The following accident happened in Ballwin, Missouri. My fiancée was properly parked in a grocery store parking lot. Her car engine was turned off and she was about to exit her car, with her driver's door just barely open, when a van tried to pass through the parking space on her left. It caught the door, dragged it open and released it only when it was past my fiancée's car. The van drove so fast that it only stopped in the parking spot on the other side. The driver of the van does not admit that she caused the accident and we are convinced that my fiancée is not at fault.

Questions:
1. If there is no fault admitted, what are my fiancée's options and will most likely happen?
2. What is the responsibility of my fiancée's insurance? They claim that in the absence of witnesses the liability is 50% on each side.
3. In the absence of witnesses, does the material evidence count? (The way the door is damaged is indicative of what happened.)
4. Whose responsibility is to decipher the state's accident laws and protect my fiancée's interests? (We feel that, since the accident was not her fault, she shouldn't be responsible for the damages.)

Was there a police report or accident investigation ?

1. normally both insurance companies will deny any claim from the other, if she has full coverage he insurance will fix her car and the legal department will decide if it is worth going to court over.

2. They will pay to have her car fixed under her full coverage insurance (if she has full coverage) and they will make the choice to sue for their money back. There were two witnessed, her and the driver of the other car.

3. If the police did a proper accident investigation at the scene, the evidence could mean a lot, after the fact, it can help but is a lot more limited

4. It is your ( well her) responsibility, the insurance company merely looks after their (company) interest

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eva1Helena11

The following accident happened in Ballwin, Missouri. My fiancée was properly parked in a grocery store parking lot. Her car engine was turned off and she was about to exit her car, with her driver's door just barely open, when a van tried to pass through the parking space on her left. It caught the door, dragged it open and released it only when it was past my fiancée's car. The van drove so fast that it only stopped in the parking spot on the other side. The driver of the van does not admit that she caused the accident and we are convinced that my fiancée is not at fault.

Questions:
1. If there is no fault admitted, what are my fiancée's options and will most likely happen?
2. What is the responsibility of my fiancée's insurance? They claim that in the absence of witnesses the liability is 50% on each side.
3. In the absence of witnesses, does the material evidence count? (The way the door is damaged is indicative of what happened.)
4. Whose responsibility is to decipher the state's accident laws and protect my fiancée's interests? (We feel that, since the accident was not her fault, she shouldn't be responsible for the damages.)

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First, if you didn't know - Missouri is a comparative fault State - the damaged party CAN collect if at fault but that recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault of the damaged party. It's not like that in all States.

FrChuck gave you a very comprehensive, correct answer -

I think a 50/50 decision is pretty fair - the person entering or exiting the motor vehicle has the responsibility to check (and I'm talking NYS) that it is safe. Obviously it wasn't safe. Your fiancé has the burden of proof concerning the speed of the other vehicle and without witnesses I don't see how she can do that.

She is going to say the other vehicle was speeding; the other vehicle is going to say she suddenly opened the door when it wasn't clear or safe; she is going to say the door was barely open; he is going to say if it were barely open, he wouldn't have caught it without taking off the side of her car; she's going to say he didn't stop until he was into the next parking spot; he's going to provide stopping time statistics (which I've posted before). It's a standoff.

You can always go to Small Claims Court but I honestly don't see the other vehicle being found 100% at fault - I just don't.

Unfortunately auto insurance problems fall into the "educated consumer" category - you have to research your rights and your State's laws and stand up for yourself.

I'm not saying the law is always fair - I think almost everyone has been parked when some clown comes zipping through. I'm just saying - you can't open your door until it's safe and you have to take all conditions and possibilities into consideration.

Sort of on the same subject - I'm an accident investigator; I do a LOT of parking lot accidents; my family thinks it's amusing but I will NOT park in a way in which I have to back out of a space. I will only pull out going forward because I've seen too many of these accidents and liability becomes a nightmare.