Is it 50/50 or is he 100% liable?

by Renita
(Canada)

my husband was backing out of a parking space coming home from work when he hit a moving car behind him, he was only going 2-10 kilometers an hour. At the most.

He is wondering if he has to pay full liability or is it half and half in a parking lot. the lady never signaled or alerted my husband of his been close to hitting her, it was as if she never noticed him. She was in his blind spot.

So if you could give us some advice. we are deciding if we should pay for it ourselves or use insurance.



Answer:

Hello Renita,

You are in Canada, which we do not cover or have knowledge of negligence laws there. If this accident was on the United States, the vehicle that hits from behind pays (100%). Some states argue that the vehicle in front have a duty to signal and warn about stopping. However, most states believe that this is the reason why you have break lights. If you are stepping on the break, you are warning that you are stopping.

In addition, parking lot accidents are at very slow rates of speed (usually). As you said, 2 to 10 KPH, which would indicate that the vehicle behind has a much greater chance to stop by tapping on the break. The fact that a driver is unable to stop may show lack of care and avoidance.

Again, this is what some states would do, but since you are in Canada, we have no idea how a Canadian court would handle this.

Good Luck
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