Parking lot accident. we backed into each other?

Question

happened in the bank parking lot. we backed up into each other. she had very minor damage(a quarter size paint chip)and i had no damage to my vehicle. we got out and looked at our vehicles. i ask if she wanted to call the police she said she didnt want to get them involved. okay no problem. i gave her my insurance info,but she refused to give me hers.so for her small amt of damage i gave her $40 cash so we could be on our way.(she gave me my insurance info back but wrote it down elseware as well) i get home and i get a call from my insurance co.

i guess she called them after the fact we settled it in the parking lot and i gave her cash. no police report was filled.

so who is really at fault if we were both in reverse backing out?

Answer 1

Any time you have an accident with another person, you should file a police report. That way they can determine who is at fault and you don't have to worry about it. I guess this is just a lesson learned.

Answer 2

That was really nice of you to give her the money, but it could be seen as an admission of guilt. Hopefully, it will be "no fault" and her own insurance will take care of her damage..

Answer 3

Both of you guys are at fault. Be careful when you give cash instead of involving the police because they can easily deny it and you could end up having to pay way more. My friend hit the back of a car a few weeks ago, and the car in front ended up hitting the other car in front of it, so it was kind of a chain reaction. Since she was in the back, it seemed like her fault, even though the car stopped abruptly in front of her. She was charged for wreckless driving and is now in for a couple hundred dollars and potentially getting sued. Good luck.

Answer 4

You should NOT have given her any money.

You're both at fault, but the person more at fault is the person who was further out of the parking space.

BUT, by paying her, you violated your policy's conditions - which means your insurance company doesn't have to pay out if she claims more damages - like a hospital bill for whiplash and lost wages.

Answer 5

The person who verbally admitted fault, or apologized(that's admitting fault too). My mom works for an insurance company. She always told me that even if it was my fault, never to admit it- It's the insurance company's and the cop's job to find who is at fault.