Someone slammed into my parked car

[Oni_Ryu]

In a nutshell, I parked on the side of the road at a friend's house (he lives in a sub division.)

I leave in another guys' car to go to a party, we get a call from my friends mother. Someone slammed into my car.

We get back to the house, my car is pretty much totalled from the front. The other guy was a 17 year old kid who was leaving from his girlfriend's house nearby.

I'm pretty cool about it, I go up to the kid, shake his hand, get the name exchange and ask if he's hurt. He's fine just a little shaken up, I tell him that its more important that he wasn't hurt.

So here is my issue. My car (actually, my father's car, but we switch cars from time to time.) only has the most basic insurance on it. Everybody thinks that we're pretty much screwed and that the party at fault's insurance won't cover it.

Another issue that I have is that I was parked ILLEGALLY. Thats right, I was actually parked facing in the opposite direction than where I was supposed to be. I received a parking ticket for it.

I don't think the way my car was parked should matter, the kid fucking slammed into it, even if it was parked with the rear facing him, he still would have plowed into it (which leads me to ask WHY he was driving so fast in a subdivision in the first place.) And lets not forget the golden scenario, what if a child was there instead of the car?

We called our insurance agent and he says that they should have to cover the damages on the car. At the same time a woman at the police station said that we should have to pay for it. We don't have the verdict yet, but i'm wondering if anybody has any past experience with a situation like this.

[ShawnLoganownzu]

well, ive had an illegally parked ticket before
and ive been hit by a noob kid before

never both at the same time D:

my guess is that you are screwed... that kids insurance company will probably claim that since you were parked illegally they dont have to cover all the damage.. since a smash in the rear is a lot cheaper than one in the front.

[Oni_Ryu]

well, ive had an illegally parked ticket before
and ive been hit by a noob kid before

never both at the same time D:

my guess is that you are screwed... that kids insurance company will probably claim that since you were parked illegally they dont have to cover all the damage.. since a smash in the rear is a lot cheaper than one in the front.

Regardless, a hit to the rear would have rendered the car undrivable. Also, if he had hit it from the back, the car would have slid WAAAAY further than it did, probably causing even more damage to the surroundings.

Back or front, the amount of money needed to repair the car just isn't worth it.

[RockBogart]

yeah if u parked illegally the other guys insurance company aint gonna do shit. Insurance companies whole thing is to find out how you fucked up. You may get very little money if any at all.

[SunocO]

yeah i think you're screwed. sorry bro.

[Ryudo]

You could argue that the kid hitting it would've still happened regardless of it being parked legally or not. If it was parked on the wrong side of the street or something, you would've been screwed. But since it was just facing a different direction, you have a chance.

[Oni_Ryu]

Yeah, its a really crappy situation...

My father's insurance agent said that the other party's insurance should cover it. I don't know if his word means anything though.

The only real argument I can come up with (i've had this used against me before.) Is what if a person were standing there instead of a car?

Now if the kid had tried to dodge the car then I think he could put up more of an argument. The fact is, he was distracted and he slammed head on into it. Their was NO WAY for him to avoid the car, facing him or not.

Whats interesting is, nobody really seems to think the fact that I was illegally parked matters. The officer mentioned it but he said that it was "Neither here nor there." Most opinions settled on the fact that it was an accident and nobody was "at fault" so both parties should pay for their own vehicles and if you don't have collission, your ****ed.

So remember everybody. If you really hate somebody, see that they are illegally parked (or possibly not!) And have collission, just go right ahead and slam into their car!

But seriously, this is ****ed up. Why should I have to pay for some teenager's mistake. (Don't mind me, i'm just venting.)

[Arsenal]

I work at a personal injury law firm, and I deal solely with property damage for our clients.

Basically, the fact you were facing the wrong way shouldn't matter, as long as the spot your vehicle was occupying was a legal spot to occupy at that time (don't know if you have local ordinances regarding nighttime parking, etc...).

Also, fight that ticket. Try to look up your statutes regarding street parking. Do anything you can to get that off the record.

I don't about Michigan, but if you have a comparative negligence law, then you might be looking at a percentage of liability placed on you. If you have a no-fault law, then you have to use your insurance provider, then your provider will attempt to subrogate the at-fault provider. Consult a local attorney in your area, specializing in property damage (although few do in WI unfortunately) to see what your options are.

[Oni_Ryu]

Basically, the fact you were facing the wrong way shouldn't matter, as long as the spot your vehicle was occupying was a legal spot to occupy at that time (don't know if you have local ordinances regarding nighttime parking, etc...).


