Car Park Accident - Who Is To Blame

Accident in parking lot?

There isn't much you can do. Even if your witness was allowed to provide a statement, even if somebody got the whole thing on video, it would still be a fifty-fifty.

I believe you that you stopped before the impact happened, and so does everyone else. But it doesn't matter. You were in the process of backing out of a parking spot (your own words), which makes you at least 50% responsible.

Here's the other problem. The other driver isn't going to say that you stopped to let her go and she backed into you anyway. No way in hell is she going to say that. She's going to say that she looked and everything was clear, and then you backed into her. I guarantee that's what she's saying, and her statement will be just as valid in court as yours.

Here's your other-other problem. When the damage is under $5000, insurance companies don't spend ten grand fighting a case in court just on principle. They're allowed to accept liability on behalf of their clients to settle a case, and that's what they do. In a he-said-she-said accident where both vehicles were clearly backing out of parking spaces (stopped halfway out still counts as backing out), it's not worth it to go all the way to court.

Millions of people have tried to fight this sort of thing, and none have ever been successful.

There was a hit & run accident at my parked car. The at fault driver came forward. She claimed liability. Now the problem is the impact?

Sometimes it happens that you have a rear-ender in traffic. You're in the middle, you hit the car in front of you, and then someone plows into the back of you. That's two separate accidents. You would be liable for the car in front of you, and the person who hit you from behind is liable for the damage to your car (in the back, not in the front).

That would be different from what happened, a car hitting you in back and driving you into the car in front. In that case, the person behind you is responsible for ALL the damage.

Both these things happen a lot. The insurance companies (all three) just want to be sure what happened. From the way you describe it (you car was parked) you can't be responsible for either of the collisions. They just want your story. WAS the car parked? Was the parking brake set? Were you in the car? Was it running? Was it in gear? Those all might have a bearing.

Before you say anything substantial, you want to get something in writing from the insurance company of the lady that hit you saying she admits liability. (BTW, if she came forward, it's not a hit-and-run.)

In my experience, insurance adjusters tend to be very reasonable, non-judgemental, easy to talk to, and totally happy to answer all your questions. You will want to talk to all three adjusters involved and make sure they're on the same page. (And the police report.)

Minor car accident, who was at fault?

I just had my first car accident, and I'm all shaken up about it. So what happened was, I was parked right in front of a pet store. I drive a big ford SUV, and parking was a breeze. There was only a car on my right, no car on my left. I went into the store, bought some things, then went back to my car. I started it up. By this time there was still a car parked on my right, and no car on my left. I looked both ways, especially paying attention to the right where the most traffic was. I looked both ways, then began to back up and turn to head left. There was no car to my left, so I took a wider turn to get out. If there were cars on both sides, I would usually go straight back before turning. I didn't want to spend my time backing straight out and holding up possible traffic.

Next thing I know during mid-turn my car has stopped, and I have just bumped into a car that was parked to my left. I was thinking how did you get there?!? My left front had bumped into the right rear bumper of a minivan that had just parked. My car had the most damage, with a tiny dent and scratch, while there's looked fine.

At first I thought it was all my fault, but then I thought about it, and honestly, if I were them, I would have waited for the SUV (me) to pull out first before parking next to it. It could also be bad timing on both of us. Anyway, I don't really care about my SUV. Thankfully both me and the other driver both have AAA insurance, and it's getting taken care of.

no room left...

Parking Lot Accident, Whose at fault?

I was backing up the other morning, looked both ways and saw NOBODY was coming. I have back-up sensors as well and there was no indication that anybody was coming. I started to back out, and next thing I know, the sensors were going off like crazy. My left bumper hit a car coming down the road. Neither of us saw one another (she stated) and there was no honk or anything. We exchanged information and went on our way.

Now, she wants to send me her estimates, claiming it was my fault. Who is at fault in parking lot accidents? Everywhere I have looked said there are "no fault" accidents in parking lots, but I am just curious because neither of us (as she indicated as well) have any idea how this happened, it just happened and we did not see one another.

Please advise. :)

Parking lot accident / fender bender in North Carolina - should we filed a claim?

My wife was in a parking lot in her Lexus RX300 SUV and started to back up. She stopped, established a position, and was about to go from reverse to drive when another SUV backed into her. She sustained a pretty big dent to her side in the back where the rear bumper is. The other driver had practically no damage but a few scratches to the dead center of his rear bumper. If I had to guess, the damage might be between $1,000 and $1,500.

We have a $1,000 deductible with USAA. The cop said each person was responsible for his or her damage because the accident occurred in a parking lot in North Carolina.

Does anybody know the NC law regarding this? From the looks of it, he is more at fault than my wife, as indicated by the damage and pictures. If I file this with my insurance provider, will I have to pay the deductible? Don't the insurance companies determine who is at fault when it comes to insurance claims? Please help!