Fibromyalgia Sufferers Warned About Sharing Christmas Excess

Brian Barr Solicitors are warning fibromyalgia sufferers to be careful what they share online this Christmas.

Found on www.prlog.org/ and brought to you by Lawyer Salinas

Dec 22, 2011 -
People who suffer from the chronic pain condition Fibromyalgia (or FM) are being advised to take care when they celebrate over Christmas and be especially careful about what they post on social media sites like Twitter.

This is because the information they share could be perceived negatively as part of any legal claim they may be making linked to the cause of their Fibromyalgia.

The advice comes from Brian Barr Solicitors who are the leading specialist lawyers for Fibromyalgia (FM) sufferers throughout England and Wales.

Fibromyalgia is a condition characterised by pain, non-restorative sleep and a host of other symptoms. It may develop spontaneously but, in many cases, it is triggered by an accident or trauma such as a sudden forceful injury to the muscles such as in a whiplash injury, injury from a fall, being struck by an object or a back sprain from sudden lifting of a heavy object.  

Brian Barr solicitors are advising Fibromyalgia sufferers that they shouldn’t stop celebrating Christmas but they should remember that if they have an ongoing legal case regarding their fibromyalgia they must be extremely careful about any video, pictures and information about their activities that they share online as this could be harmful to their case.

This is because social networks and video sharing sites like YouTube make it easier and cheaper for the DWP and insurers to research potential claims. They just have to look up the claimant and see what an active and lively social life he or she says that they are leading.

The solicitors raise an example covered by The Daily Mirror in August 2010. A claimant was seeking massive damages after an incomplete spinal cord injury but photographs posted of the claimant enjoying a lively social scene on holiday combined with a tip off from a nasty neighbour resulted in literally millions of pounds being wiped off the value of the claim.

The principal of Brian Barr Solicitors summarised the advice by saying “you must remember that any case where the symptoms appear disproportionate to the initial injury attracts attention - chronic pain cases are the perfect example. Sceptical insurers and those protecting DWP purses just cannot believe that people are suffering as badly as they say they are. If those same people then boast of a busy social life and post photographs or films to prove it,  attitudes will inevitably harden, perhaps to the extent of criminal prosecutions.”

Bad economy means poor auto maintenance

By Herb Weisbaum, The ConsumerMan

Found on www.bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/ and brought to you by Car Repair Salinas

 

A new survey by Consumer Reports shows that the poor economy has forced many Americans to skip needed servicing of their car or truck. And the long-term results of this neglect could be both costly and dangerous. 

Forty percent of those responding said they had deliberately delayed repairs or maintenance on their primary vehicle in the past year. These drivers had put off work on the brakes, tires, exterior light bulbs or mechanical parts – even though they knew it was needed. 

“This is of great concern because many of these items impact safety and reliability,” says Jeff Bartlett, deputy online automotive editor at ConsumerReports.org.  

Cash-strapped consumers are also holding on to their cars longer. Vehicles require more costly maintenance as they get older. 

“There is a real risk that if you put off a small maintenance or repair item today that it could snowball into a bigger and more costly problem down the road,” Bartlett warns. “You've got to keep in mind that breaking down along the side of the road is never convenient, it's often costly and may ultimately lead to missing a day or two at work." 

The typical person responding to Consumer Reports in this random survey drives a 2003 vehicle (often bought used) which they’ve owned for five years. And they said they planned to keep it for another five years.

Their vehicle has already gone about 78,000 miles and is quickly approaching a major service interval. Bartlett worries that people who’ve delayed small repairs are more likely to skip this major maintenance which can cost $500 to $1,000 or more. 

One of the most interesting findings of this survey is that people know the consequences of putting off needed repairs or maintenance.  Overall, 44 percent said it reduces the reliability, safety and value of their vehicle. Almost two in 10 said they are hesitant to take long-distance trips because of those safety and reliability concerns.  Eight percent said they are becoming “embarrassed” by their car. 

