Car accidents can occur in the most unexpected ways. For example, imagine you are on a quite street on an extremely dark night. You are backing your car and you suddenly hear a thud. You rush out of your car to check out what happened, and you realize you have backed into a car, which was not supposed to be parked there. It was in a tow zone, and someone had illegally parked their car there. You visit this place frequently, and you do not expect a car to be parked there.
Who is at fault if you hit a car that is illegally parked?When you hit a parked car, you are moving and the other vehicle is not. Even if the car you hit was illegally parked in violation of statutes and ordinances, the law requires you to be careful and watch out for other vehicles, both moving and parked. So, in this case, you were in control of the car that was moving and the other was stopped.
Although the other driver parked the car car in a wrong place, you still had a chance to prevent a collision. In fact, a legal doctrine called last clear chance will likely apply in this case. The other car, although parked in the wrong place did nothing wrong in the moment before the collision to cause damage. However, some jurisdictions have done away with the last clear chance doctrine.
Contributory and comparative negligence formulas are used to evaluate circumstances and facts leading up to a collision. Once the facts are evaluated, proportional fault is assigned to all parties involved. In this case, the parties involved are the driver of the parked vehicle and the one that collides with it.
Under the concept of comparative fault, parking a vehicle in a tow zone is is in violation of a statute intended for traffic control and traffic safety. However, this is not what caused the collision. Backing the car into a parked vehicle is what caused the collision. So, no matter how you look at it, the result is the same. The vehicle backing into a parked car will likely be considered responsible for the crash.
If you happen to hit a parked car, regardless of if it is legally or illegally parked, you might have to pay for the resulting losses.
Seeking legal help in a car accident caseIn case you have been in an accident, you should always seek legal advice from an experienced and competent St. Louis car accident lawyer. Make sure you speak with an attorney before admitting fault or signing a document.
Call (314) 361-4242 for a FREE consultation with an experienced attorney.