My parked car door was hit by a man in a truck cutting through the lot in order to get to a street. He contends the door was thrown open, I'm fairly certain the door was open the whole time as I was loading my children. The only undisputable facts are that I was parked, loading kids, he passed by (too closely?) and hit my door. Any similar incidents/knowledege of?
2006-07-17 05:57:34 · 12 answers · asked by activeac 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
He is at fault, since he was cutting through the parking lot and not following the designated course of traffic. You should have his insurance and registration information, and report the incident both to your local police department (to file a report) and to both of your insurance companies, so that you can begin getting reimbursed for the damages. Get an estimate for the damage - the insurance companies may have a service that they want you to use for that, so call them first. If you think he might deny liability for the accident (and it sounds like he will), then you should talk to a lawyer about it. Most accident attorneys will give you a free consultation, and they don't get paid unless you win your case. Good luck! :)
2006-07-17 06:02:51 · answer #1 · answered by Julia L. 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ok, I'll give it a try:
(good thing noone was hurt by the way)
My parked car... - ok, you're in the clear so far
...door was hit by a man in a truck cutting through the lot... - Which, it's illegal to cut through a lot as far as I know.
... in order to get to a street. He contends the door was thrown open, I'm fairly certain the door was open the whole time... - If the door was thrown open, it's probably your fault. If it was already open, it's probably his fault.
... as I was loading my children. The only undisputable facts are that I was parked, loading kids, he passed by (too closely?) and hit my door. - Was he in the correct lane? If he did that, maybe he was driving somewhere he shouldn't have been. If you were parked and everything was stagnant, then one of the following would happen:
If your car was parked and door was stopped for a while before he hit it, he's at fault. However, if he hit you and he wasn't doing anything wrong, you might be faulted for blocking traffic.
2006-07-17 06:04:45 · answer #2 · answered by M 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have to go in the favor of the other guy.
Whether he was driving through the lot or not has nothing to do with the case.
He says the door was thrown open into his path, and if that is the case, you would be cited. (Think on a street, you park and open the door into oncoming traffic....your fault.)
You state you "think" you were loading children, but if that was the case, someone would have been hit. You'd certainly have called the cops at that point, and been telling us about the guy that nearly ran over your kids.
Lastly, it's a parking lot on private property. There are no legal rules to abide by, including speed limits, stop signs, yield, well marked travel lanes etc. Even if they are signs and markings, they aren't binding to anyone. The cops wouldn't ticket anyone, unless there were some evidence of intentionally hitting someone.
2006-07-17 09:49:44 · answer #3 · answered by rkfire 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thats a tough one because most parking lots are kinda fair ground but did this lot have yellow lines for the isles or rows because you could probably make a case if he was cutting through isles or rows. Any way he should have had his car under control and to hit your door like that he must have been pretty close.
2006-07-17 06:04:02 · answer #4 · answered by kjcdfb 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He is at fault. There is a reason in traffic safety you are told to go nly about 5mph in parking lots. Even if he was driving down the road and you were parallel parked and opened the door because you didn't see him and he struck it, it would still be his fault.
I hate lot cutters.. I have been almost hit a couple dozen times now by those jerk offs!
2006-07-17 06:35:42 · answer #5 · answered by escaped_mental_case 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if u were not moving then he is at fault for he was driving at the time and make sure u have wits for this is his defense that u opened the door at the time but the children should be your wits and he should not have any unless there was a passenger in his vehicle which doubt think really hard and try to remember details and what was being done at the time and can the children verify
2006-07-17 06:03:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I'm glad no one was hurt. I tend to agree with you. Since you were stopped, and he was moving, it's his responsibility to miss you. Your car could have broken down or something like that. His excuse is really lame.
I did have a similar incident. I stopped at a store, parked, and as soon as I turned off the car, bang - was rear-ended. There really wasn't much for the guy to say as I was at a dead stop and he was moving. Fortunately, the kid was a nice kid and admitted his mistake. Insurance was no problem.
In your case, I'd contact your insurance company. They are supposed to fight on your behalf if you are in the right, and in this case it sounds like you clearly are.
Best of luck.
2006-07-17 06:04:25 · answer #7 · answered by Silent Kninja 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the moving car is at fault, whether or not you had the door open shouldn't matter because he cut through to get to another street.Plus, you had the right of way because he should have paid attention and followed the signs or arrows.
Good Luck!
2006-07-17 06:07:03 · answer #8 · answered by bestclemsonfan 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The moving vehicle is at fault.
My car was hit in a similar fashion. Both the insurance company and the district court ruled in my favor.
2006-07-17 06:01:24 · answer #9 · answered by mykidsRmylife 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sue him. He was 1. driving in a negligent fashion (cutting through instead of using the driving lanes provided) AND 2. his vehicle was the only one moving. Keep a record of all your expenses related to this and of all contacts/converstions you have with the perpetrator.
2006-07-17 08:06:25 · answer #10 · answered by seeker100 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