Car insurance question

Disco11

Here is the deal : My wife has the care of a 20 month old child for a few hours in the morning. she was taking him out to do a few errands and had him in her arms while opening her car door and was struck in the back and was flung into the car and then the other car hit our car in the door. She has some bumps and bruises and the child has a 4 inch gash acroos his face that required that we call an ambulance and he had to get 10 stiches ( cut to the skull.... not pretty ). the problem I am having now is since she only had collision on the car I have to deal with his insurance. They are saying we are liable for the car damage because she had an open door. Help ?

Dalboz

Disco11 wrote: »

Here is the deal : My wife has the care of a 20 month old child for a few hours in the morning. she was taking him out to do a few errands and had him in her arms while opening her car door and was struck in the back and was flung into the car and then the other car hit our car in the door. She has some bumps and bruises and the child has a 4 inch gash acroos his face that required that we call an ambulance and he had to get 10 stiches ( cut to the skull.... not pretty ). the problem I am having now is since she only had collision on the car I have to deal with his insurance. They are saying we are liable for the car damage because she had an open door. Help ?

Sounds like it's time to call a lawyer. Dealing with the insurance companies is what they do.

I'm not sure, but if she was rear-ended, usually the person who hits you from behind is always 100 percent at fault, regardless of the circumstances.

Disco11

No, she was behind the open door and was struck in the back & flew out of the way then he smashed the door.

Cauld

I would call your insurance anyway, ask them if they can help. It's what a good agent/company would do. I've only been in one accident, but it was completely the other person's fault. Their insurance was being a dick, so I called my agent and let them take care of it, they did. 8-)

KMFurDM

The police were involved and there is an accident report correct?

Disco11

Yes there is... I can't see anywhere where they say " It's HIS fault !"

Djeet

the police do not assign fault in this matter, they just provide a 3rd party description of what happened. they can be wrong too.

you need legal counsel, not sure if your insurance co will volunteer this based on your coverage, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

MegaMan001

Call your insurance agent, that's what you pay them for.

Disco11

I have called my insurance & since I only have liability & he is claiming no damgae on his end they told me I am SOL.

Beazle

If she was not moving than the car that was moving is at fault. Atleast that is the way it works in Texas. The only way this might not be true is if she was on the side of the raod and opened her door into traffic on the road. Since your insurance is not fighting for you your best bet, if you want to see any money, is get one of those Lawyers that ony gets paid if you do.

Midshipman

According to California law, you are allowed a reasonable amount of time to have your car door open (street side door).

CALIFORNIA CODES, VEHICLE CODE , SECTION 22517 wrote:

No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.

So unless the door actually obstructed the driving lane, your wife was totally blameless. Also, even if it was blocking the lane, her being in violation of vehicle code does not automatically translate into legal liability in a resulting collision. In most states you could be illegally parked in the middle of the road or blocking a driveway and not be at fault if someone hits your car. Someone driving a car is expected to maintain control at all times and not go around hitting things.

Same thing with the injuries caused to a pedestrian. It doesn't matter if they are j-walking, if someone strikes them, the driver is at fault 99% of the time.

Kyanilis

The way it sounds is she had more than enough time to get the door open and be in a position to be "flung" into the car. Which would mean she didn't just happen to open the door right into oncoming traffic. I have to go with Midshipman on this one, the blame could be placed on the other driver if only because the driver would of had more than enough time to react and you know, not hit her. This is something you could push and get to go in your favor.