Question: One night it was extremely dark and I backed into a car. It was in a tow zone and there aren’t supposed to be any vehicles parked there. I go to this place all the time so I did not expect there to be a vehicle there. Am I at fault if I hit a parked car that was in a tow zone?
Answer: Here’s your problem: you were moving and the parked car was not. The car you struck may have been illegally parked, in violation of ordinances, statutes, and all the rest. But, the negligence formula requires a look at conduct. You were in control of the vehicle that was moving. The other car was stopped like a rock. So technically, it is your fault.
Fault Determination: Illegally Parked Car Hit
Look at it like this: although the other car’s driver left the vehicle in a bad place, you had the last clear chance to stop a collision. There is in fact a legal doctrine known as last clear chance which will not be your friend in that the parked car, although in the wrong place at the wrong time, did nothing in the moment before the crash to cause the damage.
To be fair, some jurisdictions have abandoned the ‘last clear chance’ doctrine. Comparative fault or contributory negligence formulas are used to look at facts and circumstances leading up to a collision. Proportional fault is then assigned to each of the parties. There’s a more thorough explanation of these legal concepts in another article.
Under this concept, parking the car in a tow zone violated an ordinance or other law largely intended for public safety and traffic control. That wasn’t what caused the actual collision. Starting up the car and backing into the stopped vehicle caused the crash. Under either analysis the result is the same.
Hopefully you have insurance which can adjust the loss and everyone can back out of the situation and move on with their lives.
More legal topic in this link.
This blog post based on an article © 2012 Eagle Tribune Corporation, originally appearing in Derry News “About the Law”
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not clear at all!
What’s not clear? You are operating a vehicle and controlling its movements. The stationery vehicle is not moving. You back into it. Not sure what is not clear about this but get back to me and I will try to respond. Thank you for contacting me through my website.
There is always an exception to the rule.
I’ve always said if you can send me a case or an insurance result that goes contrary to this blog please send it and I will post it. All the best.
I backed into an illegally parked car that was parked 5 feet from the curb and I was parked legally. I checked my mirror and could not see the car at all. I pulled out and hit the front edge of the car. Who is at fault. Arizona.
You. The other car, even though not parked properly, was stationery. You were moving your car and caused the collision. I have always said if someone can show me a case or the determination of an insurance company to the contrary, send it to me and I will post it. I have been posting this for years and so far, no determinations to the contrary. Have a good one!
My wife backed up and tapped a vehicle the owner was standing next to the drivers door he was dropping off a friend. It was pitch dark my wife looked in both mirrors and put our vehicle in reverse moved maybe 2 ft. and hit his car he could see that. She was backing up no response from him to make us aware that he was behind us or that we were going to hit him. Only a scratch might have pushed his bumper in couple of mm barely. Wants us to pay deductible of 500 whose at fault. What to do ??? Thank you rob and Kathy
It sounds like minimal damage. The fact remains that the other car was stationery and your car with your wife driving was moving, so she had the last clear chance to avoid contact and is liable. To your concern that the are puffing up the damages you have a right to see the actual damage repair estimate. If you can’t compromise your choices include letting them take you to a small claims court where the judge would have to decide the issue, or let your insurance company deal with it. Yes, I know, within your deductible. But its what insurance companies do. Yes, I know, major pain, but these things happen.
hello, i recently hit a car that was parked next to me as i was backing up but the thing is, she wasn’t parked in a legal parking spot, i warned her i wasn’t capable of backing up bc i wasn’t use to driving the vechile i was driving, i waited 23 minutes for her to back up & she didn’t she was talking to her friend in the car, so when i did back up i struck her car. whose at fault?
Put yourself in their position. Would you want someone taking your car to their unknown to you, personal family repair person? Objectively speaking the answer is no. So the choice is yours. Pay what they want or let them take you to small claims court. If you go to small claims court you should have documentation to show their proof is not reasonable. The other possible solution, request that they get a second estimate from a repair facility with no connection to either one of you. Best wishes.
Hi,
Any angle if the car had a tow bar? E.g. the car was illegally blocking my driveway. I backed out and missed the car (as planned) but hit the tow bar which was impossible to see whilst driving.
Ryan I love the way my blog readers push the limits on the issues presented in my articles. The facts would still be the same – you were moving, the other vehicle was not moving, and you backed into it. On the other hand if you get a claims adjuster with a little bit of sense of reality or a practical small claims court judge, your point might be taken into account.
Okay so… I was at my girlfriends last week, and parked in her alley which is a tow zone, put my hazards on and ran inside. Her neighbor backed up and hit my car. I took it to get an estimate and it was $1,377. She got the estimate and then sent it to her dad, who is an attorney, and he told me he would pay $500. He said it was that or nothing. Yes I was parked in the wrong spot, but she had the opportunity to avoid it. Is it smart to argue about compensation or have insurance deal with it? Will my rate go up or is this doctrine a way to defend that?
