Car Parked Got Hit - Whose Fault?

Question:
Hi, my truck was parked out side my house and a suburban was pulling out from the house in front of mine and damaged my trucks bumper and etc. Whose fault is it and whats going to happen?


Answer:
If your truck was parked and no one was in it, there’s no question the suburban is at fault for hitting your parked car. Some people get up in arms about hitting a parked car that is in a no-parking zone, but the law makes no distinction. Hitting a parked car places the suburban at fault.

You haven’t given me a lot to go by in terms of your special circumstances, so I can only give you a general picture of what will happen. The Property Damage insurance on the suburban should pay for your damages, unless you prefer to go through your own insurance. In either case, you call the insurance company, file a claim and wait for the appraiser to view the damages.

The appraiser will report on the damages that are visible on the surface. Only after a body shop takes down the car to repair it will you know if there is additional damage underneath. In that case, the shop will order a supplemental appraisal, sometimes called a “supplement.” The insurance company will pay for the remaining damages after that. They can pay you or pay the shop directly with your signature to authorize the payment.

In very rare cases, the parked car might have some liability. I once handled a case where a paver was left overnight on a job site. It was black and the workers did not place cones around it and it had no reflective tape. In addition, there were no streetlights in the area. A driver struck the paver while exiting a parking lot. In that rare case, the paver was 75% at fault for not marking the machine. If your car was somehow obscured so that no one could have known it was there, it’s possible the other driver has less than full responsibility for the accident.

It’s highly unlikely a car would ever fit this circumstance because turn signals are reflective. It’s hard to miss seeing a car parked, even in the dark.

If you do not wish to have car accident happen and can't get any claim from it, you should go and get a car insurance to cover your car if anything happen.