Someone backed into me in my work lot while I was in the car.
 

He admitted fault on the scene. We both have Statefarm, and they are now telling me he isnt taking responsibility for it.

The Incident:As I am walking to my car to get in I see him in his car on the phone and it looked like he was looking at some paperwork. I stand next to my car for like 30 seconds waiting for him to back out so there is no chance of anything happening. He doesnt move. Then I get into my car and wait between 1 and 2 minutes and he still doesnt move. Our rear ends were facing each other with a driving lane inbetween used to get to each parking spot on either side which are diagnoly alligned. He was not directly behind me, but one spot over and across.

I finally back out, and am looking backwards the whole time while I shift into 1st from reverse and let the clutch out ever so slightly just barely moving if moving at all, but I see him flying out of his spot in my rearview/driverside mirror at a good clip as I turned my head forward. I slam on my horn, and he slams on his brakes since he hears the horn and he just barely bumps/grazes the driverside of my rear bumper taking of paint and leaving some of his own with scratches to boot.

He is an attorney and was even a commisioner in the magistrate court in Orleans parish criminal court where I work. God Only knows what he is telling the insurance company to cover his ***. What would you guys do in this situation? This is the first thing that has ever happened to me since I have been driving in the past 11 years. No tickets or accidents. I am now worried that I may get a knock against me on my perfect insurance record and also have to come out of my own pocket for the repairs on my car.

P.S. His car was so damaged and messed up from other things that he has done or had happen to his vehicle that I didnt see any damage from this particular incident. I had just detailed my car the day before and it was looking perfect up until this incident. Do you think this will help my case? Im so FN pissed at how direspectful and inconsiderate other people are. You cant trust anybody, especially an attorney.

You have his contact information. Call him and ask him if he'd rather settle this for cash. Go out at lunch time today and get a quote on the repair from the best shop in your area before you call him. He might go for that given the slimy weasel he is.

What would I do? Just what you did - report it to my insurance company and let them take it from there.

BTW, I had the exact same thing (although the other driver wasn't a lawyer) happen to me - we also had the same insurance company, and the other person changed his story too. In the end, because you both have the same insurance company, what will most likely happen is State Farm will (of course) pay for all of the damages, although each of you will have to pay your deductibles. You will each be held 50% at fault. So if the damages are less than your deductibles, see if you can settle this on your own without the insurance company.

And no - you can't trust anybody, especially an attorney! :)

So basically I am going to have a knock against my insurance? Once the claim has been filed I have been told it will go against at least one if not both participants.

There's nothing you could do now, but make sure you take note of this experience next time. I've been in accidents before (and friends' in their cars) and I made a lot of notes and follow-ups so that when it happens to me, I am prepared to at least cover my butt.

My lesson that I keep telling my brother than friends is this.

At the scene of the accident, exchange information and either HAVE IT ON CAMERA or PUT IN ON PAPER at the spot and have the other person admit fault.

That way, when they look over at their insurance, they can't change their minds anymore and you got proof of who admitted fault. It's a easy and clean process for insurance companies as they have no way around it.

If he's a slimy bastard, he would say "it's my fault" just to get rid of you quickly. Don't let him out of your sight if he's not willing to be recorded or sign the paper. Call the insurance immediately and waste his sorry *** more time by calling the police and file a police report. A lot of times, people are afraid to deal with law enforcement, even professionals. With camera phones available nowadays, having a phone, taking pictures, and then showing to the cops make the cop's life a whole lot easier.

Great advice! :tiphat:

Yeah, I just dont want my rates going up, becasue we already have the highest rates in the nation becasue of all the uninsured motorist around here. If statefarm doesnt side with me on this I will drop them in a heart beat and go somewhere else even if it cost me more. I respect loyalty, and will make them pay for disloyalty.

See if the lot you were in has security cameras. Get the video if you can. Otherwise, I bet State Farm will treat it as a no-fault and both of you will be responsible for your own damages. If you can get video proof that he backed into you, then you're all set.

Im having lunch with a friend who is an attorney today, and I will definitely bring it up into conversation at some point. Ill let you guys know what happens. Thank you for the advice and responses guys.

I would contact him and give him the opportunity to pay out cash for the repair, it will be cheaper for him. And he seems like a cheap skate so he will appreciate that. LOL

Sorry to hear about your car. I would try to reach out to the other party and see where that leads. From the look of things, the other individual doesn't want to admit being wrong out of fear of getting higher premiums. I will frankly be surprised to hear that he changed his mind... At the end of the day you'll be the one needing to have repair done since you drive a newer car and the insurance company is aware that you got involved in an accident, they will likely mark it in your history... Long story short, I wouldn't expect much from the lying lawyer (does that seem like too much emphasis?).

