pedestrian/auto accident in a campus parking lot

[moburkes]

I'm still on my parents' car insurance, so I never had the opportunity to read it until this happened. One of the first things we discussed in contracts is that yes, not reading the contract is no excuse.. and it especially won't fly in court if the person is a law student or an attorney.
I told the truth to the police officer when I could have tried to blame the lady completely like many people would. He was a really nice guy and wanted to stay with me at the ER until someone came. I'm glad he didn't, because I probably would have made some more incriminating statements. I really did feel it was my fault, but I still stand by the fact that the lady could have prevented it.

She had the last chance to slam on her brakes because she should have had the expectation that an adult would walk INTO traffic. You, on the other hand, ahd the expectation that a parking lot wouldn't have cars with drivers.

In any case, using your argument that you were both at fault, in most cases, each party's pays for its own bills - she for the $50 damage to her vehicle, and you for your medical bills.

 

[ecmst12]

I already mentioned, free of charge, that if you have PIP or Med Pay coverage on your own auto insurance, that will cover your medical bills.

You deserve nothing as the driver was not liable for you walking out in front of her. So what if she was rude - she was probably annoyed at you for not watching where you were going, making her late for work and scratching up her car. And rightfully so. Your lawyer can have 1/3 of the $0 you will get.

 

[lavery]

When this settles, I might come back here and say how it actually turned out. I'd be really shocked if it turns out how you guys say it will, becausethe attorney gave no warning that the insurance might not pay. I'm sure he's dealt with similar cases before. The medical bills are being payed by my auto insurance for now. The attorney's office specifically said that it doesn't count against me since it wasn't my fault. Do you think they are being misleading and trying to tell me I have a case when I really don't? Probably not. They have nothing to gain by wasting time on this and then not getting their cut in the end.

You guys are still completely disregarding the fact that she said the sun was in her eyes. Does that give her an excuse to drive blindly through a parking lot? No, it doesn't. Even if a pedestrian and a driver are "equally" at fault, the driver still has more of a duty of care to watch out for pedestrians. They have to yeild in parking lots according to the rules someone else posted.

 

[OldandTired]

it's because it's the internet

and we would have reason to believe you why?

 

[lavery]

I don't care if you believe me or not. If you think you know about this topic, I'm generously offering to expand your knowledge when this settles to show that under these facts, it may be possible that the driver was also at fault and that her insurance has to pay. I have nothing to gain by making anything up. If I wanted to lie, then I would have changed the facts I gave to make myself sound less responsible for the accident. I didn't because I was hoping to get more accurate answers based on the real facts.

 

[OldandTired]

You got accurate answers, just not the warm and fuzzy one's you wanted to hear.

 

[lavery]

No one except ecmst addressed what I was actually ASKING, but I'll just ask a professor or someone who has more experience with this. I'm done with this thread, but I'll come back in a few months to update just because it might be useful to someone else in my situation. There's no point in arguing. I know it's fun for the bored internet surfers to rip OP's to pieces by telling them they have no claim, but it's not helpful.

 

[OldandTired]

And we'll all tell them exactly the same thing we told you. Hopefully "wooden-headed" won't apply with the next one.

 

[ecmst12]

You are so wrong and not even READING the posts telling you why.

Your lawyer will feed you all the warm and fuzzy answers you want to hear, right up until he drops your case as not profitable enough.

I posted the EXACT LAW THAT YOU BROKE. What more do you need to know? If you and the driver were equally at fault, which you weren't because you were more at fault, then neither of you could recover anything from the other because one of you has to be 49% or less at fault to recover from the other.

Your auto insurance is not counting the medical claims against you because insurance companies are not ALLOWED to use medical claims against their insureds, med pay/PIP is a no-fault coverage. Only liability claims where you were an at-fault DRIVER, or moving violations like speeding tickets, can count against your insurance.

 

[lavery]

Again, the law that you posted did not apply because this was in a parking lot, not a roadway. Someone else posted those other rules which coincide with what the AR driver's manual says, that drivers must yeild to pedestrians in parking lots.

 

[moburkes]

The information I posted states that the driver has the responsibility at intersections and crosswalks. You need glasses.

 

[Zigner]

It says drivers must yield to pedestrians when entering parking lots. I've told you there was no other way to cross because there were no crosswalks or intersections.

You cannot walk in front of an oncoming car blindly and then blame the driver. YOU already admitted fault here. Move along now.