posted
I need help defending myself with our car insurance company. Today my husband was backing out of his parking spot and was hit on the back right by a woman. There is next to no damage on her vehicle, (The headlight is broken but there is no body damage) and significant damage on ours (The back right is caved in). We have the same insurance company (Progressive).
Here's a quick synopsis of the accident.
Jesse looked both ways before pulling out of the spot. As he began pulling out, the woman came around a corner going well over the speed limit (judging by how fast she came up on him and and how far his car was shoved when she hit him). According to our witness (our neighbor guy that we hadn't met until the accident), she was "hauling ass" and "not paying attention at all." Her tires chirped when she turned the corner and she never braked before hitting Jes. (There are skid marks from Jesse's car but none from hers.) Jesse was almost entirely in the road; you can see by the skid marks where his car pivoted on the left tire, and the tire is beyond the boundary of the parking spot. However, she still had plenty of room to go around him without hitting him, so the fact that she did shows she either wasn't looking or didn't care.
It seems obvious to us that she was in the wrong. However, our insurance company is putting liability on us because they said it's a "main thorough-fair" (sp?) or some crap like that. It's a parking lot, not a street. It does not lead through to another road; it's a dead-end with parking spaces all around it. The only thing I can figure is that, since they represent both of us and stand to lose alot more money if they have to pay to fix our car than hers, they wouldn't want to find her liable. Do I have any rights in this? What would you say to tell the insurance company that you won't take their crap?
posted
Was there a police report filed? If so, you will need a copy.
The first step to simply to call your agent. Explain to him or her what happened and let him or her know that you wish to dispute the assignment of liability. Be firm, but polite, and explain that there is a witness to the accident.
Get a written statement from your neighbor and have it notarized. Submit it to the insurance company.
I have to tell you, though, the person backing out of the space is almost always liable. You might have an uphill battle on your hands.
posted
Sorry, but Mrs. M is right. Regardless of how fast the other person was going, the person backing up is considered at fault, because you are supposed to ensure no one is behind you. The person driving has the right of way over the one backing up.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yeah, unfortunately, the fault will probably be assigned to him. However, I don't know which way things would sway if the woman was proved to be speeding. The police measure skid marks and other damage to determine the speed of one (or both) vehicles after a collision. Check the police report.
Posts: 1813 | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I was in a similar situation a few years ago. I was assigned the liability, even though the other driver did something wrong, which caused our collision: He crossed a double yellow line, putting him on the wrong side of the street, going the wrong direction! The reason given for assigning liability to me was exactly the reason that has been cited by others above: I was the one entering the street and the other driver had the right-of-way. Posts: 5771 | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
There may not be a police report if it happened in a parking lot. Usually they just make sure insurance information is exchanged. If there is a report, hopefully it would contain your neighbors statement.
Posts: 134 | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Recently, a friend started pulling out of a streetparking(parallel)slot when an SUV (speeding beyond the flow of traffic) suddenly swerved from the center lane into the righthand lane, sideswiping her car. Yep, she got the citation.
posted
Automatic assignment of liability is indeed as others have said. BUT, it is worth fighting (and Mrs.M gave great suggestions on how to start that process), because you can prove that the other driver is at least partly at fault (maybe even 75%, if your witness/evidence are convincing enough). My mom was in a similar accident, over 15 years ago -- although she ended up with a neck brace for a month.
It took quite a bit of fighting (and in her case, the insurance company was on her side, since the two drivers were NOT insured by the same company), but she did eventually prevail.
Hmm. Maybe one of our local lawyer-types can elaborate, but doesn't the insurance company have a conflict of interest here? Since they insure both drivers?
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Actually, after I got off the computer last night, I remembered another similar case in which the cops were called and neither driver got the ticket. A van backed out of a parking place into me, causing serious damage to my car, and almost none to his. The cop decided not to give him a ticket because I stupidly told the cop the sun was in my eyes (it was morning, going east), making it difficult for me to see.
