Expert: webfoot - 6/28/2006

Question
I may have tapped a car while backing up.  There is 900+ damage to this guys vehicle.. not even a scratch on the one i was driving.  He was parked in the street, how do i know he didnt already have damage on his vehicle and is trying to take me for a ride? its been about 6 weeks now of negotiations.. finally i told him to pound sand because he want me to pay him before the work is done. what are my legal obligations/ defense?

Answer
I'm not sure if I follow this.  You either did or didn't run in to the guy’s car and I hope that you know the answer to that.

The fact that you're vehicle has no damage may mean nothing.  After all, bumpers are designed to absorb and hide damage.  The sides of cars however, are not.  There will always be extensive damage to the side of a car that is hit with a bumper.

As six weeks have now gone by, you will not likely be able to tell if the damage is related or not based on rust or oxidation.  If you're really in doubt, you can certainly measure the damage angles and height to see if it matches your vehicle.  

The only reason that I can think of that this would have gone on for 6 weeks is that you haven’t reported to your insurance company.  If the guy were taking you for a ride, I doubt he'd be exercising this kind of patience.  He would have demanded your insurance info and filed a claim the next day or filed a small claims suit. At this point, he's likely losing his patience though.  

As far as wanting him to repair the vehicle before being compensated, why would you ask for such a thing and why in the world would he agree to it?  
By repairing his vehicle before being paid for the damage, he will in fact, but destroying the evidence of the accident; not to mention that he may not have $900 just lying around.
If I as an insurance adjuster am asked to settle a claim and the vehicle has already been repaired, how am I to know what is fair to pay?
This is what repair estimates are for.  He can get two or three and you should then pay the middle one.
If the car has $900 worth of damage then it's now worth $900 less than it was before it was hit.  It is his car and his decision as to whether it even gets repaired.  However, if you caused the damage, you owe the cost of repairing, regardless of what he is going to to with the money.  

I get about one of these claims a month.  The insured is given the opportunity to pay for the damage and refuses to do so even though they owe for it.  The claimant then files a claim with the insurance company and now we end up usually paying more than the insured could have paid to start with because by this time, the claimant is pissed off and has found the most expensive shop in town.  Then our insured ends up with a rate increase and possibly a policy that will not be renewed because they failed to report the accident to us to start with.  

Good luck and I hope that everyone does the right thing.