Interesting scenario- gas station pump hits car (1 Viewer)

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Driver A is fueling his work truck.

Driver A pulls away from the gas pump while the pump is still attached to the truck. As he pulls away the pump frees itself from the truck and hits Driver B's car.

Driver A's truck never touches Driver Bs car, but there is minor damage to Driver Bs car.

Is this a vehicle accident/claim? Obviously driver A is responsible for the damage, but since the vehicle didn't strike the other vehicle, is this not covered by auto insurance?

ETA- The police were not called. Neither party has notified their insurance.

 

[Smack Tripper]

Gas Station is liable to Driver B

Driver A is liable to Gas Station

 

[Ditka Butkus]

Sounds like driver a is a dumb ###....I say it qualifies as an auto accident.

 

[George Jefferson Airplane]

Was driver C pumping her gas wearing a tube top?

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Sounds like driver a is a dumb ###....I say it qualifies as an auto accident.

Confirmed that he's a ####### but unsure about the second part.

 

[Bucky86]

If I'm driver B, I'm notifying my insurance and letting them figure out who to go after.

 

[Fat Nick]

Do you have to strike the other vehicle to be considered at-fault for an auto accident?

I'm pretty sure if I go flying up an interstate the wrong way, and people swerve off the road and into a ditch to avoid me, I'm still at fault for that auto accident even though I didn't actually hit them.

 

[Cjw_55106]

Id assume this would be handled the same as someone hitting a golf ball through you windshield. He's responsible, but not really an auto claim.

I could be waaay off as well.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Do you have to strike the other vehicle to be considered at-fault for an auto accident?

I'm pretty sure if I go flying up an interstate the wrong way, and people swerve off the road and into a ditch to avoid me, I'm still at fault for that auto accident even though I didn't actually hit them.

I agree with you in your scenario. Unfortunately your scenario isn't even remotely similar to our anti hero's.

 

[Ignoramus]

If a 2 X 4 flies out of the back of my truck and hits another car, do I tell the guy it's between him and Home Depot?

 

[fantasycurse42]

If a 2 X 4 flies out of the back of my truck and hits another car, do I tell the guy it's between him and Home Depot?

This is the best analogy I have ever seen on FBG, bravo!

 

[Fat Nick]

Do you have to strike the other vehicle to be considered at-fault for an auto accident?

I'm pretty sure if I go flying up an interstate the wrong way, and people swerve off the road and into a ditch to avoid me, I'm still at fault for that auto accident even though I didn't actually hit them.

I agree with you in your scenario. Unfortunately your scenario isn't even remotely similar to our anti hero's.

Why not?

Is this a vehicle accident/claim? Obviously driver A is responsible for the damage, but since the vehicle didn't strike the other vehicle, is this not covered by auto insurance?

Both cases are where someone's neglegence caused damage to another car without the negligent party's car actually striking the other vehicle...seems pretty similar to me assuming your point is that the reason this is in question is because one vehicle didn't strike the other...?

 

[Don Quixote]

Doesn't it come down to the terms of Driver A's auto insurance policy?

 

[Ignoramus]

If a 2 X 4 flies out of the back of my truck and hits another car, do I tell the guy it's between him and Home Depot?

This is the best analogy I have ever seen on FBG, bravo!

Is this a vehicle accident/claim? Obviously driver A is responsible for the damage, but since the vehicle didn't strike the other vehicle, is this not covered by auto insurance?

Yeah, my scenario was way different.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I'm not sure- that's why I'm asking.

Driver A = my nephew.

Driver B = random guy.

My nephew owned up to it and told the guy he doesn't want to go through his work's insurance and will pay out of pocket.

My nephew called me when it happened and I told him that it is fine (to pay out of pocket), but Driver B needs to get 3 written estimates.

Driver B called and said he got an estimate of "$1,200....um.... I mean $1,300". Despite being told he needed to get 3 estimates, he contends that he's too busy and doesn't know where to go.

Now my concern is that despite my nephew owning up to the damage, driver B appears to be trying to pull a fast one/get greedy.

 

[Doug B]

Driver A's truck never touches Driver Bs car, but there is minor damage to Driver Bs car.

Something on the order of a door ding or chipped paint? Or a cracked window/windshield?

 

[Doug B]

Driver B called and said he got an estimate of "$1,200....um.... I mean $1,300". Despite being told he needed to get 3 estimates, he contends that he's too busy and doesn't know where to go.

Given the scenario, I can't even imagine this dollar value of damage. Something unusual about the gas station's set-up? Really cramped up pumps or something?

 

[RUSF18]

I'm not sure- that's why I'm asking.

Driver A = my nephew.

Driver B = random guy.

My nephew owned up to it and told the guy he doesn't want to go through his work's insurance and will pay out of pocket.

My nephew called me when it happened and I told him that it is fine (to pay out of pocket), but Driver B needs to get 3 written estimates.