Consumer Reports just launched a new car repair information service for its online subscribers. The Car Repair Estimator shows you what various repairs cost in your area. There’s also a free section on this page, the Car Repair Encyclopedia, that’s available to anyone.

 

Husbands of Medical Mesh Victims Finding Hope in New Website VaginalMeshHelpline.com

Found on www.prlog.org/ and brought to you by Lawyer Salinas

Hundreds of thousands of families affected my defective vaginal mesh surgeries. American Husbands find a new resource to help their wives, families and relationships.

 

Dec 23, 2011 - VaginalMeshHelpline.com announces new program for husbands and fathers of victims of destructive vaginal mesh surgeries to find resources to help with their personal, psychological and legal issues regarding Trans Vaginal Mesh disasters.

The Vaginal Mesh Helpline has become  a major resource for thousands of women suffering from faulty vaginal mesh implants." We are beginning to get calls from more and husbands and sons and male family members concerned about their loved ones who are in pain and finding it difficult  to locate a Physician.""They see the T.V. lawyer ads which alert them to the problem their spouse is having. "They call us for help and an explanation of what is going on and what their next step should be". Many Husbands are very concerned and have become victims as well. The mesh has made the intimacies of a marriage relationship impossible. This has put stress on the marriage. The psychological effects are far reaching." Says Lisa Spitzer MSW who manages the Vaginal Mesh Helpline.
"We had one husband calling in tears not knowing if this was real or his wife was "just making excuses". Lawyers are accepting cases form men for lack of consortium.
"In Many situations the husbands are taking the lead role as the protector"'IN some cases they are asking for divorce". Husbands need the information and support as well.""We handled hundreds of calls from women and have helped them find the resources they need.  As we educate families and friends about the horrific problems associated with Trans Vaginal Mesh surgeries, we're working more and more with Men.  Fathers and Husbands who are faced with their own struggles and pain associated with the side effects this  medical process."" Husbands want to understand,help and get a lawyer"
The Vaginal Mesh Helpline is open 24 hours seven days and receives calls form thru-out the United States from women as young as 33 and as old as 86. "We have had Husbands call for wives,sons call for mothers, grandchildren call for suffering Grandma and even brother -in-laws for the family in pain." This has become a family matter" according the Spitzer as one of our callers said" she is the center of my life and I want to know how to help her and I want to get justice for her"  The Vaginal Mesh Helpline has been a complete resource and only works with lawyers who take the cases on an individual basis and keep them in house. "Our lawyers keep these cases and work these cases""They offer support and TLC" The Vaginal Mesh Helpline phone number is 1 888-529-7222 the website is vaginalmeshhelpline.com.  Lisa Spitzer who manages the Helpline is a medical Social  She speaks to many of the callers personally. The website has a response form as well

Quotation - "We handled hundreds of calls from women and have helped them find the resources they need.  As we educate families and friends about the horrific problems associated with Trans Vaginal Mesh surgeires, we're working more and more with Men.  Fathers and Husbands who are faced with their own struggles and pain associated with this terrible medical process."
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The Vaginal Mesh Helpline, Vaginalmeshhelpline.com is a support resource for women with vaginal mesh complications and their husbands. They can be reached at 1 888 522-2123

Survey Finds Vehicle Owners Trust Their Car Repair Shop

Found on www.autoguide,com/index.html/ and brought to you by Car Repair Salinas

22/12/2011 | By: Amy Tokic

 

When drivers find a car repair shop they like, they stick with it… and that’s because they trust the mechanics will do a good job. A recent study finds that about 50 percent of people completely trust their garage to fix their cars.

The survey, which was conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, sheds some interesting light on car owners, who are now keeping their vehicles for an average of nine years. That means that if drivers want to keep their cars on the road longer, they need to find a trustworthy garage to carry out repairs. Of those questioned for this sutdy, 77 percent said they take their car to a garage to keep it maintained. Of those shops, 37 percent of respondent prefer small, independent shop, 30 percent go to dealerships and 11 percent take their car to get serviced at a brand-name repair chain.

