Have you ever been falsely accused of hitting someone’s car while parked in a public parking lot? It’s a situation that we almost invariably experience at least once in our lives while making us question the ethicality of other people. That’s because when you’re sure you didn’t do anything and someone claims you did, you realize how many people are out there to try to get something out of people. At the same time, we realize how obsessed some people are with their cars when they start imagining a tiny dent in their car door.
If someone says a car dent or scratch was the result of your own carelessness, how do you handle someone so adamant on pinning the blame on you? In most cases, you don’t have a lot to worry about, even though you parking lot security cameras and witnesses will do wonders if the case has to go to court.
Should You Trade Insurance Numbers, or Just Ignore?
When you’re sure you didn’t cause the car damage, should you still trade insurance numbers? It really doesn’t matter, because even if the accuser files a claim and you don’t, it’s going to be of no use unless there’s evidence to back it up you were to blame. In most cases, if someone a little bit over the edge and trying to pin the blame on you, it’s best to just walk away and ignore them. Standing there and provoking them with a fight only wastes your time and only makes them more apt to file a claim against you.
If you do exchange numbers, your car insurance company is going to automatically assume you’re not to blame. However, if a claim is filed against you from the accuser and they claim to have evidence, you may have more extensive work to do in gathering your own evidence.
The Benefit of Parking Lot Surveillance Cameras
The person filing the claim against you may have some kind of witness that can supposedly verify you were to blame for the car damage. In a false accusation scenario, it could be someone who knows the accuser who will try to bring you down. Be glad you live in a world of security cameras, even if they’re intrusive in every other regard. With many public parking lots now being watched around the clock to scope out crimes of all sorts, it can be your saving grace from having to go through an extensive court case.
Your only challenge is getting the people who own the parking lot to turn over security camera footage from the day or night the accusation occurred. It’s best to gain access to it at least within a few days, because it may be erased otherwise. With new security camera systems recording up to a week’s worth of footage, waiting any longer may mean it being wiped.
Thanks to security cameras having better clarity, your lawyer can clearly show in perfect detail that you didn’t cause the injury to the person’s car. This is all going to depend, of course, on whether the public parking lot has sophisticated surveillance. Those who accuse others of hitting their car may know which ones are and aren’t being watched, so it’s worth knowing yourself if you park there regularly.
We may finally see a time when false accusers in parking lots keep their mouths shut now that sophisticated security cameras are becoming more affordable and ubiquitous. Those people may finally eat their words while also showing their state of mind in loving their car more than their own reputation.
References:
http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/what-do-you-do-if-you-are-falsely-accused-of-hitti-552498.html