Driver B called and said he got an estimate of "$1,200....um.... I mean $1,300". Despite being told he needed to get 3 estimates, he contends that he's too busy and doesn't know where to go.

Now my concern is that despite my nephew owning up to the damage, driver B appears to be trying to pull a fast one/get greedy.

Driver B can get greedy all he wants. He messed up by not calling the police or notifying his insurance company originally. There's no formal acknowledgment by your nephew that it was his fault, from what I can see. Unless he starts subpoenaing the gas station's surveillance cameras (if they have any, and if they caught it), it's his word against your nephew's. He was told he needed to provide three written estimates. If he can't figure out how to accomplish such a Herculean feat, and provide those to your nephew, your nephew shouldn't have any communication with Driver B. Or he could call his insurance company and let them deal with it.

It's one thing to try owning up to it. It's another to bend over.

/not a lawyer

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I told my nephew that he needs to inform his work on case the guy goes postal.

I also told him not to talk to the guy until he's received 3 written estimates,

 

[Leroy Hoard]

If a 2 X 4 flies out of the back of my truck and hits another car, do I tell the guy it's between him and Home Depot?

I would blame it on the robot that sold the guy the 2 X 4.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

This really isn't very interesting.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

This really isn't very interesting.

Well spruce it up then, Bruce.

 

[Das Boot]

Does your nephew have flood insurance?

 

[Cjw_55106]

I'll be honest with ya, if this happens to me and the guy tells me to get three estimates, I tell him to kiss my ### and I let insurance handle it.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Nephew told his work- they're going to go through their insurance in case dude is a DB.

 

[Carolina Hustler]

I'll be honest with ya, if this happens to me and the guy tells me to get three estimates, I tell him to kiss my ### and I let insurance handle it.

I was thinking the same.. But then again, I wouldn't have tried to gouge driver A.. Initially the kid is responsible for paying any reasonable cost for repairs. Once driver B gets unreasonable about how much it's really gonna cost, driver A has a right to ask for another estimate.

I think Driver A should find out where driver B lives and works, and he should help driver B find something convenient.

If I were driver B, I wouldn't want to go through the hassle of getting 3 estimates either.. I'm already helping the kid try to keep it under the table.. Now I've got to spend a day driving around town getting estimates, a couple days without my car, and at least a half a day picking up, dropping off my car once we find a suitable place for repair.

Have we factored in the cost of a rental vehicle during repairs?

 

[T Bell]

Driver A is fueling his work truck.

Driver A pulls away from the gas pump while the pump is still attached to the truck. As he pulls away the pump frees itself from the truck and hits Driver B's car.

Driver A's truck never touches Driver Bs car, but there is minor damage to Driver Bs car.

Is this a vehicle accident/claim? Obviously driver A is responsible for the damage, but since the vehicle didn't strike the other vehicle, is this not covered by auto insurance?

ETA- The police were not called. Neither party has notified their insurance.

You don't need direct physical contact to find liability. Driver A clearly caused the accident. Driver A is liable to Driver B.

The only way you'd find liability on the part of the gas station (which seems unlikely given the facts you've provided) is if they were negligent in their own right as to how the pumps were installed or about some defect in this particular pump that made it more likely to cause the sort of damage that occurred. Again, that seems improbable.

If you're Driver B, be friendly to the gas station as they will have some evidence that is important to you, e.g. proof that Driver A was present in the form of his payment for gas (hopefully with a credit card) or, better yet, surveillance tapes.

 

[Cjw_55106]

I'll be honest with ya, if this happens to me and the guy tells me to get three estimates, I tell him to kiss my ### and I let insurance handle it.

I was thinking the same.. But then again, I wouldn't have tried to gouge driver A.. Initially the kid is responsible for paying any reasonable cost for repairs. Once driver B gets unreasonable about how much it's really gonna cost, driver A has a right to ask for another estimate.I think Driver A should find out where driver B lives and works, and he should help driver B find something convenient.

If I were driver B, I wouldn't want to go through the hassle of getting 3 estimates either.. I'm already helping the kid try to keep it under the table.. Now I've got to spend a day driving around town getting estimates, a couple days without my car, and at least a half a day picking up, dropping off my car once we find a suitable place for repair.

Have we factored in the cost of a rental vehicle during repairs?

we have no idea if he really tried to gouge him.

 

[Doug B]

If I were driver B, I wouldn't want to go through the hassle of getting 3 estimates either.. I'm already helping the kid try to keep it under the table.. Now I've got to spend a day driving around town getting estimates, a couple days without my car, and at least a half a day picking up, dropping off my car once we find a suitable place for repair.

Have we factored in the cost of a rental vehicle during repairs?

Really trying to imagine a scenario where a gas pump swinging into a vehicle (as described in the OP) causes this level of damage. Can it really be more than glass and/or paint? Gotta assume Car B is easily driveable.