Dropping your insurance might not do you much good for whichever company you end up going with will charge you higher more because of this accident. This is why having as many pics of the incident avoids unnecessary stress from lying lawyers.

If you were moving forward and he was backing into your rear, how could it have been your fault?
You are driving away from the impact, he is driving into the impact.
Seems pretty clear who would be at fault there....

Op- sorry to hear. :( I would just handle it no differently.. a call to my insurance guy and get the car fixed at a shop of my choice. :)

I would beat him so hard he'll sue himself for aggravated assault. And win.

So you know where he works/parks. Vandalize his ride WIN

I say vandalize him

1 kilo of C4. Detonator connected to the starter motor.

The problem is he wouldnt care. He does not take care of his car at all. Its like a 4 year old camry with all kinds of marks and shish all over it. I also dont want to take a chance in losing my job either. I do work at criminal court people.

No no not his car HIM

Lol, you guys are awesome. At least you made me laugh. Thanks.

Since it was at work, are there any witnesses or coworkers you know who saw it? Witnesses go a long way

No, but I have heard horror stories of people bringing in witnesses that were not there and winning do to that. That is some messed up shish too.


I also wanted to let you guys know that I went to my local body shop that I trust, and they gave me an estimate of $750.

Dude, please... I'm no lawyer, but there's no way I would EVER sign ANY admission of fault at the scene of an accident. And I doubt anyone else would either.

Getting photos, sure. But you ain't gonna get anyone (slimy, not slimy, lawyer, non-lawyer, or whatever) to sign something that says "I admit that I'm 100% at fault for this accident.".

Also, in many states you won't get a police report if there's less than $1,000 dollars in damage to each party (as estimated by the police, not you). If you want to ensure that a police report is taken, you usually need to claim that you're injured (you know, "My neck hurts - I'm going to go to the doctor's office right away.", that kind of thing).

This is why anytime someone hits you call the poilce and dont move the cars. They will come out and write up a report and it will say in it who is at fault.

Yes, you will most likely be held 50% at fault - unless the other party suddenly grows a conscience and admits that he's at fault.

Your best bet is probably to see if the two of you can settle this without the insurance company (assuming that the insurance company will let you retract the claim).

Best wishes with this situation!

Actually, in many jurisdictions this is completely wrong.

1) In many areas, the police will not even come out for a simple fender bender in a parking lot.

2) If the police do come out, in many areas if the officer decides there's less than $1,000 damage to each party, they will not take a report.

3) Police officers generally do not determine who was at fault.

4) If you're in a minor accident and your car is operable, GET IT OUT OF THE ROADWAY. And if it is not operable, GET YOURSELF OUT OF THE ROADWAY if you can safely do so. My father-in-law was killed because he was in a minor accident, stayed in his car that was disabled in the roadway, and someone else (who was drunk) plowed into the back of his car (even though there were even flares set up).

Ha! Whose butt did you kiss to get here?

In this day and age, start recording as soon as you can following impact. The more video, audio, and pictures you have the better. Consciences and statements be damned, a picture is worth a thousand words. A video is worth a thousand bucks :tup:

I work with attorneys and police literally side by side all day long. Thwy will not come out to a private parking lot unless there is serious bodily injury in my state at least.

I did what a few of you guys in this thread mentioned, and got a quote. I just sent the other party this text.

Hey Mr. John Doe, how are you? I just wanted to let you know I went and got a quote at Champs auto collision center on Carrollton Avenue yesterday for the damage you caused to my rear bumper. They estimated it to be no more than $750 in damage. That's not to bad and I was actually surprised. I just wanted to keep you updated on the situation out of common courtesy. Have a good day.

Here is his response.

The Insurance company is handling

It is definitely not looking good guys.

IF the body shop is willing to go on record, you could respond with Mr. X, owner/mechanic/etc at Champs Auto Collision informed me that given his extensive knowledge of auto body work, the damage done to my vehicle is consistent with a collision where one vehicle backs into a parked vehicle. I believe that the insurance companies will appreciate this information in regards to determining fault in this situation.

At least put him back on his heels a bit

IDK I guess its just here in Alabama but I know back when I was driving my 300zx someone back into me at Sonic and the poilce came out and wrote up an accident report.

