I Have Been Accused of Hitting a Parked Car, Am I Legally Responsible for Damages

[rshegvs]

My question involves a traffic accident in the State of: Ohio

I was shocked when a policeman arrived at my doorstep and told me a witness had seen me hit a parked car in a parking lot several hours earlier and had taken down my license plate number. I agreed to let the officer see my car, and we both noticed a scrape on the bumper (although there are several in several different spots on the back bumper - the car is 8 years old.) I admitted to being in the lot when the alleged incident occurred, but I have absolutely no recollection of EVER hitting another car. The officer gave me the name and number of the other car's owner, and suggested we work it out privately. I never saw or signed any kind of report. I was not cited. I did call the other party and explained the situation. They seemed understanding, and said they would get an estimate and get back to me. When asked the next day, my 9 year old daughter (who was with me at the time of the alleged accident) says she never felt us hit a thing. Three days later, they called with a verbal estimate of $375. This is really more than I can afford to pay. I certainly don't want to shirk any responsibility if, in fact, I did hit their car, but I can't assume responsibility at that price. For all I know THEY hit me (although they say they have a witness who actually saw the alleged accident) or are trying to scam me out of nearly $400. I have requested a written estimate from them.

I am wondering if I am legally responsible for the cost of their repairs, if the police were out of line in coming to my home, what steps I should take to protect my rights, and my pocketbook, and what could be the worst case scenario if I just refuse to pay. I have considered turning it all over to the insurance companies, but I hate to even pay a deductable if it's not absolutely necessary. I don't want to be tricked into paying something I may not be responsible for.

Any advice or opinions will be appreciated.

[aaron]

If you caused the accident and don't pay for the damage you caused, they can sue you. You can try to argue to the court that you didn't cause the damage. It would be interesting to see how the scratch on your car aligns with the damage to theirs, or if there was any transfer of paint that establishes the color of the car that hit them.

Is your deductible less than $375? Mine's $400, meaning that if I turned a claim of that size over to my insurance they would simply raise my rates and tell me that its beneath my deductible.

[blewis]

You have a deductible amount on your liability coverage? Wow, I've never heard of that. I have a deductible on my collision coverage, but that only applies to my car. But, in general, I agree, unless you claims history to near zero, your insurance company may, indeed, raise your rates if you turn it over to them, deductible or no.

Barry

[aaron]

(I digress, but... Actually I've never really thought about it. The mini-tort limit here in Michigan is $500, but I've never had a situation where I've been liable for it. In general, we insure our own cars for damage.)

[kist]

I've been in a similar situation and your insurance company will simply refuse to pay. (I was the one hit) It would have been much better if I didn't voice my suspicions of who hit me and just said the car was hit and run. I would have been able to fix my vehicle right away. Instead because I knew who hit me (my paint was on his fender, The distance from ground to bumper matched exactly etc) it wasn't enough for the police. That had to witness it before they could determine fault. The insurance companies started playing waiting games with each other. I waited six months and only got 50% of the bill paid. I had to file with the state insurance board to even get 50%

In short the other guy gimped himself. As mentioned the person can always take you to civil court but that is unlikely.