So dad is playing claims adjuster and “Let’s Make a Deal” at the same time. Not his role. Put a claim in against the girl’s insurance company, and if the family is not cooperating file a small claim. This is the function of the courts and the insurance companies, not lawyer dad.
Two nights ago I was in a rural neighborhood with no street lights. I backed out of a driveway, after looking both ways for any traffic, and checking my mirrors. As I backed out I turned the wheel to adjust to go forward, as I did so I checked my mirrors again, which is out of habit, due to mailboxes being at the road. I backed into a car that was parked in a driveway at the edge of the road. Not even a foot away, I mean at the edge, may have even actually been in the road by inches. I am in Michigan, which is a no fault State. She went to the police post two days later and I was sent a citation. It was their decision to not call the police, now I have a ticket. There five parking spots in front of her car. How do I find out if she has insurance to cover the damages instead of her suing me for it
Either contact the owner of the vehicle director or contact the Michigan Department of State for the information.
Hi Sir, how if I hit an illegally parked car and his car park at almost half of the road side. It’s 2 way road and both side of the road is full of illegally parked car. Am I liable for his car expenses? It’s the one that parks illegally. Isn’t the illegal parker liable for my car repair expenses?
Sorry, but you were operating a moving vehicle and struck a stationary object. The concept described in the blog article applies. Have your insurance company deal with it. It’s why we have insurance.
I give you alot of credit for even answering some of these posts. Your eyes should remain looking in the direction your vehicle is moving. When backing up, continue to look back until you come to a stop. Idiots
Hello Sir,
This just happened to me and I don t know what to do. I am in California. I was at gym parking lot and there was zero parking after I looked for a long time and it is later in the evening so I parked in red zone in the parking area as I have seen people park there before at times. For only a short while. My bad luck I get hit.
When I came back there was a note on my car that this guy says he ran into my car door to call him. But when I called he was extremely rude and said there was not enough room for his truck to back out and it is my fault to park illegally and he says I should go look it up and he hang up on me. I looked up his name of Facebook and after seeing his profile is see he is definitively a bully. This is unfair and I don’t know what to do – and I am sure because I am a woman he thinks he can do whatever he wants. I heard that he thrown a ball at the people in the pool when they are swimmers in the lane – rude behavior! I need advise and attorney help.
Dear Ms. Malek;
Report the incident to your insurance company and let them deal with it. This is why we all pay the big bucks to insure our cars because in life things happen and the insurance companies will hammer it out. Walk away.
Ok I totally understand that we were the ones backing out of our driveway Christmas eve, but it was unusually foggy and dark out.
We lived here 23 years and know there is no parking so my husband didn’t see the car, is there anyway to sue the owner of the parked car, if he wasn’t illegally parked my car would NOT be wrecked!????
Sure there’s a way you can sue the owner of the parked car. You’re not going to win. I keep telling everyone that responds to this blog to contact me and show me the judgment or positive insurance result when they win. I’m still waiting.
Hello there!
The other day I was backing up out of a parking spot at my dorm on my college campus and hit an illegally parked car. The issue is that I don’t have room to turn around in the parking lot, so I have to back up into the road. The car that was illegally parked was parked off to the side of the road on the other side of the parking area. The lighting was poor and the car was small, so I just slammed right into it.
Are they at fault for not even giving me enough room to back safely out of the parking area? Obviously, I hit them, but they literally did not even give me enough room to get out of the parking area.
I’m not sure what people don’t understand about the fact that if they were moving and the car they hit was not, they are at fault. Whether the other car was parked illegally or dropped in by aliens. I have always promised that if, in this scenario, someone gets an insurance adjuster’s decision in their favor or a court decision in their favor, I will happily post the same right here on this web page.
I am being accused of causing a hit and run accident, apparently there’s surveillance video that shows me backing out of a parking spot, then moving forward then backing out and leaving. the other vehicle has severe damage.
However, I honestly did not feel this. My car has no damage what so ever. Had I felt my vehicle hit the other vehicle I would have stopped. But honestly I didn’t. Now I’m being charged with a fine of hit and run and had to start an insurance claim. Is it even possible that I could cause sever damage without my vehicle having a scratch.
Dear Miriam;
If there is video that allegedly got you into this trouble, your insurance company should be entitled to get a copy. Most insurance companies will spend large amounts of money to save spending a dime so if your own insurance company is not willing to get the video, get another insurance company. Usually, but not always, there is some paint transfer evidence on the vehicles so the claims people usually look into this also.
