Questionmy husband backed into an unoccupied park van. the van is old and has a lot of rust and we very obviously are not the first to hit this van. We live in a trailer park and this van is parked several feet out into the street (which is where I wonder if he shares liability). My husband was turning his truck around at an intersection between lanes (roads wide enough for two people to pass EXCEPT where his van is parked...but streets don't have names); the very corner of his rear bumper connected with van, we can't tell which damage is our, however we do have white paint on our bumper (which no doubt matches his van!!)
this was a couple weeks ago and he said not to worry about it, that if he felt he needed to turn in a claim he'd come get out insurance info...his wife came and got it today.
I thought about offering ~$100 and having him sign a release form, which I'm pretty sure he would sign. However, if he shares in the liability, I'm wondering if we each are responsible for our own damages, OR since it was parked and no one in it, are we 100% liable. (Maybe I just watch too much Judge Judy!)
AnswerI like the Judge Judy reference, lol! Okay, so this is an opinion okay? I have never seen a parked vehicle share in any responsibility for an accident (except in Canadian provinces).
My answer is that you are 100% liable. The best argument I use is normally the "kid standing in a fire zone" scenario. Just because the kid is illegally there doesn't mean you can run over him/her. One owes a greater duty of care when OPERATING a motor vehicle, and in every case I have ever seen that involved a parked vehicle, the parked vehicle never shared in responsibility unless it was parked in a VERY VERY hazardous location like right around a blind corner or right over a hill on a road that has a high speed limit and lot of travel, you know?
I'm not saying it couldn't happen if you fought the case in court, but that I never seen a parked vehicle attributed any negligence.
I hope this helps!