Women, older drivers and more affluent households are much more trusting when it comes to a garage fixing their car, with 91 percent saying they trust their repair shop. When it came to authorizing whatever work the shop recommended to repair their vehicle, 73 percent of those polled had no worries giving mechanics the go ahead. And to finish off this feel-good survey, 83 percent of said they are confident they’ll get the right repair work done for the right price.

Do you have a preferred car repair shop you visit on a regular basis? Do you trust them with your car or do you go to them because you haven’t found any garage more trustworthy? Let us know in the comments section below.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Understanding Your Rights to Workers’ Compensation

Found on www.prlog.org/ and brought to you by Lawyer Salinas

Thousands of Americans receive injuries while on the job each and every year. In the majority of injury cases, serious injuries or even wrongful deaths allow for the worker or their family to pursue workers’ compensation benefits.

 

Dec 08, 2011 -
The American worker is in a unique situation compared to some workers in other countries due to the great number of hours they work and the lack of vacation time taken away from their jobs. The truth is Americans work long hours with little time off for recreation. Due to the vast number of hours Americans spend working every day, accidents are bound to occur during the course of one’s work.

The Federal Government recognized the need for establishing a workers’ compensation program which would cover civilian employees in the event that they were injured enough that they could not return to work, whether it is on a temporary or permanent basis. In 1908 an act was passed to provide benefits for workers who were involved in hazardous work. By 1921, laws were passed in all states with the exception of 6 states and the District of Columbia.

Today, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands abide by workers’ compensation laws. What’s more, in 1927 the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act was enacted to cover longshore and harbor workers throughout the United States and this program is administered by the Federal Government.

By 2008, more than 130 million employees were covered by state and federal workers’ compensation laws, amounting to $5.2 trillion dollars in wages paid out to covered workers. Benefits may be temporary or permanent and they can be paid to the injured worker or to his or her surviving family members in the event of a wrongful death. Typical benefits covered include: temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, medical benefits, and death benefits.

Although most employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, there are exceptions to the rule. Exceptions would include those that are employed as domestic servants such as a nanny or housekeeper, casual labor such as when one hires a handyman to make a small repair in their home, agricultural workers, smaller businesses, religious groups, nonprofit employees and charitable organizations.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, in 2008, medical benefits accounted for $29 billion dollars, and wage loss compensation accounted for $28.5 billion, this figure includes the $526.2 million in benefits for the Black Lung program.

If you have been injured during the course of your work, it is crucial that you understand your rights to compensation. There is a specific protocol that you are supposed to follow in order to receive the benefits that you are entitled to. At Busch Law Offices, we represent the injured workers of Colorado as well as the surviving family members who have lost their loved ones in a wrongful death accident or to occupational disease. We invite you to contact a member of our legal team where you can learn more about your legal rights as well as your rights to compensation.

Visit the firm's website at http://www.lovelandworkerscompensation.com.
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At the Busch Law Offices, we are a Loveland, CO workers’ compensation and social security law firm. Over the years we have represented countless injured workers throughout the state of Colorado obtain the workers compensation and social security benefits that they were entitled to. We understand how stressful it is to be injured and still trying to care for your family. When employers make an attempt to dispute the merits of a workers’ compensation case, or when an insurance company denies a claim, we are fully prepared to represent our client through the appeals process. In every case we take on, we fight aggressively on behalf of our clients so they can get the compensation that they truly deserve. To learn more, contact a Loveland workers’ compensation attorney at our firm by calling (877) 435-1514 or visit the firm's website at http://www.lovelandworkerscompensation.com.

Electric vehicles carry unfamiliar challenges for drivers and mechanics

Found on www.sacbee.com/ and brought to you by Car Repair Salinas

By Mark Glover
mglover@sacbee.com

Published: Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1D

Last Modified: Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011 - 3:08 pm

Those electric vehicles popping up in driveways all over California look a lot like their gas-powered cousins. But under the hood, they're different machines, and their potential problems are foreign to many drivers and mechanics alike.