Just quoted myself... As when you tell your insurance this and show the damage, which would have the same directional damage, there is no way you would hit for it....

Can you elaborate a bit. Your above statement is confusing to me Xan.

Its funny how more things are coming to me as days go by, like how he started moving towards his open driver side door to move the car back into his space while saying I should do the same in case anyone else drives in and needs to pass. He was really slick. He just didnt want to give me a chance to take photos and video of the positions of the cars. Im just going to write all this stuff down and have photos developed and ready for the adjuster. I also hope I can actually take him to the scene of the accident. I also have people who can vouch for wear I park every single morning in the lot. I dont know if that will help, but I can hope and pray.

vandalizing his car won't matter?... do something that does, slash his tires. all 4 tires, gonna need it towed. WIN

It's simple, draw out on a piece of paper how your cars were angled and how you got hit. You were moving forward and he was backing up.
If you look at the direction and angle of your cars, you can show that you didn't hit him, but he hit you... Then you can further proof this is true by the damage you have on your car... If you drive into something your damage would be in the direction you are driving.... Your damage was on the side and then to the back... Proof he hit you and not the other way around...

Sorry about your father in-law. I just got into an accident lat week, and it was a simple fender bender, police came out, filed a report, and put in the report that it was his fault. And I know its probably less than 1000 dollars.

I will do all of that once the adjuster gets here, but like I said I was either completely still or moving ever so slightly forward by letting the clutch out slowly. I really cant remember if I was moving forward much or not, but I think my car nudged forward just a mm or 2 when he hit me. I also have pictures that I got developed today along with notes and a few written statements that I want to remember to tell the adjuster. I dont think this attorney will have as much substance and/or any pictures, but you never know.

After having to deal with a shady douche in a clear fault accident, couple of things you need to keep in mind. One, write down every key point of your side of the story. Adjusters and claims people WILL try to get you to second guess or alter your story down the road, simply to minimize payments. Secondly, don't say I think, or I guess, make every statement a declaration of fact. It is much harder for them to make wiggle room in a firm statement. Also, one thing a lot of people don't bother to recall is time, place, conditions (sunlight, rain, extenuating circumstances, etc). Laying down that you are confident on the basics, and also aware of your surroundings only strengthens your case.

Just for reference, this information comes from my experience being rear ended while stopped at a light by a guy who was texting and didn't look up. He tried to claim my brake lights weren't working, proven false, then claimed that I was rolling out, which was also proven false. Even when they determined that it was 100/0 for fault, the adjuster still tried to trip me up on my story to be able to justify lowballing me on the settlement

Lots of good information in this thread for you to keep in mind in the future if something ever happens again, but I'll just throw in my :twocents:

1. In Texas it is legal to record a conversation if you are a party involved in the conversation - only one party must agree, you do not need permission from the other party(s). I have this first and foremost in my mind if I get in an accident. Look up the laws for your state - only about 12 have more restrictive requirements for conversation taping. If I don't want them to know I'm recording them, I will just put the iPhone on video record and act like I'm taking individual photos and then just kind of hold the phone in my hand so it can continue to pick up the conversation. Do not let them move the car until you have full evidence via video or photo - if they refuse to let you document the accident and try to move their car, you now have record of them doing so and a good arguing point for later.

2. I generally call up the insurance company on the spot. My wife got in an accident near our home and I just happened to be on my way home and really close. When I got there, the douche that hit her admitted fault to me but also admitted he did not have insurance citing some dumb excuse why not. I immediately called Nationwide and got them to take his statement over the phone right quick (I just called and said before I give you all the accident details, please take this gentleman's statement who just hit me). Sure enough, Nationwide called me later that night and said he was trying to claim now that it was my wife's fault. They told me not to worry because they already had his recorded statement.

I've been lucky enough to have police officers as witness to several accidents where I've been hit. Every single one tried to claim it wasn't their fault when I'm standing right next to the officer who has already told me they saw everything and will stand by me. One lady didn't speak English, no driver's license, no insurance, plowed into me at 35 mph while I was trying to turn into a driveway. A cop in the parking lot I was turning into saw the whole thing, and said she didn't even look like she tried to slow down. Her story was that I had cut her off... except that I was in the right lane about half a mile back. People are f***ing ridiculous.

Also, I recommend uninsured motorist coverage if you feel the need. Living in Texas, I feel the need. In addition to that, if your car gets hit while parked or is involved in a hit and run, they can claim it under uninsured motorist and you don't have to pay deductible.