<p>This evening D (16) backed out of the parking space at a local small shopping center into a car which was parked curbside in front of the stores. “No parking, tow away zone” signs posted where the car was parked. This is a very tight, one way in/out lot with four restaurants fronting the curb, about 15-20? feet of driving room in front of the curb and then one row of pull in spaces. </p>
<p>Obviously she was going very slow, but she evidently made contact right where the rear panel meets the rear door of the other car. She waited for the owner of the car to come out, told him what happened, exchanged names and numbers, said she was really sorry, etc. Owner was very nice, wanted to get home with his pizza. H and I were both with other kids at school functions, so when H got home he called the man and told him to get estimates but that we might call our insurance agent. At this time, we did not realize that he was not parked in a parking space. As I passed the shopping center on my way home, I realized that the only way for her to back into a car was if they were in the tow away zone. D said his car was turned off, lights off, black car, in the dark.</p>
<p>Question: Does anyone know what the fault implications are if one is hit while illegally parked? We don’t deny that she hit him, but feel that he is as much the cause as she is. We have been told that if we call our insurance agent and ask, then she is obligated to file a claim. We’d rather not take away her good driver discount, etc for what will be a manageable sum (we hope) to repair. Don’t mind paying our equitable share, but not sure we should pay the whole estimate amount </p>
<p>Any advice would be greatly appreciated. BTW, our car just has a hairline crack and some black marks on the rear bumper, came off with dry paper towel . We think it was probably rubber, not paint.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, generally, the fact that someone is illegally parked does not mitigate the responsibility of the person that hit it. The car wasn’t moving; your d caused the accident. (This may vary from state to state.)</p>
<p>Of course, you can try negotiating with the owner of the other car. But my guess is that if you report it to your insurer, your d will be found at fault.</p>
<p>If you can live with your damage, and the other party can live with his damage, you may want to call the person up and discuss whether either party will make a claim. If he balks, and makes a claim, then perhaps you can go to small claims to show that he has some responsibility in parking in a place where a reasonable person would not expect a vehicle to be parked, that however does not relieve you daughter of responsibility of not being aware of her surroundings-the other car may have been a person. </p>
<p>Not a lawyer, Only an opinion, Consult other qualified people. Not insurance agent.</p>
<p>Having seen my share of The People’s Court, it is more likely than not that your D would still be held liable. The fact that the other car was doing something “illegal” (in this case parked illegally) doesn’t change things. It would be better for the other party to get 3 estimates, and to pay him/her the lowest of the 3 out of pocket than file a claim (they have the right to pick where/if they will have their vehicle fixed). </p>
<p>I foolishly filed a $1000 claim (I hit my neighbor’s car), and ended up with higher premiums for 2 years, far exceeding the claim. And I could have afforded to pay out of pocket. </p>
<p>Just make sure if do pay out of pocket that you have the other party sign a paper stating they have been compensated “in full” for all damages.</p>
<p>I’m not a lawyer but IMO your D would be 100% at fault - she was moving her car and the other car was stopped - illegally or not. And then there’s always the what if - what if it wasn’t a car there but rather, a pedestrian? I’m sure you’ve already covered this ground.</p>
<p>Also unfortunately - it’s surprising how much a seemingly small dent can cost to be fixed. </p>
<p>yes I had that happen to me last year.
No damage to my car, the other car had a broken headlight- but she did want to contact my ins company ( I was a little ticked- because she was parked illegally- where there wasn’t a space- and hadnt been there 5 min ago :rolleyes:) still it was my fault, and as I had * another* incident where I hit someone ( I have a Jeep, very high up hard to see sports cars when it is dark and they are so close to your bumper that you can’t even see their headlights)- this one was in a parking lot and the slope coming out of the parking lot was such that I couldn’t see the car. I had gone around the small parking lot once, didn’t see any spaces, no body was leaving - was going to go out, but then changed my mind and decided to go around again, started to back up and hit this little mazda- again with the headlight. No damage to my car. But with two incidents geico decided to raise my car ins so much it was cheaper to get another policy with another company.