Moral: Be careful what you say to a cop at the scene of an accident! Posts: 5771 | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:only thing I can figure is that, since they represent both of us and stand to lose alot more money if they have to pay to fix our car than hers, they wouldn't want to find her liable.
mac voiced my thoughts on this - they're paying, so why do they care? I can see their motivation if there were any injuries, but not for property damage they have to pay for anyway.
I guess except for the deductible - you'll have to pay that if you're at fault.
The rule on the person backing out is likely a presumption. This means that unitl you prove otherwise, you're presumed to be at fault. It's uphill, as others have said, but not impossible. Get an affadavit from the witness, the police report, and documented evidence of the skid marks (pictures, preferably).
Oh, and switch insurance companies when you're up for renewal.
posted
Dag, in our situation, the insurance company has a lot to lose if they find the other woman liable. We are both liability only, and we have a $500 deductible, so if we're liable, we'll ending up paying for all of her damage ourselves. If SHE'S liable, she'll pay her deductible, but Progressive will still have to pay alot because of the extent of the damage.
So do you think we have a case if they can prove she was speeding? And why would she have the right of way if we were in a parking lot? I thought that parking lots were different from streets.
As far as the cops, they wouldn't come out here because it's an apartment complex parking lot. There wasn't anything they could do.
posted
You'd need to see a lawyer, which may or may not be worth it depending on the amount of damage.
Speaking very generally, you would have to prove that she was negligent, and that you didn't contribute to the negligence (in some states, if the court finds she was 70% at fault and you were 30% at fault, she'd pay 70% of her damage and you'd pay 30% of her damage, with insurance payouts where applicable.
You do not have to accept the insurance company's word on this. Nor can they testify against you at trial, since they weren't witnesses. Assuming they don't back down, you'd have to file a civil action for recovery in negligence, and show she was at fault. Speeding would definitely help show that she was at fault, since otherwise she could have stopped. Plus, in a parking lot, the rule on presuming against the person backing out is likely not so strict.
Again, talk to a lawyer. You should not be charged for the first consultation with him. Since he'll collect on contingency, he'll only take the case if you have a decent shot.
The downside is, you lose 33% of the recovery to the lawyer if you win.
Dagonee PS, it sound likely that the insurance company is acting in bad faith on this, but I doubt there's much you can do about it.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
If you turn a corner in a parking lot and come upon someone pulling out of their spot, you don't have the right to just keep going and hit them because you have the right-of-way. I think Dag has a point that the idea of right-of-way is probably not so cut-and-dried in a parking lot.
Did you get any pictures of the skid marks? Something to prove that Jesse was almost completely out of the spot? I don't know the law at all, but it seems like that would help.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I actually once got hit while pulling out of parking spot and did NOT get held liable. But I really lucked out..
I was pulling onto the street from a parallel parking spot along the curb when a lady slammed into me. I totally knew I was going to be liable for not seeing her coming. She was all flustered and very anxious and said she was rushing her son to the doctor, could we just exchange information and settle later? So we did that, and she drove off. (damage was not huge).
As soon as she left, I drove to the local police station to file a report on the accident because I felt that was the right thing to do if her insurance company was going to be contacting mine. There, the police officer told me (this is a small town) that this lady doesn't even HAVE a driver's license and is not supposed to be driving at all!
So in the long run -- she got a ticket for driving without a license, I DIDN'T get a ticket for pulling out in front of her because she shouldn't have been on the road. Insurance company did not hold me liable.
posted
Awww, that's kind of unfair, but lucky for you anyway.
-----
My husband's aunt got hit by a woman who ran a red light and the insurance company held his aunt liable. Why? Well, after a lot of digging, they discovered that the "woman's" father had just been appointed a judge by Nixon. But, after a lot more digging, they discovered that the "woman" was an unlicensed, fifteen-year-old girl. So things finally worked out.
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Grumble]](graemlins/grumble.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
