Auto Insurance Claims: Parking lot fender bender, rear view mirror, fender bender

Question
I live in south central Tennessee. I was preparing to back out of a space in a busy parking lot today. I turned around to check behind me and saw that the lane was clear of traffic. I slowly began to back out of the space. I turned back around and glanced into my rear-view mirror and saw nothing. I was just about to put stop and put the car into drive to leave when I heard the crunch. An elderly couple had began to back out and apparently they were at an angle where I couldn't see them from my rear-view mirror. I know I was at lest 3/4 of the way out into the lane before they began to back up. The back driver side corner of my bumper hit the back passenger side of their car, right behind the back tire. Very little damage was caused to my vehicle. It merely broke a plastic clip that fastened the bumper to the vehicle so there was a gap between the bumper and the body of the vehicle. There was a dent a little bigger than a basketball in their car because that is obviously a very weak point of a car considering there is nothing there to support it. I was simply wondering if you knew who, if anyone, would be considered at fault or if Lawrence County is a "50/50 county" where each person pays for the damage to their own vehicles. I am aware that you are based in Texas but I was hoping you may be able to at least give me an idea of what to expect. The police were notified and a report was taken. They didn't inform either party of their estimate of the amount of damage caused to either vehicle or who was considered to be at fault and I was still so shaken up that I didn't even think to ask. Thank you in advance for your time.

Answer
These cases are based on the statements of the parties.  If the other driver admits that they backed up without safety, then it is their fault, and the damages to your vehicle should be taken care of by their insurance.  If there is a dispute about how the accident occurred, then it will most likely end up being a 50/50 in the eyes of the insurance companies.  It will be based entirely on the statements of the drivers.  If you were backing out and didn't see them, then there is some liability on you, but if as you say, you were further out into the lane at the time of the collision, the defense is that of "last clear chance".  The other party would have had the last clear chance to avoid the accident as they began moving after you.  Proving that is going to be the hard part if they claim both were backing out at the same time.  It is simply about who was more negligent.

I hope this helps.