Any suggestion that they might be more dangerous – true or not – could stop sales cold, analysts say. That's why the industry shuddered last month when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the Chevrolet Volt's lithium-ion battery pack.

NHTSA said two Volt batteries caught fire after crash simulations – one three weeks after the crash, the other a week later.

A nationwide survey by Bandon, Ore.-based CNW Research showed a sharp decline in consumer consideration of the Volt in the aftermath of the NHTSA investigation, even though Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the Volt is safe to drive.

General Motors took the unusual step of offering free loaner cars to concerned Volt owners during the probe. It was characterized as a goodwill gesture, not an admission of safety concerns. GM says it has had few takers.

GM insists that the Volt – which the automaker spent millions of dollars and years to develop – is solid, wave-of-the-future technology … not unlike early internal combustion engine-powered cars that went through some growing pains.

"This technology should inspire confidence and pride, not raise any concern or doubt," said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America.

Auto industry analysts say the attention given the Volt – which can be charged via a plug in a standard electrical outlet, then driven longer distances with a gas engine replenishing the battery – is indicative of the high stakes in the evolving electric vehicle, or EV, industry.

Billions of development dollars are on the line, not to mention the jobs that go with building and servicing EV systems.

In California, the nation's No. 1 market for sales of hybrids and EVs, the stakes are potentially huge.

Jesse Toprak, an analyst for the Santa Monica-based TrueCar.com, noted California's "sheer numbers" of people, along with its "concentration of early adopters in terms of technology and environmentally friendly purchasers."

A report released last week by San Francisco-based nonprofit Next 10 said California attracted global investments totaling $467 million in electric vehicle-related sectors in the first half of this year. In all of 2010, investments totaled $840 million.

From 1995 to 2010, Next 10 said, electric vehicle industry jobs in California went from 740 to 1,800. That growth is expected to continue. Next 10's study showed California and Michigan in a tie for EV technology patents, both generating 300 from 2008-10.

The report flatly states: "California is leading the nation in the growing electric vehicle industry."

Sacramento is singled out for this statistic: With 65 EV charging stations, the area tops all California regions in the ratio of charging stations, 27.9 per 1 million people.

Little wonder that post-crash test fires in the Volt have created waves.

TrueCar analyst Toprak noted that GM took a long time to bring the Volt to market, working to perfect the complex battery, a primary source of heat generation. He said perception sometimes trumps reality in new technology, and the spotlight on the Volt could upset future GM plans.

If GM "can replicate the (Volt) technology into different categories of vehicles, including SUVs and trucks, that will be a game-changer," he said.

Mechanics needed

Dave Barthmuss, a GM spokesman who specializes in California environment/energy issues, believes the public ultimately will sort out and understand EV technology, just as it did for decades with gas-fueled cars.

"It is evolving," he said. "You can have a gasoline vehicle that can pose just as many challenges if faced with the right circumstances. The Volt is safe. I wouldn't hesitate to put my children in it. …

"Because (EVs) are an evolving technology, we have to be as responsive as we can be to all problems and public concerns. … Public education is a process that's likely going to take multiple years."

A generation ago, onboard battery packs were not on consumers' radar. That began to change in 2000, with the introduction of the Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid sedan.

Now, a host of hybrids are on the U.S. market. The next wave in the evolutionary process is all-electric drive systems.

Current electric models include the Nissan Leaf, a five-door hatchback that can go about 100 miles per charge; the Tesla Roadster, a high-performance luxury electric convertible; and the Fisker Karma, a plug-in hybrid capable of 125 miles per hour.

More electric vehicles are in the pipeline as public and government pressure grows to ease foreign oil dependence, decrease household gasoline bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Rising EV numbers have created challenges in the vehicle repair/service industry.

"It's a huge challenge," said Doug Brauner, the "Car Czar" TV/radio host who's also a certified mechanic and runs auto shops in Sacramento and Citrus Heights. "We're just now after all of these years seeing an acceptable number of techs that have the appropriate amount of hybrid training."

