Auto Insurance Claims: whos at fault?, independent witness, paint damage

Question
this morning i was reversing into a car parking space in a public road outside my college. i had my reverse indicator on and and was mid manouvre when a car pulled right into the space where i was parking(which was right by a bus stop), resulting in me hitting their front bumper.i believe the driver had just stopd as we clashd(meaning i hit them) -the driver and his son got out of their car cursing at me and at the time i was in too much shock to argue. however, i dont feel this was my fault as i know from my driving lessons that if u see someone reversing you wait not pull into their space! the damage is only minor paint damage on both cars - am i right to refuse liability? i dont care about the damage on my car im just worried about having to pay out for the actions of an unconsiderate driver!the driver took my insurance details without giving me theirs.i also have an aditional witness, a girl who had just parked in front of my car. what can i do? please help!

Answer
Suzanne,

They got your insurance but you didn't get theirs?  Do you have their contact information, license plate number? Was a police report made? Have you spoken with your insurance company about the claim? If you have no other way to contact them, you can wait and see if they present a claim to your company. You will then be able to obtain their contact and nsurance information and present a claim to their insurance company. If you were in mid back up and they essentially stole your spot, they will have fault too.

It sounds like fault would be 25% to you for backing into them and perhaps closer to 75% on them for trying to beat you into the spot. The independent witness will be your best bet here if she is favorable to you. Keep her contact information and give it to your insurance company so they can interview her to support their denial of any claim presented.  

Best of luck

Marc B. Nussbaum, Esquire