Small accident in parking lot.
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Small accident in parking lot.
The wind caught daughter’s car door back 6 months ago and it hit a lady’s car. Her husband, who was in car, told my daughter not to worry about it and that his son had a friend who could fix it. My daughter gave the gentleman my name and number. A little over a month later, the lady whose car she hit, called me and that said she was going to get a quote. That was about 3 months ago. She finally called back at the beginning of this month. She has now retained an attorney. She also only gas one quote. By law, what am I required to do?
Asked on July 28, 2017 under Accident Law, South Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
IF your daughter was at fault in allowing the damage to happen--e.g. on a windy day, she just opened the door without maintaning a grip on it, which would be careless--then she (if she is 18 or over) could be liable for the damage provably done by this; and if you are the car's owner, you could be liable, too (a car's owner is liable for the damage done by those whom he/she lets drive his/her car). The issue is fault: your daughter would have to have been negligent, or unreasonably careless in some way, for either of your to be liable. If she was not at fault, she and you should not be liable.
That said, report the claim to your insurer, assuming you have insurance which covers damage to others' cars: you have insurance for this reason--let them look into the is situation, pay for you if they deem appropriate, or defend you from the claim.
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