When it comes to fully electric vehicles, he said, "I have yet to see anybody in this marketplace who has received appropriate and reasonable training."

Brauner said the auto service industry was "slow to react to hybrid training. I hope our industry is a little more proactive" with EVs.

Don't do it yourself

Analysts said consumers pondering the purchase of an electric vehicle will need to be more proactive in asking questions at dealerships. Kicking tires and raising the hood won't cut it.

A buyers' checklist should include: What is the warranty on the battery? How much does it cost to replace key electric system components? Are all or some of those components under warranty? Do I need a 240-volt charger? Do you have a number to call if the car just stops on the roadway? What happens if I accidentally detach the plug from the vehicle? Should the vehicle be moved if something like that happens?

Brauner recommends that prospective electric vehicle buyers get online and tap into the ocean of information available on the latest EVs.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District, a pioneer in electric vehicle use locally, recently launched an online link to help EV buyers. At www.smud.org, clicking the "environment" tab brings up information on battery charging, vehicle range and rebates.

Brauner and other local mechanics agreed on one other break with the past: EV owners should never grab a wrench and start tinkering with the electronic components of their car.

"I don't want to scare anybody, but you could kill yourself doing the wrong thing," Brauner said. "Yes, that's unlikely, but I can tell you I'm careful when I get under the hood of an electric.

"If you wouldn't take the back off your TV, then don't delve into your electric car."

 

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/11/4112839/electric-vehicles-carry-unfamiliar.html#ixzz1gL1dIvSi

Learn from the Misfortunes of Copper Mining Heiress’s Fortune

Found on www.prlog.org/ and brought to you by Lawyer Salinas

Huguette Clark, the daughter of William Andrews Clark, Sr. an American politician and entrepreneur of New York’s Gilded Age, died with an estate of $400 million. Two wills executed within six weeks have appeared.

Nov 29, 2011 - Six years ago Ms. Clark prepared her Will and distributed her fortune to 21 relatives. Six weeks later Ms. Clark executed a second will. This Will gave $34 million to Ms. Clark’s nurse, $500,000 to her attorney, $500,000 to her accountant and the remainder of her estate going to charity.

Not surprisingly, the first Will has recently came to surface by her disinherited relatives who are crying foul. Years of litigation most likely lie ahead between the beneficiaries of the first Will and the beneficiaries of the second Will.

Another situation has surfaced, during the last 15 years of her life Ms. Clark was cared by her nurse, attorney and accountant. During this period her living expenses were $1 million dollars per month. Again not surprisingly, these expenditures are being questioned and an accounting has been ordered by the court and an investigation started by the local district attorney’s office.

Two lessons are to be learned from Huguette Clark’s estate plan. First, freeze your will and estate plan while still of sound mind. Second, protect your person for when you are not of sound mind or body.

First lesson: freeze your estate plan
Incapacity does not happen overnight unless there has been a serious injury. Forgetfulness, mood swings and irrational decision making happen on occasion throughout one’s lifetime. But when it becomes standard behavior it becomes incapacity.

Unfortunately, just when one is of unsound mind is not always clear or it is identified too late. Assets disappear and conflicting documents are prepared. Many times these changes are not the intent of the elder but the intent of someone else. In California this most often is called undue influence. Undue influence requires three events at the time of the Will or Trust execution.

The first requirement is the existence of a confidential or fiduciary relationship between the testator and the person alleged to have exerted undue influence. In Ms. Clark’s case, her nurse, attorney and accountant were primary care givers. Each had a confidential or fiduciary relationship.

The second requirement is an undue benefit to the confident, fiduciary or another person under the Will or Trust. $34 million to the nurse, $500,000 to the attorney, and $500,000 to the accountant would meet the undue benefit requirement.

The last requirement is active participation by the confident or fiduciary in preparation or execution of the Will or Trust. Did the nurse urge Ms. Clark to make the change?  What was the involvement of the attorney and accountant?

