First accident - what to do?
 

I parked infront of my house and opened my truck's door to the first notch. I had a leg out on the pavement as I was reaching in to grab something, and next thing I know a car drives by and nails my door with its sideview mirror. Now my jeep is making a weirdass clicking noise when I open the door, and the door itself has a massive bend in it. What do I do?

I know that usually these types of cases are the fault of the person who opens the door, but in this my truck was parked right near a corner, and this person made a fast right onto my street, would this help me out?

And of course, pics:


my truck, not moved since it was hit
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/6963/img4907j.jpg


notice the giant bend in the door ... there's a bunch of paint transfer near the bottom of the door as well.
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/6277/img4905h.jpg


:( FML ... i just coming back from picking up parts from point roberts too .. this sucks.

Oh should have mentioned, insurance is under my dads name, so he's going to probably want to settle this straight cash, but the problem with that is, the other party is probably going to think that I'm at fault, whereas I think think the opposite. So I'm going to get stuck with the bill :( Do I have any case for icbc? One of my neighbours might have witnessed it

Doesn't matter that the insurance is under your dads name AS LONG AS he doesn't have the 10 driver experience discount (can get a discount saying only ppl with 10+ yrs of driving experience are going to drive the vehicle)...you had just gone to get something real quick (you don't drive it primarily, only a few times a month, and your dad drives it most of the time)

How wide is the street, is there designated parking in front of your house(are you allowed to park there) and your door was already open before the car made the right hand turn quickly and unsafely, so its the drivers fault for going too fast, and not looking

Also I see there is a fire hydrant in the picture, how far are you supposed to park from the fire hydrant...

it doesnt matter if they go to icbc and claim it, if your gunna pay cash then it wont affect your insurance

i rear ended some1 and just scuffed his bumper the fucker prolly coulda gotten it buffed but he went to icbc and they repainted the whole thing. cost me $6xx i paid in cash and that was that no penalties or anything

^ This +1
Yeah you can repay the damages yourself without it having an increase in premiums...its always better to go to ICBC EVEN if your going to settle it privately better to have documented proof of the extent of damage done

So what do I do? It's basically his word against mine. He had 2 other people in the car who can act as witnesses, I just have my sister who was with me at the time.

Where I'm parked its legal to park, im a good distance away from the fire hydrant and in a safe parking spot (where I park all the time). Also my street is fairly wide, but he was closer to my side of the street

I'm contemplating going out and buying an entire replacement door, and removing the old door and installing the new one myself (Which shouldn't be too hard to do), and hopefully not having to pay for a repaint. Should I go get an estimate first, and then start repairing my jeep myself?

also do you guys think im gonna be at fault? And for the person who asked, my dad has a full discount, and at the moment that this happened I wasn't driving the truck, I was just getting stuff out of it (technically).

don't worry about the other 2 people in the car. ICBC won't take their testimony because it will obviously be the same as the driver.

If your sister was not in the car at the time, ICBC might be able to take her testimony - but without having a 3rd party, it might be disregarded.

My guess is that it would be 50/50 - but that's really just a guess.

Sister was standing on the sidewalk outside of the car ...

man my dad doesn't seem to care at all, I'm pretty heartbroken :( Trying to find someone that can accurately color match on a 7 year old paintjob + find a door that will be able to swap in with minimal effort is a pita.

In the grand scheme of things I guess it could've been much, much worse. Going to call the other party today and I think we may even settle with us each paying for our own damages ... :speechless:

The reason I ask if your dad has the 10 year driver discount (not the full 43% discount, this is additional) is because if he does and ICBC says you were driving they can void your insurance(probably wont because its so minor), you were parked but still were in control of the vehicle...
heres what i mean http://www.icbc.com/autoplan/costs/s...ience-discount
*edit forgot to mention* they can also fine you if the 10+ thing applies, i got fined $1950 :(
Also if you are thinking about going through ICBC do not buy your own door or attempt any repairs on your own, unless you are certain you will be doing your own repairs

even if his dad does have the 10 year driver discount. i'm wondering, what if the OP was just getting something from the car and not actually driving it.

"I parked infront of my house and opened my truck's door to the first notch. I had a leg out on the pavement as I was reaching in to grab something"

He had care and control of the vehicle and was behind the wheel. They guy who hit the parked car (I hope they exchanged particulars?) should not be drivng so closely that he hits a barely-opened door. You however may have to keep this in mind...

When opening door prohibited

203 (1) A person must not open the door of a motor vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so.
"

dude just be thankful that it wasn't much worse, i can think of a million other reasons that could have gone 100x worse. Personally, deal with it privately with the other party. Keep in mind, a barely open door is still an open door. Unless you were in a private cul de sac, you should not be inside your car with the door ajar around possible traffic roads. Why?

Because if I was driving down a road and saw an open door, I'd want to flip that person off for not taking the time to be safe and close their door.

btw: Opening a door could also be done along the curbside (passenger). You don't feel iffy leaving a leg out/door open while youre attention is on something else?