Who is at fault?

jojonana

I pulled into a petrol station just behind a car. As I was lining up with the pumps, I heard a sickening sound, and realised I had hit the open door of the driver next to me. We exchanged names and addresses. I told friends and family, and they all said this was not my fault, as the other driver should have checked before opening his door. Also, I was so close to the pumps, that I could hardly open my door to get out; so I was not stuck out. The other car was large, possibly a four wheel drive. As well as pulling in the petrol station behind this vehicle, I was also driving behind it for sometime on the road. I said that he must have seen me pulling in. This happened over a month ago, and I have just received an e.mail from the other driver's insurance company, which incidentally is the same insurer as me. I have a Vauxhall Corsa 1.2, and the petrol station is modern; and there is room for three cars in each bay. Can anyone give me any advice on this, and should I ask to see the security video from the petrol station?

OnanTheBarbarian

What part of your car hit the door?

Video footage is probably long gone and odds are they won't release the footage unless requested by the police, or a formal court order or subject access request.

jojonana

My car bumper hit the car door.

scotsbob

If you hit the door of the other vehicle then it is your fault. If the door of the other vehicle was opened and hit your car then they are at fault.


You wrote "I had hit the open door of the driver next to me" which suggests you are at fault.

jojonana

Doesn't the other driver have any liability because he obviously did not check to see if anything was behind him before opening his door?

Dr._Shoe

Yes, any collision with a stationary object is the fault of whoever was in control of the moving vehicle, sorry. Even if he whipped the door open quickly in the hopes you'd hit it, you're still at fault. You were following him in, you must have been able to see that he'd parked awkwardly as he slowed down.

Dr._Shoe

jojonana wrote: »

Doesn't the other driver have any liability because he obviously did not check to see if anything was behind him before opening his door?

No, sorry, he doesn't actually have to. It is your responsibility as driver of a moving vehicle to avoid hitting stationary objects, even if it "changes shape" in some way.

Spicy_McHaggis

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

Yes, any collision with a stationary object is the fault of whoever was in control of the moving vehicle, sorry. Even if he whipped the door open quickly in the hopes you'd hit it, you're still at fault. You were following him in, you must have been able to see that he'd parked awkwardly as he slowed down.

Are you sure?

Another member has been flamed when his passenger opened the door after claiming the moving vehicle was at fault.

Spicy_McHaggis

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

No, sorry, he doesn't actually have to. It is your responsibility as driver of a moving vehicle to avoid hitting stationary objects, even if it "changes shape" in some way.

He has a duty to open the door and not cause danger.

OnanTheBarbarian

It does have a hint of 50/50 about it.

OP gets hit with 50% for hitting a parked vehicle. Third party gets it for not checking his mirror before alighting from his vehicle & opening the door in a parked and confined space where it is reasonably foreseeable that another vehicle will pull up to the pump opposite.

It also depends on any witness evidence that exists confirming how long the door had been open before you drove into it and how far open it was and/or the nature of damage to the door (did you just hit the rearmost edge of the door, or did you wrap it around the front of the other vehicle because it was wide open when you hit it)

Whatever the outcome, it will count as a "fault" claim on your record as you are not going to dodge some liability on this one.

jojonana

Thank you everyone for your answers ... looks like I will have a bad mark on my insurance. This is the first accident I have had in 25 years of driving.