The Shoulder
The Shoulder
64
swift-vole-141

Parked car got clipped by a trailer — driver says it's OUR fault?? What now?

Hey everyone, hoping this community can help me make sense of this because my sister is honestly spiraling right now.

So here's what happened: my sister's car was parked on a side street near a shopping center while she ran in to grab something quick — we're talking maybe three minutes tops. I stayed in the passenger seat. Her rear bumper and back quarter panel were sticking out slightly past the edge of a striped no-parking zone — not blocking traffic, just slightly over the line.

While she was inside, a pickup truck towing a flatbed trailer came around the corner and the trailer swung wide and scraped along the entire back end of her car. Like, not a tap — it gouged the whole rear side. I watched it happen.

The truck driver jumped out furious, immediately got in my face saying we were illegally parked and he wasn't responsible for anything. I was shaken but I didn't say anything about fault. We exchanged info, took photos, called the police.

Now her insurance is telling her this might be "shared fault" because of the parking violation, and the other driver's carrier is basically ghosting her.

We're confused about a few things:

1. Does parking slightly in a no-park zone automatically make her majorly at fault? 2. Doesn't a moving vehicle — especially one with a trailer — have some duty to make sure the trailer clears obstacles? 3. The driver's aggressive attitude right after — does that actually matter to insurers? 4. Is her own insurer really supposed to be neutral here or are they already looking for ways to reduce her payout?

Any experience with this kind of thing would really help. She's already dealing with a rental and missed work and just needs some clarity.

14replies

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14 replies

  • 15
    candid-seal-156

    Oh man, this is almost exactly what happened to my cousin last year — parked car, someone's trailer took out the whole rear bumper, and the other driver tried to blame her immediately. The aggressive blame-game right after the crash is usually a panic move. It didn't hold up once the insurance companies actually looked at the photos and saw how wide that trailer had swung. Hang in there.

    • 12
      silent-heron-963

      Please be very careful about what your sister says to her OWN insurance company right now. I know it sounds weird — she's the victim — but adjusters on both sides are listening for anything that sounds like an admission. 'I was slightly over the line' can get twisted into 'I caused the accident.' Keep answers short and factual. Don't over-explain.

  • 13
    cool-dove-656

    I used to work claims and I want to be honest with you: a parking violation can contribute to a comparative fault finding, but it's rarely the whole story. The bigger question adjusters actually look at is whether the violation was a proximate cause of the accident — meaning, would a properly parked car have still been hit? If that trailer was swinging that wide, probably yes. The driver's behavior at the scene gets noted but honestly doesn't change the liability math much. What matters more is the physical evidence — photos, skid marks, how far the trailer tracked off the road.

    • 8
      weathered-backseat210

      Took me three tries but they finally budged. Don't give up.

  • 11
    keen-marten-515

    A couple of practical things that might help right now:

    • If there were any nearby businesses, see if any of them have exterior security cameras that might have caught the collision. This is worth asking about quickly before footage gets overwritten.
    • Get the police report number if you don't have it already, and request a copy as soon as it's available. Sometimes the officer notes things about the trailer's path that help.
    • Write down everything you remember right now while it's fresh — time, what the driver said word-for-word, road conditions, all of it.

    Not legal advice, just process stuff that tends to matter later.

    • 4
      curious-passenger417

      Appreciate the detailed write-up. Saving this for later.

  • 22
    wise-heron-622

    Not legal advice, but generally speaking: most states use comparative negligence, which means fault can be split between parties. A parking infraction doesn't automatically wipe out the other driver's duty of care — operators of vehicles with trailers are generally expected to account for the extra swing radius when turning. Your sister's partial fault, if any, might reduce her recovery but probably doesn't eliminate it. Worth at least a free consult with a PI attorney to understand how her state handles this.

    • 4
      soft-spoken-late-shift925

      Following up on this — any update on how it turned out?

  • 10
    spry-swan-314

    You mentioned you were in the car when it happened — are you doing okay? Even low-speed impacts can cause whiplash or soft tissue stuff that doesn't show up until a day or two later. If your neck or back feels even a little off, please get checked out and make sure it's documented. Don't just shake it off.

  • 4
    silent-crow-612

    Your sister is lucky to have you in her corner. This sounds so stressful. The other driver screaming at you right after — that's intimidation, plain and simple. You did the right thing staying calm and not engaging.

    • 6
      hopeful-rider729

      Going through something similar right now. Did following up actually move the needle for you?

    • 1
      mellow-late-shift932

      Following up on this — any update on how it turned out?

  • 8
    hearty-otter-468

    Here's the blunt version: the other carrier is ghosting her because they're hoping she'll give up or settle cheap. Don't let her do that. If they don't respond with something real within a week, she should file a complaint with her state's insurance commissioner. That usually gets things moving fast. Also — if the damage is significant, get an independent estimate, not just whatever shop her insurer pushes her toward.

  • 14
    clever-newt-012

    I don't want to be harsh but I do want to ask a real question: how far past the line was the car actually parked? Because there's 'slightly over' and then there's 'a full car length into a fire lane.' The answer to that changes the conversation a bit. Also, was there any way the truck driver could have gone a different route, or was that the only path through?