[KwlAznKid]

damn that sucks! hate shady insurnace companies, glad you got everything taken care of and car looks good now!

[DFW_M]

Originally Posted by 335BBS

I believe it is law. Just like rear ending someone.

Well, here is another scenario, you are curb parked and traffic goes by...
You blindly just open your door and the moving car smashes it. Whose fault is it?
I know it is not an identical case, however, both cars are parked, opened the door without looking and "incoming traffic" hit them. There was no way for me to know someone's about to open the door and to react so fast. I always make my kids and passengers look before opening the door when parked...

[BOBKUR]

Originally Posted by madmax95gtr

yes true.. but my door was already open and I was getting out of the vehicle.. and like I said she was speeding and driving too close to the cars... as per the witness...

gray area IMO

That is the problem it is a gray area.

[AndreyT]

Originally Posted by 335BBS

I believe it is law. Just like rear ending someone.

Firstly, insurance companies don't care about the traffic law and are not required to care about the traffic law. Their resolutions are based on the principle of minimizing their losses.

Secondly, there's no law that would state that rear-ending someone automatically put the rear car at fault. There used to be such law in some (or most) US states a while back, but it only resulted in a wave of insurance fraud crimes. Crooks in several cars operating in concert would orchestrate accidents, making people to rear-end them (which is rather easy to do for a group of skilled drivers).

Thirdly, in practice rear-enders often use the "unsafe lane change" defense, claiming that the front car made a dangerous lane change right in front of them. If they really stick to it (fake witnesses etc.), the front car's insurance company often abandons the case ("couldn't prove the liability").

[335BBS]

Originally Posted by dr335is

Well, here is another scenario, you are curb parked and traffic goes by...
You blindly just open your door and the moving car smashes it. Whose fault is it?
I know it is not an identical case, however, both cars are parked, opened the door without looking and "incoming traffic" hit them. There was no way for me to know someone's about to open the door and to react so fast. I always make my kids and passengers look before opening the door when parked...

That would be the fault of the parked guy that opens the door.