At least in a parking lot you don’t get a ticket.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter that the car was parked illegally. It’s pretty much always the person’s fault who hits a stationary object, and you’re responsible for the whole amount. If she couldn’t safely get out of the spot, then her duty was to either not move until the car was moved or call the police to report the situation then.</p>
<p>It sucks, but in most cases your D will be held responsible. I don’t agree with this at all, but that’s just the way it works. The guy probably won’t file a claim if the damage was minimal (unless he’s just a jerk).</p>
<p>I had a sort of similar case: I was at the local mall, trying to pull into a parking spot. The parking lot at said mall is very badly designed, and I barely scraped the other car (neither I nor my passengers felt or heard anything, and it took a passing cop for me to realize I’d hit someone).</p>
<p>The cop was kindof a jerk and made a huge deal about it…took all my information (thank goodness I’m covered on my parents’ insurance!)…called my mom and nearly gave her a heart attack and reduced me to sobs over a little scratch. My sister finally came and brought me home, and the cop actually waited for the other owners. When they came out and he asked them if they wanted my info, they actually laughed at him because the damage was so minimal.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, I’m sure things will work out. I don’t think your daughter’s at fault, btw…the guy’s an idiot for parking illegally. Unfortunately, the law (at least in CA) says otherwise.</p>
<p>Your daughter will be 100% responsible for this - it doesn’t matter whether the other car was parked illegally or not. I would keep the insurance companies out of this unless you want your rates to go up - try to work out a deal with the owner of the other car.</p>
<p>My husband did something similar to a neighbor’s car and we paid out of pocket but it has lead to hard feelings, mostly mine. In the end, I wish there had been a police report and insurance claim. The dent was small, the estimate was $1200, but the car was 20 years old and we knew she wasn’t going to actually make the repairs. My husband just wanted to get the whole deal over with so he paid her. I wanted to pay the repair shop directly, for the cost of the work actually done. I don’t understand the need for us to have paid $1200 as some sort of penalty for denting her car, without the repairs being done. My husband was embarrassed that he had backed into her parked car, and was concerned about insurance rates going up, but it frosts my cookies to look at that dent and know she took $1200 to buy whatever with.</p>
<p>I agree with the other posters that the “illegal” parking doesn’t mitigate the fault.</p>
<p>It seeems to me that more than half of drivers do not know that you do not look in the mirror(s) to see if you are clear when backing up. You must turn your head and look. Your field of vision is expanded remarkably when you do this. If your daughter was “peeping in the mirror” while backing up encourage her to use the proper technique next time. There is a “backing into things” syndrome which is fed by poor practices.</p>
<p>I once backed into a police car in exactly this situation! The police weren’t in the car, I waited a bit, but was late picking up my son for nursery school. I checked and I’d definitely put a little dent in their bumper. I left them a note and then after I picked up my son went to the police station to see what to do. They took notes, but evidently decided to ignore the dent as I never heard from them again.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the responses. We definitely hope to keep this off the insurance radar - repair would probably be less than our deductible anyway. I think next time I’ll tell my kids to just park along the fire lane so they don’t have to worry about backing up! JK :)</p>
<p>She had our Solara convertible which has VERY poor rear window visibility as rear window is tiny and rear headrests are huge. Unfortunatly we didn’t realize that until after we had bought it. The lot is poorly lit and I think the car color made it almost invisible, especially in such an unexpected place. </p>
<p>But better some dents and money than injuries, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>Assuming that the other person is honest, then you only need to contact them and decide on some fair compensation for the damages to their vehicle. However, I would highly recommend that you document what happened as completely as possible, because some people are not honest. I perform accident reconstruction and testify in court as an expert witness, and there are numerous cases in which an unoccupied parked car somehow becomes, over the course of a couple years and before trial starts, a car in which the driver and/or passengers were allegedly injured. Furthermore, if no photographs are available of either vehicle, then a plaintiiff could claim that his vehicle had substantial damage due to the impact and that he specifically recalls hearing your daughter race her engine while she was rapidly backing out. Therefore, in order to protect yourself:
(1) take several photographs of your daughter’s car
(2) take photographs of the accident location (parking lot?)
