A lot of accidents happen out on the busy highways or at jammed intersections, but there are also a lot of minimal damage collisions that occur in parking lots. Parking lots are often filled with cars that are placed close together. After a shopping trip, many drivers will load their car past the window with groceries, blocking their view out the back. When backing out, these drivers may misjudge the distance between them and another parked car, or swing the car so that the front bumper hits the back bumper of another car that was parked alongside them. Maneuvering inn parking lots can be tough, and there are plenty of opportunities for accidents. In most cases, parking lot accidents don’t involve a lot of injuries or even that much automobile damage. Still, they need to be handled carefully and tactfully if you want to avoid getting into trouble with the law enforcement.
Most parking lots are considered private property, so laws apply to moving vehicles in parking lots that don’t apply on public roads. For example, in most parking lot accidents the police won’t apply blame to the incident. The only exceptions may be when there is a large amount of damage or if a pedestrian or driver is severely injured in the accident. If you want a police officer to come and report the accident, then you will still want to contact local law enforcement and explain what has happened. You may have a hard time getting a quick response because most police officers do not consider a parking lot accident to be urgent. Because the police don’t often play a large role in these accidents you will want to be in close contact with your insurance company.
You will want to get the other party’s insurance information and contact information as soon as you can. Write down every pertinent detail you can think of. You should get license plate numbers, the make and model of the cars involved, contact information, insurance information, and more. If there were any witnesses who saw the collision, you should ask for their testimony. This is so that you can produce evidence if the case goes to court. Chances are that both parties will have very different accounts of what happened, but an unbiased witness may be able to clear things up. In some cases, the car accident may have occurred while one car was parked and its owner was in the store shopping. In this case, witnesses can help to confirm your story and keep the other party from being concerned.
If possible, you should try to get a police officer to arrive at the scene and create a police report. When no one responds, you should go to the local police station on your initiative and file a report. All the information that you have can help you when you file with the insurance company and need to determine who is at fault. You will also want to file with the insurance company so that you can alert them as to what is going on. If you file first, then you will be protected if the other party files a claim against you. Admittedly, parking lot accidents are some of the most disputed accidents on record. This is because people often have different perspectives of who is at fault and who should pay for what.
The insurance company will probably help to determine who is at fault in a parking lot accident. They will look who was backing out of a parking space when the accident occurred, and where the other car was at the time. Typically, anyone backing out of a space is held at fault for the accident because this driver has the responsibility to yield to passing traffic before pulling out of the space. If there were two cars pulling out at the same time, then things can get complicated and the insurance company may rely on witnesses to explain what happened. Sometimes, the insurance company may divide the fault of the accident by percentages. Rather than take 100 percent of the blame, you may be issued 60 percent responsibility. This means that you will have to pay 60 percent of all damage costs, but the other party involved will have to contribute the other 40 percent.
You will want to carefully discuss the accident with your insurance company if you believe that it will be a percentage issue. If one of the cars in the accident was illegally parked, you will still receive all blame. While this may not sound fair, the police say that as a driver you are supposed to be responsible for your surroundings. Because the parked car is technically a surrounding item, you will be held liable to pay all damages. Contact a car accident attorney today if you are dealing with a car accident claim and need legal aid.