Accidental damage of an illegally parked car

Buttonmoon_2

Yesterday I accidently scratched a car which was parked half on the pavement half on the road with my pram as I passed. A colleague of the owner of the car saw me do this and subsequently they went to the police claiming that I had done it diliberatly and it was criminal damage.

I contacted the police myself to say that I had had the accident and was told that I should not worry about it as the car was illegally parked on the pavement and it was their fault for parking blocking the pavement.

I then had a visit from the police who have offered me a fixed penalty notice which is a fine but I do not have to admit guilt or I can be arrested, interviewed etc etc. I think that I am going to opt for the fixed penalty notice because it does not admint guilt on my part and it's quite a quick and straight forward way of dealing with it. Now that I have made this decision my next dilema is...will the owner of the car be able to sue me either independently or through his insurance for the cost of the damage????

I'm really stuck about this and waiting for the CAB to call me back.

I know that if I had hit the car with my car then I would be at fault but what about accidentle damage????

Thanks in anticipation

Money_maker

They've got a flipping nerve! Don't know what the legalities are but I really get cross :mad: when people are so b****y inconsiderate to path users. They dont think how pushchairs, wheelchairs, disabled buggys and elderley folk are going to get past.

Manys the time I wished I had a screwdriver in my pocket.

You have my sympathies although I wonder what the legal position would be should you and your LO (heaven forbid) get hit by a car walking in the road in order to go around an illegally parked car.

dacouch

It would be best to speak to the Citizens Advice Bureau as the police are in effect trying to do you for criminal damage or vandalism. Unless you intended to damage the vehicle then this surely would not apply.

If the owner of the car does try to sue you for damage your home insurers will consider the claim under the personal liability section if the owner of the car can prove you were legally liable. If you were trying to push your pram passed the vehicle and it was not parked correctly it is debatable whether or not you were legally liable.

Like I said speak to the CAB or alternatively you will probably have Legal Expense Cover (Sometimes it excludes criminal proceedings) or at the least it will give you free legal advice (The telephone number is normally in your policy booklet near where the telephone number to make a normal claim is).

If the CAB or your legal expenses say you may have a problem you could always offer to pay for part of the damage (Do not do this without getting advice from the CAB etc first).

If anything like this happens again take photos of how the car was parked etc and the road as it may show going around the car in the road or crossing over the road was very dangerous.

Buttonmoon_2

Thanks for your sympathy and advice. I will take a look at our home insurance policy to see what it says about personal liability while I wait for the CAB to call me back. I think I might also see if I can get a free half hour appointment with a local solicitor to see what they say.

I am so mad with myself for this getting so out of control!!

lisyloo

I also think you should research this before you accept the fixed penlty as an "easy way out".
If you accidental scratched the car then you are not guilty of any criminal act.
You did not do it negligently or deliberately, it was accidental and a contributing factor was the inconsiderate parking.

Personally I would feel not inclined to accept the penalty.
The other person would have to prove you did it deliberately and the vested interest of a colleague might not stand up so well.

MaximumImpact

Unless you intended to damage the vehicle then this surely would not apply.

Just for your info, Criminal Damage is also defined as being 'so reckless as to cause damage'. So playing devils advocate, technically you can be charged with the offence even though the car was illegally parked. If you knew that there was a risk of you scratching it as you went past and you still went past causing damage, then you have been ''reckless''.

I'm not saying that you should be charged and that he/she can park where they like but just informing you of what the law says. Whoever told you when you phoned up that it didn't matter as the car was parked illegally was wrong and should have gone throughthings in detail with you.

On the other side, ask if the Officer has booked the car drive rup for parking on the pavement. That way if they insist on going ahead with the prosecution it will make the bitter pill a bit easier to swallow!!!

Idiophreak

MaximumImpact wrote: »

Just for your info, Criminal Damage is also defined as being 'so reckless as to cause damage'. So playing devils advocate, technically you can be charged with the offence even though the car was illegally parked. If you knew that there was a risk of you scratching it as you went past and you still went past causing damage, then you have been ''reckless''.

Kinda agree with this. Not sure if intent's very important. You shouldn't damage other people's stuff, irrespective of whether it's in the way or not...I don't think many people intend to cause car accidents, but they're still liable for them....

Buttonmoon_2

Hi and thanks to everyone who has posted with their take on who is to blame and 'recklessness' - it all makes me wish that I had endangered my own life and the life of my three month old son and walked in the road.

The fact is that it was accidenal and not intentional criminal damage as I have been accused of. I know one thing for sure the bar steward whos car it was is not likely to park so inconsiderately again!

I'm going to fight this and let the courts decide whether it was accidental or criminal - I'm pretty confident and so is my solicitor!

Thanks to all for their input!!

Idiophreak

Buttonmoon wrote: »

Hi and thanks to everyone who has posted with their take on who is to blame and 'recklessness' - it all makes me wish that I had endangered my own life and the life of my three month old son and walked in the road.

A little dramatic, maybe? If you can't walk 10 feet in the road without endangering your life, it's a sad state of affairs. Normal advice is to look left, then right, then left again, then set off.

Buttonmoon wrote: »

I'm going to fight this and let the courts decide whether it was accidental or criminal - I'm pretty confident and so is my solicitor!

The point we (well, I, certainly) were making is that "accidental" and "criminal" aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. Just because something's accidental doesn't mean it's not criminal.

Anyway, best of luck fighting it.