The driver of a Japanese embassy car doored a cycling philosophy professor and left her with lasting and permanent injuries, a $1-million lawsuit alleges.

In a statement of claim filed against the driver, the embassy and the State of Japan itself, University of Ottawa academic Catherine Collobert said she was cycling on Gladstone Ave. almost exactly two years ago when a black Toyota Yaris changed her life forever.

It was 10:30 a.m.

"Suddenly and without warning, the Defendant swung open the driver's door of the Defendant's Vehicle, immediately in front of Catherine," the statement of claim says.

"With no time to evade, Catherine violently slammed into the Defendant's car door, flipped over top of it, and crashed into the pavement.

Unable to rise and in severe pain, cops and paramedics tended to her where she lay before taking her to the Civic hospital.

The statement of claim identifies Kiyohiro Saito as the driver and says the car was registered to the Embassy of Japan.

Her lawsuit alleges the crash took place because of Saito's negligence, including his alleged failure "to scan for potential dangers prior to opening his car door."

Before the crash, Collobert described herself as "an active, athletic and happy 51-year-old woman."

As an "avid cyclist," she took pride in not owning a car herself and enjoyed hiking, tennis, gardening and travel.

A host of injuries, including a number of fractures and a separated shoulder, have pushed these cherished activities beyond her capabilities, the statement of claim says.

"Despite medical intervention, she continues to experience significant ongoing pain and residual disability which are permanent in nature and all of which impact every facet of her life," the lawsuit says.

That includes income lost because she was forced to postpone her application to become a full professor; her injuries have transformed simple lectures into trials of endurance, she claims.

She was also forced to buy a car.

Reached at her home, Collobert declined to comment.

The Japanese embassy also kept mum; a spokeswoman simply said the embassy had yet to review the lawsuit.

The embassy would not address what role, if any, Saito held there. He is not listed on a federal government database of current foreign representatives.

A search of Ontario court records did not turn up any criminal charges or provincial offence notices for anyone of that name.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

What is dooring?

“Dooring” is a potentially deadly hazard for cyclists.

As the name suggests, it describes a collision that occurs when a driver opens a car door just as a cyclist comes up alongside.

The province opted to up the penalty for dooring at the beginning of the summer in a unanimously-passed bill that also brought harsher sanctions to drug-impaired motorists and distracted drivers.

The bill fixes the penalty for dooring at $300 to $1,000 and three demerit points upon conviction.

In Hintonburg the city recently painted lines on part of Wellington St. outlining the “dooring zone” and instructing cyclists to use the middle of the lane.

In 2011 an Ottawa civil servant was killed while biking along Queen St. in the downtown.

The driver of a parked car opened her door while the cyclist passed by; the impact tossed her into the street and beneath the wheels of a moving car.

Twitter: @ottawasuntonys