Who's at fault?

NSF_2

Hi

Today I had just gotten into my parked car and had almost closed my door when I was hit by a car. My car is being assessed for total loss and his vehicle has sustained damage.

The road was clear when I first walked round to get in my car and I had checked again before getting in my vehicle. When the drive pulled over and got out it turned out it was a 93 year old man. He was really frail and could barely hear. His first response was 'who opened the door on my car'. I've tried to explain that the door was being closed and I had literally just swung my legs in. If I had been stood in the road opening my door I'd have been under his car. He's claiming he was only driving at 10 mph which is hard to believe looking at the damage that was sustained. The impact to my door suggest he was extremely close to my car and going at some speed. Who is at fault?

AndyMc.....

Unless you have an independent witness most likely you.

facade

You were lucky that you had your legs inside the car.


Just fill out the claim form with what happened, and let the insurances worry about it.


You had your door open in front of oncoming traffic, and whether he could see it/judge distance & speed properly/react/ remember which pedal to press doesn't change that.

Aylesbury_Duck

As above, let the insurers deal with it. If the other party contests it, it could go 50:50 because without an independent witness, you will accuse him of driving into a stationary car and he will accuse you of opening your car door into traffic.

NSF_2

Thank you.

lsc297

Hi,
If possible, drivers should leave a 6 foot gap between them & parked cars.
So this raises a number of points;
1. Were you in a parking bay, if not were you legally parked ?
2. How wide is the road, and was there space for the old man to pass you, at a reasonable distance?
3. Did you take photos at the scene- these could show there was sufficient space for the other driver to pass you .

AndyMc.....

lsc297 wrote: »

Hi,
If possible, drivers should leave a 6 foot gap between them & parked cars. Says who?
So this raises a number of points;
1. Were you in a parking bay, if not were you legally parked ?Why does that matter? He hit a stationary vehicle.
2. How wide is the road, and was there space for the old man to pass you, at a reasonable distance?
3. Did you take photos at the scene- these could show there was sufficient space for the other driver to pass you .

...........

Arklight

NSF wrote: »

Hi

Today I had just gotten into my parked car and had almost closed my door when I was hit by a car. My car is being assessed for total loss and his vehicle has sustained damage.

The road was clear when I first walked round to get in my car and I had checked again before getting in my vehicle. When the drive pulled over and got out it turned out it was a 93 year old man. He was really frail and could barely hear. His first response was 'who opened the door on my car'. I've tried to explain that the door was being closed and I had literally just swung my legs in. If I had been stood in the road opening my door I'd have been under his car. He's claiming he was only driving at 10 mph which is hard to believe looking at the damage that was sustained. The impact to my door suggest he was extremely close to my car and going at some speed. Who is at fault?

If there was no oncoming car visible when you opened your car door to get in then that is the point that your liability ends.

Your car with its open door was there for the other driver to see and he didn't see it. If he was unable to stop then he was going too fast or wasn't paying attention.

It could have been an elderly person crossing, a broken down motorbike or a child. It doesn't matter what it was, the law is very clear that you mustn't drive faster than the amount of road you can see to stop in.

I'm pretty salty about this as I live in an area with a lot of elderly male drivers myself. I am getting pretty tired of them driving into things, usually two sheets to the wind, and getting no comeback at all.

westernpromise

Who is richer? It's his fault.

Was he a retired banker? If so it's definitely his fault.

Arklight

westernpromise wrote: »

Who is richer? It's his fault.

Was he a retired banker? If so it's definitely his fault.

Get lost and stop stalking me around the forum. I have no interest in talking to you on the other board let alone this one.