What to do if my car was legally parked on the street and there was an accident involving 2 other cars and mine was totaled as a result?

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What to do if my car was legally parked on the street and there was an accident involving 2 other cars and mine was totaled as a result?

Car 1 hit Car 2 into my car but Car 1 did not stop left the scene without stopping. Car 2 hit my car and totaled it. Car 2 was also totaled. I tried to file a claim with Car 2’s insurer but it states that she was not at fault therfore it’s not liable for damages. Can I push for money for my damages anyway? I only had liability on my car.

Asked on June 15, 2013 under Accident Law, Ohio

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 10 years ago | Contributor

You can certainly proceed with a lawsuit against car 2, but you will only prevail if you can show that car 2 was at fault in some way--e.g. driving recklessly; driving too fast; badly maintained brakes; etc.--at the time of the accident and that its negligence (carelessness) contributed in a material, or meaningful, way to the damage your car suffered. That's because someone is not liable, or legally obligated to pay, if he or she was not at fault; it takes fault (either negligence or deliberate wrongoing) to make somone liable to you. If car 2 was not at fault, therefore, it and its insurer will not have to pay you anything. This is way it is a good idea to have collision insurance on your car: to provide a way of getting compensation when there is either no one else at fault, or no one that you can identify or recover from.


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