QuestionQUESTION: I pulled up behind a commercial truck at a parking lot intersection. He was talking to a girl in a parking spot to the right of his vehicle but he disputes that fact in his statement - and I didn't get a license plate or photo.
He put on his backup lights, I honked my horn. Then he proceeded to back the hitch on his bumper half way into my hood (me blaring my horn the entire time).
He claims he was backing up to let grass company truck/trailers clear the intersection from other direction. I initially want to say he shouldn't have backed up at all - that should have been the other vehicle's responsibility to see the situation and approach in such a way that they could either proceed through the intersection safely or wait for him to proceed. Perhaps he is admitting that he did a crappy job stopping his vehicle to begin with (I did take a photo showing his truck after the accident crowding the center of the parking lot driving lane).
Irrespective of whether he even had a legitimate reason to backup, his insurance company is claiming I am at partial fault because I didn't honor the blind spot immediately behind his commercial truck. He has a witness who made a statement that I was in his blind spot when I pulled up. The police officer that made report talked to this witness but still reported the "probable contributing circumstances" at:
V1 (Commercial Box Truck) - 11. Improper Backing
V2 (me - Chevy Malibu) - 22. None
The insurance company is only willing to admit majority fault, not 100%. I'm willing to fight it but will have to find a lawyer because the damages exceed $3k (more than small claims court). To my knowledge, there were no injuries to either party and only damage done to my vehicle.
I directed the insurance company to the following DOT Commercial Driving Manual (page 2-9):
http://dor.mo.gov/mvdl/drivers/forms/cdl.pdf
I do find documentation for vehicles approaching/passing truck blind spots while driving on highways but nothing that describes directions for approaching a truck and it's potential for backing up.
Does the insurance company have a case?
ANSWER: Barry,
Whether the insurance company has a case or not depends on how well their attorney can argue liability. The controlling questions are "who was negligent?" and "to what degree?". I don't believe they have a case. Are they saying that it is not necessary to check clearance before backing up? I don't think so, but what they are saying is that if you had not been in the blind spot, you would not have been in the collision. Additionally, they could argue about why you didn't back out of the way when you realized the vehicle was backing up and couldn't see you.
You have two choices. . .
1. Call their bluff and file suit (you don't have to have an attorney even outside of small claims court, but you would have to know the rules).
2. Negotiate the best you can, go up the ladder until you can settled at 90% to 10% or something comparable and just bite the bullet and accept that there is a possibility you could have done something to avoid the loss. They may say that you had the "last clear chance" to avoid the accident, but failed to take any action at all. This doesn't mean you are at fault, and it is hard to get a jury to see this logic, but in order to see how well you case fairs on this regard, you would have to take your chances with a jury, and the insurance company knows that and is betting you won't sue.
JP
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you JP.
They're claiming 70% to 30% but obviously as a starting off point.
Anywhere you would suggest to direct me where I can learn "the rules" for the State of Missouri?
There was a car behind me so I couldn't backup even if I had time. And he was too far over to the left of the lane.
I don't want to pursue this - but I am resolved.
Barry
AnswerSorry for the delay, I have been popular today.
In Missouri, there are many resources online. I suggest searching for Missouri Rules of Civil Procedure and go from there. If you can get a case filed and make it through the first month of paperwork, you should be able to negotiate a reasonable settlement. I hope you can simply negotiate to a resolution. Having your resolve come through the phone without threatening anybody or coming across as an idiot is the trick! If you are a credible threat of a lawsuit and they can tell that, then you likely won't have to file the suit if you are willing to bend just a little bit.
We will guide you for free, but it is technical. My experience with small claims court and the fact that I have family that are licensed attorneys means it is easy for me to get answers, sometimes the law doesn't necessarily follow the logic I want it to.
JP