Hello, I accidentally tapped another vehicle while backing up and made a small dent on the door only. I contacted the owner and did the honest thing by telling them it was me and to get a quote for the door repair.
They presented me a 2 quotes for over 2k each, which consisted of painting almost half the car. But it was just a small dent on the door only?? I don’t get it why do I need to pay for half of this 8 year old car which has many scratches along the side anyway?
You don’t “need” to pay anything. (a) why aren’t the insurance companies straightening this out? (b) if its due to the deductible, tell the other guy that’s unreasonable, unless they give you a more reasonable number they’ll need to bring the case to small claims court for a judge or mediator to straighten out.
Hello,
My question is along the same as most but with a small twist. My wife was backing out off a parking spot, she noticed a car pulled up and was now illegally parked. She waited then pulled out safely, using mirror and the back up camera. Suddenly the driver in the other car opens the door causing a minor accident. Now a few days later she’s claiming injury. How would CA law post judgment?
I am a personal injury attorney licensed only in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. I can not give legal advice in California. Having given that disclaimer, I can only speculate that the motor vehicle operator who opened the door should have exercised due care in looking before the car door was opened. That is my take on it. In my experience insurance companies simply do not want to get involved in a lengthy investigation in such cases and they will often throw up their hands and give it 50% – 50%, equal fault to each operator, one because any time a vehicle is being backed, the operator has a high duty of care, but yet the same applies to opening the car door.
We live across from. A school so it stupid busy. My partner looked and looked again, and started to reverse, so it was clear to people she was exiting our drive, then some guys had suddenly pulled up into a no parking/stopping zone, just so his kid can get out at the school gate, as he came up so fast she didn’t see he wasn’t there before she still saw it as clear, is this still her fault??
The facts you present vary from the basics of the scenario in my blog article. In other words in the article people back into a static, non-moving, vehicle. In your partner’s scenario another vehicle scooted behind them as they were backing and liability will depend on how soon before impact the other driver drove into the path of the backing vehicle. Hint: never say “didn’t see” to a claims adjuster. They write down “wasn’t looking”. So, just be careful how you truthfully explain the incident.
Someone, a stranger was parked in my driveway and I had to back out to let that person leave. I hit a parked car. I already know it’s my fault. Just want to know if there was anything else that I did not know.
Dear Chris,
Probably the best thing for you to do is to contact your insurance company and to let them deal with it. Cooperate fully with the adjuster for your own insurance company and hopefully the damages are not too bad.
I noticed that a car was parked in my reserved parking space. I parked behind the car blocking them in to see if I could find out who car was in my spot. I told the front desk clerk to let me know if someone came out and I would move my car. The clerk called and said the driver I was blocking in was ready to go any very agitated. When I got outside the driver was in his car trying to straighten his wheels back because he was attempting to get get out of the spot (which was impossible without me moving my car) I moved my car and he left when I got out I noticed that he had hit the car next to me and damaged my bumper. A witness also witness him hit my car. He is claiming he did not know he hit my car or the other car and he is not at fault because I illegally parked behind him.
I live in a house that has an HOA and there is a narrow easement roadway between our homes giving us garage access. (Our homes sit back to back with the garage access in the back of our homes ) the lane is clearly marked fire lane and no parking. The owner of the home across the driveway consistently has his workers come and do work on the house which is a rental. They consistently park their cars in the driveway frequently blocking my access to my garage. I frequently have to maneuver my way around them to get into my garage. Yesterday, I needed to leave to pick up my kids from school. I began to back up and they noticed that there was a truck parked directly behind me blocking my garage. As I said, it is clearly marked as a fire lane and no parking. As I backed up, I almost hit the vehicle not expecting it to be there because the tenants had moved out a couple of days earlier. So in order to try to get out of my garage, I had to maneuver around the truck to avoid hitting it. Focusing on my rear view mirror, I was able to completely clear the truck but in the process, I scraped the front of my own vehicle. I called the owner and he said that if I did not file a formal police report that he knew of a body shop and would cover the cost to repair my vehicle. I agreed, however, the next day he texted me and said that he had thought about it and decided that it was halt his workers fault and half my fault and he said he would only pay half the cost. I disagreed and told him that based on our conversation, I respected his request to not file a formal police report and that I expected him to honor his word. As of right now, that’s where it stands as I have not heard back from him. I took my car in to get an estimate for the damages and, of course, what appeared to be minimal damage came to $1704 for the visible damages. Who has the responsibility in this case and what are my options?
I ran out out of gas left car on side of street and gone for 10 min in daytime and came back to note on car and smashed front. Whose fault is it?
What did the insurance companies say?
My car parked at Underground Parkade of a Condo, then one day found ceiling with melted sealants dripping from ceiling gaps on car’s surface and caused damage. The property management refused to pay compensation basing on signs indicating “Parking at your own risks and not responsible for losses and damages”.
