Opening a car door may seem like an everyday minor action, but if one is careless in observing or opens the door recklessly, it can easily cause a 'dooring' accident, resulting in serious harm to others' personal safety and property. So, after an accident occurs, how should the responsibilities of the car owner, passengers, and insurance company be divided?

Case Summary

One day, Mr. Li, the vehicle owner, parked his car alongside a northbound lane. When Mr. Gao, a passenger sitting in the back seat, opened the left rear door to get out, he collided with Ms. Wen, who was riding an electric bicycle in the same direction, causing injuries to Ms. Wen and damage to the vehicle. The traffic management authorities determined that Mr. Li bore primary responsibility, Mr. Gao bore secondary responsibility, and Ms. Wen was not at fault. According to medical diagnosis, Ms. Wen suffered a lumbar vertebra fracture and an open fracture of the hand, ultimately being assessed as having a ninth-level disability. Since both parties could not reach an agreement on compensation, Ms. Wen filed a lawsuit in court against Mr. Li, Mr. Gao, and the insurance company covering the involved vehicle, requesting compensation for medical expenses, disability compensation, and other losses totaling over 530,000 yuan. The court found that the vehicle involved had both compulsory traffic insurance and 2 million yuan commercial third-party liability insurance, and the accident occurred during the insurance period. During the trial, Mr. Li and Mr. Gao argued that the insurance company should pay, while the insurance company contended that it should only bear compensation according to Mr. Li's share of the responsibility.

Court trial

After trial, the court held that the core dispute in this case was whether the insurance company should bear full compensation liability under the compulsory traffic accident liability insurance and commercial third-party liability insurance. According to the traffic management department, Mr. Li and Mr. Gao's joint fault caused the accident, and their actions together caused Ms. Wen's injuries. For Ms. Wen, the motor vehicle party is considered as a whole, and the responsibility arising from Mr. Gao's action of opening the car door as a passenger still falls under the liability of the motor vehicle party. Therefore, the insurance company should bear full compensation responsibility within the scope of the compulsory traffic accident liability insurance and commercial third-party liability insurance, and any amount exceeding the insurance coverage shall be shared by Mr. Li and Mr. Gao according to their proportion of responsibility. Ultimately, the court ruled that the insurance company pay Ms. Wen a total of more than 510,000 yuan within the insurance liability limit. Currently, the judgment in this case has come into effect.

Judicial reasoning

Currently, the "Interpretation (II) of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Traffic Accident Liability Dispute Cases (Draft for Comments)" has been released to the public, further clarifying the boundaries of responsibility in 'dooring' incidents. According to Article 3, Paragraph 1, if a passenger in a motor vehicle opens the door and causes harm to others, and the injured party claims the passenger's responsibility as part of the motor vehicle party, and requests that the insurer of the motor vehicle liability compulsory insurance under the Civil Code Article 1213 compensate within the insurance limit, or that the insurer of the commercial third-party liability insurance for motor vehicles compensate according to the insurance contract, the people's court shall support such claims; if the insurer claims they are not responsible for compensating the injured party on the grounds that the passenger is not the insured or an authorized driver, the people's court shall not support it. For the portion of the damage still insufficient after compensation, if the injured party claims that the driver or passenger should bear the compensation responsibility according to Articles 1168, 1170, 1171, 1172, and other provisions of the Civil Code, the people's court shall support it.

This provision provides clear guidance on the parties responsible in 'dooring' accidents: whether it is the driver or the passenger who improperly opens the door, it is regarded as the responsibility of the 'motor vehicle party.' At the same time, both the driver and the passenger are considered part of the overall operation of the motor vehicle and are uniformly covered by insurance, opening a channel for the injured party to promptly obtain insurance relief.

Additionally, Article 3, Paragraph 3 states that after the insurer of the commercial third-party liability insurance for motor vehicles assumes compensation responsibility, if they seek recourse from a passenger who has caused significant negligence, the people's court shall support it. This provision also grants insurance companies the right to seek recourse against passengers with significant negligence within the scope of commercial insurance, ensuring that the injured party is compensated promptly while preventing insurers from becoming the ultimate risk bearers, effectively balancing the protection of rights and risk sharing. Furthermore, if multiple parties are at fault, the recourse by the insurer must proportionally divide responsibility according to the degree of fault. For example, if the driver fails to park properly and the passenger opens the door unsafely, resulting in the accident, it will be recognized as joint infringement, with the driver typically bearing primary responsibility for failing to provide safety reminders, and the passenger bearing secondary responsibility for directly engaging in the dangerous behavior.

Judge's Tip

This is a reminder that drivers should park properly, without obstructing other vehicles or pedestrians, and should actively remind passengers to open doors safely; passengers should give priority to getting out from the right side and must carefully check the traffic behind before opening the door to avoid opening it recklessly; when non-motorized vehicle drivers and pedestrians pass by parked vehicles, especially vehicles that have just stopped with hazard lights on, they should maintain a safe distance, slow down, and be alert for doors suddenly opening, to collectively avoid the risk of 'dooring' accidents.

Legal Article Link

Article 1213 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China: If a motor vehicle causes damage due to a traffic accident and it is the responsibility of the motor vehicle party, the insurer of the compulsory motor vehicle insurance for the motor vehicle shall first compensate within the liability limit of the compulsory insurance; for the insufficient portion, the insurer of the commercial motor vehicle insurance shall compensate according to the terms of the insurance contract; if it is still insufficient or the motor vehicle commercial insurance is not purchased, the tortfeasor shall compensate.

This article is reprinted from the WeChat public account "Shandong High Court," with thanks!