Woman who knocked film producer off his bike when she opened Uber door ordered to pay £8,000

A businesswoman who knocked a film producer off his bike when she opened the door of an Uber has been ordered to pay him £8,000 compensation along with the driver.   

Sandy Lieberson was thrown to the ground in north London in May 2016 when Louisa Pointon opened her cab door into his path – giving him no chance to brake.

The 84-year-old, who produced Jabberwocky as well as Rita, Sue and Bob Too, suffered multiple rib fractures as well as bruising to his back and leg before being treated in hospital.

Mr Lieberson sued Miss Pointon personally for damages, after insisting she must take responsibility for her carelessness, as well as cab driver Gabriel Dominte.

Miss Pointon and Mr Dominte have now been ordered to pay £8,192.93 by Central London County Court after Judge Nicholas Parfitt QC said that both were to blame for not taking enough care in an ‘inherently dangerous situation’.

Giving evidence, Mr Lieberson told the court he was riding in slow traffic in Euston Road when the accident happened in May 2016.

Mr Dominte’s Vauxhall Insignia passed him and pulled in sharply which forced Mr Lieberson to try to go past between the car and kerb, he claimed.

‘The Uber taxi overtook me as I was cycling down the road,’ he told the judge.

‘After he overtook me and pulled into the left, the door opened suddenly, which I collided into.

‘I was unable to stop, it was so quick. The car pulled in and the door opened so quickly. There was no opportunity to brake.’

Miss Pointon, who is learning and development manager for an insurance broker, accepted she was negligent in opening the door when she did but claimed both Mr Dominte and Mr Lieberson himself were also to blame.

In her evidence, she said she had been to her GP that morning and was on her way to work in Fitzroy Square in the Uber.

She said she had asked Mr Dominte to let her out in Euston Road, that he told her to wait, then pulled over and she did so.

‘I only had one leg out of the vehicle when I had the impact into the door next to me,’ she said.

‘I perhaps didn’t check to the left as well as I should have done, but I was getting out onto the pavement.’

She said Mr Lieberson had come out of nowhere and believed he must have been trying to undertake the cab.

But Mr Dominte denied that he had pulled over or told Miss Pointon it was safe to get out.

He claimed she had asked to be let out and been told to wait for an appropriate moment but then opened the door without warning when the traffic stopped.

‘I didn’t expect it at all,’ he said.

‘I think she was probably thinking it was the right time to stop.’  

Giving judgment, Judge Parfitt absolved Mr Lieberson of any blame for the accident.

‘I find as a fact that it was a sudden event and that he didn’t have the opportunity take evasive action,’ he said.

However, a passenger wanting to get out in traffic is an ‘inherently dangerous situation’ and both Miss Pointon and Mr Dominte should have been more careful.

Miss Pointon admitted she could have looked more carefully before opening the door, said the judge.

But Mr Dominte should have done more to stop her doing so, he found.

‘He should have said to her “don’t get out of this car until I tell you it’s safe to do so”.

‘The defendants should be jointly and severally liable – as between each other the contribution should be 50-50.

‘In different ways, they were both equally responsible for what happened.

‘Had either of them behaved with sufficient care, it’s likely the accident wouldn’t have happened.’

The parties agreed that Mr Lieberson should receive £8,192.93 compensation, with both Miss Pointon and Mr Dominte liable to pay.

Miss Pointon had been set to argue that Mr Dominte’s insurer should cover her share of the payout, but the insurer disputed that and the issue was settled confidentially.