In fact, the property management has failed to maintain car park ceiling in good condition causing ceiling gaps keeping leaking rain water and melted sealants for over 3 years. What action I can take to pursue damage claim for this case? Can I sue them for negligence and fail to keep property in good condition according to ByLaw of the Condo?
Most condo bylaws require you to go through a claims process as a preliminary matter so that is a condition precedent to legal action. Go through the process in good faith, then in the likely event that you are not compensated then file either a small claim suit in your jurisdiction depending on the small claim limit there, or go directly to district or other court.
Homeowner goes out to driveway to move guest vehicle parked behind his car (with owner’s permission). While homeowner is maneuvering, delivery truck parks at the foot of driveway with engine running and leaves door open to drop off a package. Homeowner, knowing there were no vehicles present when they got behind the wheel, backs into the door of the truck left open by the truck driver. Homeowner technically had “last clear chance”, but also had no reasonable expectation that truck materialized with a door hanging open. Less cut and dried?
Wait a minute! Something happened in between “While homeowner is maneuvering” … and “backs into the door of the truck”. It sounds like homeowner looked, then stopped looking and then placed the vehicle in movement, failing to continue to look behind the vehicle as it backed. Therefore, homeowner, moving a vehicle in a direction in which homeowner was not looking simultaneous with movement, moved said vehicle into stopped delivery truck. As has been said on this page previously, if there is a court finding or insurance finding to the contrary please send it to this website and it will be posted. Each case posted so far proves the basic premise of this blog article. Moving car strikes stopped car, moving car at fault. Thank you.
There is no designated school “pick up/drop off” area at our 3 years old’s preschool. The block surrounding the school are marked “no parking zones during school hours”. There is a “bus parking only” section as well right alongside the sidewalk that enters the school. Every day, parents line up and down the block marked “no parking during school hours” as this is closest to the pick up/drop off doors, get out of their cars, walk to retrieve their child, and then return to the vehicle and leave. I did this yesterday and a bus pulling up to the school building sideswiped my vehicle, causing damage to the front driver fender/light/bumper. The police were called and took all of the information. The bus company said they would submit to their insurance. However, I obtained a copy of the police report today and it states: “vehicle 1 (me) was illegally parked in a no parking zone unoccupied, driver of vehicle 2 was driving a school bus and entering the bus parking only zone and sideswiped vehicle 1 facing the same direction.” I am very frustrated with myself, with the bus driver, and also with the fact that this isn’t something that happens once in a while – parents park on this road EVERY DAY during the school year to pick up their kids. With the wording in the police report, I am afraid their insurance will refuse to file a claim as it is my fault since I was parked illegally. We live in MN which is a ‘no fault’ state. What are my options? I appreciate any advice you can offer.
My advice to you is to get on the phone with your insurance company and their insurance company right away. File your own operators report emphasizing that you were simply sitting in a line of standing vehicles not moving at all when the bus, moving, drove along, striking your stationery vehicle side to side. Don’t let them put you off with the voice tree and don’t sit around and wait for their online app. Be persistent. Based on everything in the blog post you were right and the bus driver was negligent. Please let me know what happens.
Backing up a mini van from a parking space. I looked in my mirrors and began to back up. Closely Behind me was parked a Ferrari illegally in front of a gas meter and dumpster. It was low profile and undetectable in the rear view mirror. My van had no damage. However, the Ferrari suffered scratches on the door. fault for damages?
Fault? Car that was moving. Driver of car that was moving should be glad it was only a Ferrari and not a little kid. Look down.
I am a supervisor of claims at one of the largest insurance companies in the nation. We explain it like this – what if the parked car was actually a person? A person is a small object compared to a car. If you can’t see a car you certainly can’t see a person. In the state I live and work – I would have my adjuster put a small percentage of fault on the driver illegally parked. Maybe 20%. But the person operating the moving vehicle would certainly be majority at fault.
I totally disagree with the 20%. It is difficult to have a discussion or free back-and-forth conversation with an anonymous post so I question this. Actual insurance companies base their determinations on past court findings and so I not only question this but challenge you to post a decision, case, finding, regulation or any other authority that forms the basis of the incorrect, I believe, 20%. Thank you for participating in my blog!
I live in Houston, Texas. I was backing out of my driveway, and accidentally hit the car that was directly behind my driveway on the street. The car was parked going the wrong way, on the wrong side of the street. She was standing outside the car at the time of the incident. We both exchanged insurance information. If I’m at fault, do we have to go through the insurance company or can I just pay for the damages out of pocket?
I hate when people answer a question with a question, I really do. But why would you pay for insurance and then also pay more to pay for the repairs when you already paid fore insurance?