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Someone hit my partially opened door in a parking space

I was exiting my vehicle in a parking space when another car pulled in rapidly and hit my partially open door. Who is at fault? The person that hit me was traveling faster than a person can safely travel in a parking lot. After yelling at me that it was my fault, she then offered me cash rather than exchanging information. I insisted on exchanging information. I called the police to get a police report but they stated that they don't consider it a car crash because one car was parked. I've been reading that a lot of times the parked car is considered at fault. As a licensed insurance agent I was wondering if you could explain the rationale behind assigning blame to a parked vehicle. The vehicle that was moving should be at fault because a driver must maintain control of their car at ALL TIMES and she clearly was not in control of her car when she hit me. Thoughts?

Jun 28, 2018 Orlando, FL

Answer
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Ava Lynch

Insurance Analyst

Ava joined The Zebra as a writer and licensed insurance agent in 2016. She now works as a senior insurance contributor, providing insights and data a…

Credentials
  • 9+ years of Experience in the Insurance Industry

This can be a tricky situation. Although we're both licensed insurance professionals, only a claims adjuster would be able to handle this so that is where I would take my question. However, in my experience, the owner of the parked vehicle is considered at fault in these instances because they have a responsibility to ensure the path is clear before opening their vehicle door. Again, that is my experience so I would contact your insurance company's claims department to verify. For more information, see our guide to claims and the entire claims process.

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