Liability/fault on small claims bumper accident

[pukhog3]

What is the name of your state? New York

My girlfriend got in a small bumper accident in a rest stop parking lot in New York. They were both backing out at the same time and the damage to both bumpers was in the exact same spot, the rear corner on the passenger side. He claimed she was at fault and intimidated her into giving him her info (license and registration, not insurance info), and he refused to give her his. They never filed a police report. His wife was there. Lindsey had no witnesses. Her car was packed full of stuff. They both pulled back into their spots after the accident occured in order to get out and discuss the situation. She was definitely moving when she hit him; she is not sure whether he was and how far out he had actually gotten. We currently live in MA. Her car was insured in MI at the time. I think that is all the facts I can think of at the moment.

He has now sent her a letter claiming that it will cost ~$650 to fix his car and he wants her to send a money order for the amount to the body shop for the damages. My questions are: Is my girlfriend at fault and liable to pay the damages? What course of action should she have taken at the accident? From a legal advice standpoint, should she pay him or refuse to pay him? What is the worst case scenario that could play out if he decides to continue to pursue her for the money (ie. could he start claiming bodily injury and requesting more money, and if so, can insurance then be brought in to protect against that)?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ecmst12]

Your girlfriend and the other driver are equally at fault since they were both backing up. She should report the accident to her insurance company and they will deny the other driver's claim.

 

[JustAPal00]

E is right. Unless there are some witnesses(and I don't mean his wife) that say he stopped before she hit him, it will be a no fault accident. He was required by law to give license and insurance info to her at the scene regardless of who was at fault!

Isn't New York one of those no fault states where you pay for your own damage no matter what?

 

[moburkes]

No, not for property damage.

 

[pukhog3]

Thank you so much for the quick responses. After reading these and talking to some other friends, I think the course of action we will take is to tell the man that they are both equally at fault and that we will not be sending him any money. We'll tell him that If he would like to file an insurance claim, then he can and they will allow the insurance companies to work out the details (ie. whose more at fault, what the damages will cost to fix, deductibles owed, etc). Otherwise, tell him not to contact us directly anymore about the issue and only go through the insurance companies.

Does that sound like the right way to handle it? Does he have any other legal avenues to get money out of my girlfriend other than going through the insurance companies?

Thanks again for the responses. This is a great forum.

 

[moburkes]

Sounds like a plan.

It would be cheaper, by the way, to NOT involve the insurance companies, since she will now have an at fault accident surcharged on her policy for the next few years.

 

[pukhog3]

I understand that aspect. But it seems like sending him the money or even sending a money order to the body shop for the damages is a bad course of action because it would only open a Pandora's Box with this guy and who knows when it might close.

Besides, we will not necessarily contact the insurance company, we would just tell him that we are not sending him any money, and if he wants to continue to pursue the issue, we will only deal with the insurance companies. Basically, we would leave the ball in his court whether he just wants to pay for the damages to his car himself or involve the insurance companies. We just have to be prepared that if he does want to involve the insurance companies, then her premiums will go up for awhile.

Does that sounds about right? I just want to make sure that she is legally protected and close the issue as correctly and cleanly as possible.

 

[Zigner]

Well, short of "harassment", he can contact you directly all he wants. Up until you actually obtain legal representation, that is

 

[pukhog3]

Actually, I do have one more question about the incident. I realized I didn't give all the information. The accident actually happened over 30 days ago. More like 40 days ago.

Does that cause any problems? Is there a reason this guy may have waited over 30 days to contact us? Does this expose her to more legal problems with the insurance companies? I found something on-line that mentioned filing a no-fault application in NY within 30 days of the accident. She obviously didn't do that. Does that mean the insurance companies won't accept a claim? Would that make her susceptible to getting sued and not being backed by her insurance agency?

Should we take a different course of action in light of this new information?

Thanks again in advance for your replies.

 

[ecmst12]

I still think she should report it to her insurance company now, so she can get her story on the record now, making her credibility less questionable later. I don't believe she will be charged with an at-fault accident unless she is MORE then 50% at fault, which she is not.

They will accept the claim even though it's more then 30 days, but definitely the sooner she gets the report in, the better at this point. She should cooperate fully with their investigation.