QuestionMy car was hit while parked on the street near my house. I came out of my house in the morning and found the front end damaged. The front grill had been displaced, the hood was shoved back/up, and the bumper was shoved down. There was white/light paint left on the hood. There was no note left and no sign of another car with matching damage in the area. I thought maybe one of my neighbors had backed into me and made several checks for a light colored SUV with matching damage, but did not see anything. I reported it to my insurance company and had it appraised, but I am out the $1000 deductible since I was unable to identity who hit it.
Three weeks later I got a call from my claims rep that he'd gotten information from another insurance company related to my front end damage. Another driver filed a claim stating my car hit her parked SUV. She took a half dozen photos at the scene of the two cars touching, the front of my car alone, and the back of my car. The other insurance company must have gotten my information from the license plate, because I have never had contact with this woman.
The most shocking part was, I immediately identified the SUV in the photos as belong to a neighbor! This is a vehicle that parks in front of or near my house daily. I remember looking at the back of this car on may way in the house one day after the incident and seeing only small a few minor blemishes, the same as everyone here has from parking on the street and getting tapped every once in a while.
Her claim is only about $300, but I feel like I am being scammed and that something is not on the up and up here. I absolutely did not hit this woman's car. I believe I did not even park behind her the night before, and when I did park, there was plenty of distance between me and the vehicle in front of me. She has since had her damage fixed. I have told my insurance company I did not hit her, and not only that I believe she backed into me, and I want to recover the damages, which were appraised by them at more than $1000.
Is there any way to prove who hit whom by the damage to the two vehicles in this scenario or is it just her word against my word? The photos don't really show cause. There is only one where the curb is actually visible and her car is more than a foot away from it, which makes me very suspicious. All of the others of the two cars touching are very close up and do not show the positions of cars relative to the curb. She has never tried to make contact with me, even now. What course of action can or should I take in a situation like this for the best possible outcome?
AnswerHi Tabrean,
Unfortunately, with no independent witnessess, it is just your word against hers. The only thing you can do at this point is to be adamant with your insurance company that you did not hit the other vehicle. In the end it will be your insurance company's decision to pay forthe oter damage or not. As far as your $1,000 deductible, there is nothing you can do about that because you can not prove that she hit you. This is just one of those unfortunate situations of life.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
