Auto Insurance Claims: Public Parking Lot Accident, parking enforcement officers, parking lot accident

Question
I work for a company in CA that doesn't offer parking, but we have a public lot in front of our office. Unfortunately, this means we need to move our vehicles every (2) hours to avoid a ticket from the parking enforcement officers. I had just moved my vehicle into a new space when I decided to back out a few feet and straighten up my vehicle. Before backing up, I looked both ways to ensure no one was coming. I proceeded to back out of the spot. As I was backing out, I noticed another vehicle coming toward my vehicle. They didn't appear to be yielding, so I stopped my vehicle to allow them to pass. Unfortunately, they didn't attempt to stop or avoid my vehicle and hit me in the rear driver's side of my vehicle. The other driver is claiming that I am at fault for the accident even though I had yielded and the driver made no attempt to avoid the accident. This is a very small parking lot so speed was not an issue. Who is at fault and what should I do now?

Answer
Hi Jim-

I would turn it in to your insurance company.  It will be his word against yours unless either of you have a credible witness.  He will probably say you backed into him.  If his side of  the story agrees with yours and he admits that you stopped and then he ran into you, then you should be ok.

The claims adjuster should be able to look at the damage and be able to tell if your car was moving when it was hit.  That may help your case. If not, the fact that he had the right of way may hurt your case.

What happens sometimes in these parking lot situations is that you are both found 50% at fault and it is not a chargable accident for either of you.   


Sheldon Maughan
Sacramento, Ca