“Does This Count As "fail To Remain"? What Are My Options”

Hello everybody,

I am wondering if you all could possibly help me out.

My car is parked in a private underground parking at night when i'm home from work.

This afternoon when I was walking to my car as I was about to head to work I saw the front of my car damaged.

The front license plate has been completely ripped off of the bumper, and there's streaks of blue paint on my silver car as well.

I've attached photos of the front of the car to this message. (one that shows the damage and one that shows the blue paint)

Now, the car that parks next to me is a blue taxi cab (oddly enough it's the exact shade of blue that's left on my bumper)

Furthermore, the physical evidence on my car shows that a car must have been coming from the taxi's direction (to the right of my car) in order to cause the damage.

Basically what I think happened was he reversed out of his spot and as he moved forward to straighten out of his spot to drive forward he clipped/swiped my front license plate and ripped it right off.

The taxi was not there at the time that I saw the damage so I will wait until I go home tonight to take a look at his front bumper.

My questions are:

What are my options at this point?

Who has the burden of proof?

Is it on me to prove he did the damage or is the burden on him to prove he did not do the damage?

I understand that all this is "circumstantial evidence" so what would I really need to do to prove to insurance that it was in fact the taxi that parks next to me.

Also, does this count as "fail to remain" or "leaving the scene" if it is proven to be the blue taxi?

Any help and guidance is greatly appreciated and thank you for your time.

Call the police and report it and tell them what you think happened, and give them any information about the cab (driver, company) that you can.

And then leave it with police to do the rest.

Because you were not in your car when it happened and it was parked, it should not count against you when you claim it thru insurance.

tom1331 wrote:What are my options at this point?

Make a report. Also, give the plate number of the vehicle that you suspected may have caused the accident. An officer will usually look up where the plate is registered and show up at the door. He'll ask if they caused the accident. If you're lucky, they'll cave and just admit to it.

tom1331 wrote:Also, does this count as "fail to remain" or "leaving the scene" if it is proven to be the blue taxi?

That's up to the officer to decide. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter to you what he is charged with. As long as there's someone who will take the fault, whether he is charged or not is not going to have the slightest impact on your claim.

Thank you all for your replies.

The person who hit my car ended up reporting it to the security personnel yesterday (a day after he hit my car).

It is who I expected it to be so I went out and got a quote to fix my car and called him to let him know it's $1200.

He said the price was too high and to give him one day to talk to his "mechanic".

Am I getting myself into legal issues by allowing more time to pass by?

Should I just go ahead and file a collision report now and wait for him to call me back?

I'm worried if we end up going through insurance that I'll be asked why it took so long to let them know.

I've had 2 not a fault accidents in the Month of May.

Accident #1: I was stopped at a red light during rush hour in the afternoon and a car rear ended me...

2 weeks later while I was driving the rental a pick up truck rear ended me while I was stopped at a red light again. (Both times I was fully stopped and stuck in rush hour congestion)

I'm worried that if I put this claim through my insurance even with the other person's insurance info (if he eventually gives it) that my rates will increase.

tom1331 wrote:Thank you all for your replies.The person who hit my car ended up reporting it to the security personnel yesterday (a day after he hit my car).

It is who I expected it to be so I went out and got a quote to fix my car and called him to let him know it's $1200.

He said the price was too high and to give him one day to talk to his "mechanic".

Do not waste your time haggling with this guy. What his mechanic thinks is irrelevant.

tom1331 wrote:Am I getting myself into legal issues by allowing more time to pass by?

Should I just go ahead and file a collision report now and wait for him to call me back?

I'm worried if we end up going through insurance that I'll be asked why it took so long to let them know.

Insurance company usually expects you to report an accident within 7 days. It shouldn't be too much of a problem.

tom1331 wrote:I've had 2 not a fault accidents in the Month of May.

Accident #1: I was stopped at a red light during rush hour in the afternoon and a car rear ended me...

2 weeks later while I was driving the rental a pick up truck rear ended me while I was stopped at a red light again. (Both times I was fully stopped and stuck in rush hour congestion)

I'm worried that if I put this claim through my insurance even with the other person's insurance info (if he eventually gives it) that my rates will increase.

Any accident where you are found to be at 25% fault or less shouldn't count as a chargeable accident.

Go get 3 quotes from 3 independant body shops.