you must present a claim to that agency within six months of the incident (Government Code section 911.2), a much shorter deadline than the standard two years. Consult an attorney as early as possible, since evidence and witness recollections fade quickly.

You Were Hit. The Law Protects You.

The instinct to blame the cyclist is common, but CVC 22517 says otherwise. The person who opened that door almost always bears a significant share of the negligence.

Monica Burneikis (State Bar #239860), founder of Burneikis Law, is committed to the principle that every client deserves meaningful attention and quality representation. Each client receives direct access to their attorney and individualized strategic guidance. This approach has earned Monica multiple awards and numerous $1M+ results for Oakland bicycle injury clients.

Were you or a cyclist you love doored by a car in Oakland? Call (510) 328-3238 or visit our contact page to schedule your free discovery call.