Hays County, TX · Free Consultation
Buda, TX Bicycle Accident Lawyer
What Our Clients Say
A parked driver flinging open a door into a cyclist’s path causes some of the most sudden and serious bike crashes. SMB Law, PC holds the responsible driver accountable after a Buda dooring. A Buda bicycle accident lawyer knows a dooring crash is the driver’s fault, not the rider’s, and how to prove it. Shane M. Boasberg has handled Central Texas injury claims for more than twenty years and personally holds the careless driver accountable.
Along Buda’s Main Street and its parking-lined stretches, a cyclist riding legally can be knocked down in an instant by a car door opened without looking — a ‘dooring’ crash.
Where a Buda bicycle accident claim is handled
Buda is in Hays County, so if a lawsuit becomes necessary it is filed with the Hays County District Clerk at the Government Center in San Marcos, about fifteen minutes south. Most claims, though, settle with the insurer before any suit is filed.
Dooring crashes and who is at fault
A dooring happens when a person in a parked car opens a door into the path of a passing cyclist, giving the rider no time to react. In Texas the law places the duty on the person opening the door: a vehicle door may not be opened on the side of moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so. That means the driver or passenger who opened the door — not the cyclist — is typically at fault, even though insurers often try to blame the rider for ‘riding too close.’ Dooring injuries are frequently severe, because the cyclist is thrown into the door or out into the travel lane and oncoming traffic. Proving the claim means documenting the position of the bike, the door, and the point of impact, and identifying whether the driver or a passenger was responsible. We hold the responsible party accountable for a Buda dooring crash and push back on the reflexive attempt to shift blame onto the cyclist.
Proving a dooring the right way
Insurers defend Buda dooring cases by claiming the cyclist could have avoided the door, so the work is in the evidence. We document where the bike was in the lane, how much room the rider had, the position and damage of the door, and where the cyclist came to rest, and we track down witnesses and any nearby camera footage. We also determine who actually opened the door — driver or passenger — because it affects which policy responds. Texas law is squarely on the cyclist’s side here: the duty is on the vehicle’s occupants not to open a door into traffic. Building that record cleanly is what stops the insurer from turning a clear-cut dooring into a fight over the rider’s conduct.
Decades of Texas injury experience on your side
Bicycle cases come with a built-in bias against the rider, and answering it takes experience. You work directly with attorney Shane M. Boasberg, who has represented injured Texans for more than two decades and has been licensed by the State of Texas since 2003. He knows how Central Texas insurers and juries view cyclists, how to document a serious injury, and how to push back on the assumptions used to discount these cases. You get a lawyer who has done this many times — not a case manager reading from a script.
Working with us from Buda
Our office is in downtown Austin, an easy reach from Buda. We handle most consultations and case updates by phone and video, and there is no fee unless we recover for you. If travel is difficult, we can also come to you.
Why injured cyclists choose SMB Law, PC
- Direct attorney access — you talk to Shane, licensed since 2003, not a call center.
- No fee unless we recover — bicycle-injury cases are handled on a contingency basis.
- Honest advice and transparent terms explained before you commit.
What working with us looks like
- Free consultation to understand what happened and the law that applies.
- Investigation — we preserve evidence, obtain the crash report, and identify every insurer.
- Negotiation or court — we settle when the offer is fair and litigate when it is not.
- Recovery paid out and medical liens resolved so you keep more of it.
Frequently asked questions
Whose fault is a dooring crash?
Usually the person who opened the door. Texas law requires that a door not be opened into traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so.
Can the insurer blame me for riding too close?
They may try, but the legal duty is on the person opening the door, and evidence of the positions can rebut a blame-shifting argument.
What if a passenger, not the driver, opened the door?
The passenger can still be responsible, and the driver’s policy may also apply, which we sort out as part of the claim.
Do I have to travel to your office from Buda?
No. Our office is in downtown Austin, about 15 miles north up I-35, and we handle Buda bicycle claims by phone and video.