Auto Insurance Claims: Auto Accident Claim (Fault determination), parking lot accidents, traffic lane

Question
I was involved in a minor "parking-lot" auto accident. The other car was backing out of a parking spot. I was reversing in the normal traffic lane to position myself to take a parking spot. We collided with the other car's corner of the rear bumper striking me in the side of my rear bumper. The officer told me it's my fault because "I shouldn't have been backing up".  He wrote the police report to favor the other driver.  How do I definitively find out if I'm at fault or not. Accident is in state of NJ. Not an "I think..." or "probably...", but how can I find out once and for all, what rules are applied to determine fault in this case. I need to know this in order to determine if I should file a claim or I'm better off not filing a claim.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Bruce,

Parking lot accidents are among the most difficult to determine fault. If the lane you were backing up in was a one way lane with angled parking then you would be at fault because the other driver had no reason to think someone would be comming the other way. If, however, it was straight in parking and a 2 way lane, then it could be the fault of the other driver. In most cases where both vehicles are backing up and a collision occurs it will be decided that liability rests with both driver and they will assign 50/50 liability.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh