If you or someone you know was hurt in an illegally parked car accident, you may have grounds to pursue compensation with the help of an experienced and qualified lawyer. Typically, the driver of any moving vehicle is responsible for hitting a parked car. How you proceed with a personal injury lawsuit or property damage claim, however, depends on the state in which you live.
If a car was illegally parked, you need to familiarize yourself with your local laws and how your specific case may be affected by them. No two cases like this are exactly alike, but the more information you can gather from the scene of the incident, the easier it is to begin reconstructing what happened. You may even need to hire an attorney to help you with an illegally parked car accident. There may be criminal aspects of the case, such as if someone is accused of drinking and driving or violating other traffic laws, but there are also several components that enable you to get compensation for your injuries and damages.
You may be unable to recover the full scope of your damages on your own, which is why you would need to hire a personal injury attorney, like those working at Morgan & Morgan. There are many different elements that must be proven in an illegally parked car accident case, and the right lawyer can make a big difference.
If you have already been involved in an accident like this, whether you were in the vehicle at the time or returned to your car to discover the damage, you may wish to consult with a team of legal professionals to determine the best next steps for you.
Comparative Negligence
In most cases, someone who is operating the moving vehicle and hits a parked car is responsible for the damage. This applies to cars that are parked legally, but it may also apply to those cars that are illegally parked. If a parked car is easy to spot for drivers, anyone who strikes that car is responsible for the accident. However, if the person who illegally parked the other vehicle involved did so in a manner that blocked visibility, then the driver of the car who struck the illegally parked car may not be at fault for the accident. This depends on the negligence laws in your state. For example, with comparative negligence laws, a driver who is not more than 49% at fault for an accident could still get compensation.
This is likely much easier with the help of an experienced and qualified car accident lawyer. A personal injury lawyer in your area can help you with each aspect of these claims and can review the specifics of the accident to make a strong case for compensation. This may be true if the illegally parked car was sitting in a way that blocked your visibility or caused other issues increasing your chances of an accident. You may have severe property damage of your own in these circumstances and may want to know what are your options for getting your vehicle repaired and moving forward with a claim.
Knowing that you have a qualified personal injury attorney like those working at Morgan & Morgan to help you through an illegally parked car damage claim can greatly reduce your stress as well as increase the chances that you'll walk away with a fair settlement for the circumstances.
One of the most important things to remember is that you need to take pictures and capture other evidence at the scene of the accident. This is because you may need to provide it to your car insurance company but also to your personal injury lawyer like the attorneys working at Morgan & Morgan. Presenting this information to your personal injury lawyer gives them a good idea of how the accident happened. If they are determined not to be at fault under a comparative fault statute, a passenger or driver in an idling or illegally parked car could be eligible to recover compensation. The other driver of a vehicle involved in such an accident has a responsibility to try to move their vehicle's path to avoid a crash, especially if the idling or illegally parked car was very visible. If you were a victim in an accident like this, the attorneys at Morgan & Morgan may be able to investigate your claim. You may be dealing with expenses such as medical bills because of these accidents caused by a negligent driver.
If you were sitting inside a car that was parked illegally and a distracted driver struck you and this caused injuries, speaking to a car accident law firm in your area will help you to determine the best ways to negotiate with insurance prior to accepting fault for any accidents. Illegally parked cars are all too common throughout the entire country, and these can lead to an increased chance of accidents or injuries. Bear in mind that even if someone is illegally parked, you may still face liability for damages if you hit their car. This depends on the comparative negligence laws, and you may be able to increase your chances of success on your part of the accident if you can show that the car was parked illegally.