Expert: Bennie719 - 12/3/2008

Question
My wife was leaving a retail store parking lot, driving straight down the lane to the road, and another driver coming from one of the side lanes (where the cars actually park) hit my wife's car initially on the passenger side door, and continued scraping paint to the right rear quarter-panel.

My wife called police, who declined taking an accident report on public property (as anticipated).  She got the other driver's name, insurance information, license plate number, make and model, etc.

When the other driver's husband arrived, he was told by his wife that it was her fault.  Her husband began saying it didn't look like that was the case, and he went inside the store to ask if they had security cameras.  They told him they do have tapes of everything that happens in the parking lot, but Williamson County (TN) is a "50/50 county", and each driver pays for their own damage.

I called their insurance agent, and the adjuster was out of town, so I spoke to a CSR who told me that I just need to call my insurance company because usually in parking lot accidents, each party pays their own repair bill.  I told her that I understand that may "usually" be the case, but this isn't a scenario where two people backing out of parking spaces at the same time collided, there was no way my wife could've anticipated or avoided her client's mistake.  She told me she would have the claims adjuster call me, and to go ahead and get an estimate.

I have a couple questions about this.

Should I contact my insurance company to notify them, or do I run the risk of them filing it as an at-fault accident?

Should I contact the store and ask for a copy of the recording (especially since I have no idea how long they keep them).

Should I contact an attorney, since their insurance agent seems to be positioning to say, "we're not going to pay for the damages our client caused"?

Answer
Hi Josh,
Parking lot accidents are one of the most difficult types of claims to settle, primarily due to the fact that it's private property so no police report and there are no stop or yield right of way signs and usually no witness.

If you carry collision on your vehicle, I recommend that you make a full report to your own company right away.  They will do all the work to assist you in recovering from the other party.

It has been my experience that most stores have their outside tapes set on a 24-48 hour "loop".  It is still worthwhile to check with the store to see if a tape is available.

I hope that you find this information to be of help.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area