Thats EXACTLY what the insurance agent said. It certainly was a legal spot. The officer wrote on my ticket "Left wheel touching curb." I'm not absolutely sure I know how Michigan law works, but I heard from the tow truck driver that most of the accidents he's seen involve both parties insurance covering their own vehicles.

I might try to fight the ticket. Its only 50 dollars, i'm totally willing to man up and pay for that.

[plasmakill]

You would be golden if you where only parked the right way. Just cause you have only liability as insurance doesn't mean it won't be paid for, it just means it won't be paid for if it's YOUR fault.

Though as people have already posted there insurance company will probably call bullshit cause you where parked the wrong way. You could try to fight the ticket or settle the insurance claim before you go through the courts for the ticket. That is unless the other parties insurance was already was notified about the ticket. If not they may not even know.

Anyway dude, that shit really sucks and I wish you the best of luck.

[Arsenal]

You would be golden if you where only parked the right way. Just cause you have only liability as insurance doesn't mean it won't be paid for, it just means it won't be paid for if it's YOUR fault.

Though as people have already posted there insurance company will probably call bullshit cause you where parked the wrong way. You could try to fight the ticket or settle the insurance claim before you go through the courts for the ticket. That is unless the other parties insurance was already was notified about the ticket. If not they may not even know.

Anyway dude, that shit really sucks and I wish you the best of luck.

No dude, liability doesn't cover damage to property, that's what "Collision" coverage is for. "Comprehensive" coverage does too, but only when your car is damaged by theft, fire, act of God, etc...

[Ninja Wallace]

If the ticket was for the left wheel touching the curb, then you can say your car was facing the right way. There'd be no record against it. And of course a wheel on the curb wouldn't cause an accident on the road. Maybe they'd have an arguement if they were driving on the sidewalk legally.

[Oni_Ryu]

Well I received a call this morning from the other party's insurance agency.

Looks like they ARE paying for the damages. Somebody is coming out tomorrow morning to inspect the damages on the car. They're even paying for the towing and rental car fees.

I'm beyond relieved to hear this. We're moving across town in about a week, that and something is wrong with my car that needs fixing, an issue like this really sets us back.

Although they are paying for it, it still looks like we're losing money on it. If the total damages on the car equal out to 80% of the value or more, then they junk the car and give us a check for its value (which is only about 7000 give or take.) Judging by the damage, i'm almost positive that we're going to junk the car.

Its all crazy, but at least we don't have to pay for the damages now.

[R | C]

... they ARE paying for the damages.

Amazing.

Consider yourself lucky on this one.

I'm surprised the other party didn't successfully build an argument that none of this wouldn't have happened if you weren't parked illegally.

I'm guessing it happened during day light?

[Oni_Ryu]

Amazing.

Consider yourself lucky on this one.

I'm surprised the other party didn't successfully build an argument that none of this wouldn't have happened if you weren't parked illegally.

I'm guessing it happened during day light?

No actually, the accident occured during the night time.

I think what really helped my case, was the fact that according to the insurance agency, the family assumed full responsibility and claimed fault for it.

I guess acting proffessional and not raising a ruckus at the family really payed off.

[RockBogart]

7000 grand thats a nice used car or a great down payment on a new one. Shit if u do it right u wont have to pay any of your money towards a payment for a long while.

[Oni_Ryu]

7000 grand thats a nice used car or a great down payment on a new one. Shit if u do it right u wont have to pay any of your money towards a payment for a long while.

Truth.

It is my dads car after all, he's retired so he doesn't need anything special, just something to get from point A to B.

My car, on the other hand, is financed. I'll be making payments for the next 5 years, but at least it has Colission.

[DragonSama]

At least you got the info of the guy who hit your car. someone hit the front of my car last week. they messed up the front end, ripped the license plate off, wrinkled the hood a little. then the guy took the fuck off before I could get outside to see what happened.

The bad part is to get it fixed is a $500 deductible and I can't afford that shit right now. Fortunately the car runs fine as it was all body damage but it still pisses me off.

[Arsenal]

At least you got the info of the guy who hit your car. someone hit the front of my car last week. they messed up the front end, ripped the license plate off, wrinkled the hood a little. then the guy took the fuck off before I could get outside to see what happened.

The bad part is to get it fixed is a $500 deductible and I can't afford that shit right now. Fortunately the car runs fine as it was all body damage but it still pisses me off.

Especially when they in the wrong, you really see the true character of people. Working at a personal injury law firm, I can attest to the fact that most people suck (when it comes to accidents/responsibility/liability/etc).