(3) if possible, take photographs of the other person’s car (do not walk onto their property without their permission, but even photographs from somewhat of a distance are helpful)
If you and the other driver agree to a specific financial settlement, you need to obtain some written statement that indicates that the other driver is satisfied and will not pursue any additional financial compensation from you for any vehicle damage, possible physical injuries, or other emotional or other claims. I am not an attorney, so I do not know the exact wording, but make sure it is very clear that there is zero possibility that they can pursue additional damage costs.</p>
<p>sewbusy
I understand the problem with visibility. We have two cars that are really difficult to see out of to the rear–one similar to yours. The other has the built-in sonar beepers that help a lot in reminding you that you are running out of room.</p>
<p>Look at it this way----it could have been a lot worse.</p>
<p>If the police had been called, would the driver of the stationary car received a ticket for illegal parking? My car was hit recently at an event in which police were directing traffic and where and how to park. I had parked legally according to the directions of the officer as I was parking. Later, they directed another gentleman to park next to my car and I guess he had not parked straight enough for the officer, so he had the man back up and straighten up, which led to my car being hit. Needless to say, there were police already at the scene. When I arrived back at my car, the officer was preparing the report. The other man was totally at fault, and admitted it. Interestingly, however, he was directed to park by the police dept. in that spot next to mine. His insurance will be paying for repairs/rental car. It is aggravating, but no one was injured. Plus the car is only about 6 months old!! Somehow, I wonder if the police are perhaps just a tad bit responsible for this one!</p>
<p>Thanks all for the great advice, especially about taking pictures and having him sign a “that’s all folks” statement about any future claims. Damage estimate was just under $500, which was much lower than we envisioned. We’ll cut him a check next week and deliver it with a letter for him to sign releasing us from any future claims. I picked up a pizza there tonight and noticed that it is impossible to back up from the parking spaces without entering the no parking zone, so it’s hard to be too tough on D. Ah, the price of children.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for your pocketbook, a moving car hitting a stationery car is always at fault, no matter where the other vehicle may be parked. It falls into the general “stuff to remember” for driving: people turning left are at fault 90% of the time; being in someone else’s lane makes you probably at fault no matter why you’re in the other lane; and that oldie but goodie: no matter what the guy in front of you does / doesn’t do, if you rear-end someone you’re probably at fault.</p>
<p>I think the good news is, your child had an auto accident without anyone being injured. That’s one of the best ways for kids to learn caution, and the price, as far as I’m concerned (been there done that) is definitely worth every penny.</p>
<p>My little sister had an accident on Friday also. She was completely at fault. A guy was stopped to make a left and she was coming up behind him and she thought he was going to make his turn and by the time she realized he wasn’t turning it was too late to get completely around him and she just barely clipped the back of his car. (she said if she got over one more inch she would have missed him) It put a teeny tiney little dent in his car and a couple of small scratches on the right side, but her mirror snipped off and she has two dents in her front left fender. She said the guy was with his wife and they appeared to be in their 50’s and they exchanged insurance information. My sister was really shook up and called my mom and then the man asked if he could talk to her. My sister put the guy on the phone and he proceeded to tell her that my sister was really in shock and that she might want to come and get her because even though her car is drivable he didn’t think she was in a driving mindset to come home. He also told her that his car had barely any damage and that it’s a 1992 Honda Accord with 180k miles and that he would probably just buy a little thing of touch up paint for his scratches and leave it at that but that he was going to talk it over with his wife.</p>
<p>My mom called him on Saturday and he said he wasn’t going to file a claim and he wasn’t going to fix it - aside from getting the touch up paint or whatever. He also said he wasn’t going to report it to the insurance and that he has a daugther the same age as my sister and he knows what it feels like because she had recently done something similar and that he told her to chalk this one up due to inexperience, but to do better next time. He said he also knows how much it would raise her premiums and he wouldn’t feel right doing that to somebody who is in college for barely any damage at all. My mom said they were talking a good long while about his daugther and my sister and the whole situation, which I think is funny.</p>
<p>Anyway, my sister decided she would write him a thank you/i’m sorry note and she wrote him out a check from her checking account for 100.00 and is mailing it to him tomorrow. He told my mom not to worry about anything and that it wasn’t a big deal because they are all okay but my sister felt she should send him something anyway - especially if he really is going to buy touch up paint… Which I thought was nice of her.</p>
<p>She is out with my parents right now at a junk yard trying to find a left side mirror as well as a front silver fender for her car. She has a 96/97 Honda Civic (I forget the year). I guess we’ll see how that quest goes when they get back.</p>
I don’t agree with this at all, but that’s just the way it works. The guy probably won’t file a claim if the damage was minimal (unless he’s just a jerk).</p>
I don’t think your daughter’s at fault, btw…the guy’s an idiot for parking illegally. Unfortunately, the law (at least in CA) says otherwise.</p>