Car accident

lew1234

I was wondering if anyone could help. My father was recently in a car accident. He was parked in the square (a sort of car park) in our village and was reversing out and tipped the door of a car that had just pulled behind him onto a footpath. The car would have been partially out on the road. Not much damage was done to their car(a scratch that you would barely see) but the people came back with a quote of over €700 to repair the damages and my father is worried that a claim may be put on my his insurance (whiplash-the individuals involved have from). I was wondering who would have liability in this case

Any help would be appreciated,Thanks.

djimi

If he was reversing and hit a car then it is very likely that he would be find to be liable.

If he thinks that these people might start playing games then it might be best to go through the insurance. Dealing with something like that privately where you feel the people will start looking for injury compensation will get very messy; its probably best to let the insurer deal with it. He can always refund them the money paid out before renewal and not have it affect his policy.

slimjimmc

Based on the info you've given your father reversed into another car so is most likely liable for whatever damage he caused. The owner of the damaged car is entitled to have the car restored to it's pre-collision state and it's ultimately their choice where to get it done even if it's not the cheapest repair shop.
Repairing a door can be expensive especially because a re-spray often involves painting a bigger area than the door itself. Depending on the car, the damage done and if car-hire is included a €700 claim might not be too bad. I can't see a whiplash claim as a concern since the other car was parked and low speeds involved.

lew1234

Even if the other car pulled on to a footpath where it should not be parking? I have left the address of a picture I drew of the accident in the web address.

tinypic.com/view.php?pic=15dxdv4&s=8#.VAtha8JdWSo

Thanks for the replies so far

slimjimmc

lew1234 wrote: »

Even if the other car pulled on to a footpath where it should not be parking? I have left the address of a picture I drew of the accident in the web address.

tinypic.com/view.php?pic=15dxdv4&s=8#.VAtha8JdWSo

Thanks for the replies so far

Yes, the other car was stationary, your father's was moving. It's generally the responsibility of the moving car to avoid hitting stationary ones. If he was watching where he was going he should have seen the car pull up behind him and stopped before hitting it.

lew1234

No my father was pulling out as the other drove in (sorry I couldn't get movement on the diagram) and where the other car drove into there was no possibility of stopping the movement of his car in time to prevent the tip.

djimi

lew1234 wrote: »

Even if the other car pulled on to a footpath where it should not be parking?

Yes. Doesnt matter whether the other car should have been there or not; your father reversed into them.

slimjimmc

So the other car pulled up too close to avoid? It's unfortunate but the dented door is a strong case against your dad unless there is evidence to show the other car contributed to the collision. I can't see an insurer disputing this tbh.
Btw, why was your father reversing?

corktina

djimi wrote: »

Yes. Doesnt matter whether the other car should have been there or not; your father reversed into them.

sorry but I agree. He should have been looking where he was going, if he had he would have seen the guy pull up behind him.

Meso Harney

corktina wrote: »

sorry but I agree. He should have been looking where he was going, if he had he would have seen the guy pull up behind him.

Why would you apologise for agreeing??

billie1b

lew1234 wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone could help. My father was recently in a car accident. He was parked in the square (a sort of car park) in our village and was reversing out and tipped the door of a car that had just pulled behind him onto a footpath. The car would have been partially out on the road. Not much damage was done to their car(a scratch that you would barely see) but the people came back with a quote of over €700 to repair the damages and my father is worried that a claim may be put on my his insurance (whiplash-the individuals involved have from). I was wondering who would have liability in this case

Any help would be appreciated,Thanks.

I was involved in a slight tip a couple of years ago, person cut across me at a roundabout and it caused about 6 scratches on my bumper, got it fixed through her insurance company and it cost just under €1300, madness

corktina

Meso Harney wrote: »

Why would you apologise for agreeing??

Sorry for having to tell the OP I thought his Father would have to suck it up

lew1234

Thanks to everyone who has been helpful.