It is not unusual for a person to want to give more money to the person who provided love and care in the elder years. The attorney most certainly had to be aware of the risk. It is not unreasonable to assume he went through great steps to guard against charges of undue influence such as retaining independent counsel to prepare the documents and engaging a doctor to test Ms. Clark’s capacity.

But the situation immediately completes two of the three prongs of undue influence, that of a confidential or fiduciary relationship and an unequal benefit. As a result litigation turns on the element of active participation.

This is why it is important to freeze the estate plan while one is of sound mind, usually around retirement age. Then the active participation is not an issue and the Will remains valid.

Second Lesson: protect your person for when you are not of sound mind or body

One million dollars each month was spent for Ms. Clark’s care. Hopefully she received quality care and most likely did. But it is also likely not all that money was used for the benefit of Ms. Clark and was diverted for someone else’s benefit. When a person has $400 million having enough money for care is not an issue. But for the vast majority of Americans any diversion of funds can leave the elder in poverty.

While in sound mind take action.  Identify at least two individuals who are one generation younger.  Do not select brothers, sisters or friends of the same age. Most likely they will have sound mind and body problems around the same time as you.
Name these younger individuals as attorneys-in-

fact in a springing power of attorney. The springing part comes from the fact the power of attorney only becomes effective upon incapacity. The incapacity is proven by a doctor declaration.

The power of attorney authorizes the named individuals to act on your behalf in all financial matters. Naturally you want to select trust worthy individuals. So during the holiday season when family and friends get together begin to assess and engage your younger friends and family members for their help in the future.

The two lessons to be learned from Ms. Clark are freeze your estate plan while of sound mind and protect your person for when you are not of sound mind.

http://www.bidwelllaw.com

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Legal representation in probate courts in Southern California, the preparation of living trust and estate plans and corporate counsel to small business owners

When Your Parked Car is at Fault

Found on www.foxbusiness.com/ and brought to to you by Car Reapair Salinas

Written by Karen Aho

Published December 02, 2011 

CarInsurance.com

Bad drivers usually get what's coming to them: tickets, fender-benders, higher car insurance rates.

But what about bad parkers?

The driver who scrapes an inconsiderately or illegally parked car usually curses it, then takes the blame because he was moving and the parked car wasn't.

So it may come as a surprise to you--and even to some police officers--that a poorly parked car can be held liable, either by an auto insurance company or in a court of law.

"Absolutely," says Glenn Greenberg, a spokesman for Liberty Mutual. "Just because the vehicle is parked doesn't absolve it in 100% of cases from any liability in the accident."

Situations vary so widely that it's difficult to provide blanket at-fault rules, particularly given the added variability of state and local laws. But to get a general idea of when, or if, the driver of a parked car may have to pony up some responsibility, consider these two scenarios:

• A public parking lot is full, and a large van has pulled to the side of the lot's exit lane to park. A driver leaving the lot - his eyes tuned to cross traffic - scrapes the side of the van as he turns onto the street. Clearly, the van should not have been parked there. So is the van's driver partly to blame for the accident?
• A driver pulls to the side of a rural roadway to make a phone call. The speed limit is 50 mph, and the road lacks a wide shoulder. The car extends slightly into the driving lane just past a curve. Another car comes around the bend and, unable to stop or veer into oncoming traffic, hits the parked car from behind. Should the parked driver pay?

Is this parked car an inconvenience, or a hazard?

George P. Patterson, a lawyer with Sasscer, Clagett & Bucher in Maryland, has fielded his share of calls from drivers who believe they've been wronged by bad parkers.

One simple way to assess blame, he says, is to ask, "Was this parking violation creating an inconvenience or a safety hazard?"

If it's the former, as with the van in the parking lot, the driver certainly may be cited for illegal parking, but likely won't be held accountable for the accident. It is the responsibility of other drivers to make their way around the car, no matter how annoyed or distracted they may be.

"When you're driving your car and you can see it, it's really on you to avoid it," says Patterson.

The car parked along the bending highway, though, is clearly violating a no-parking rule that exists for safety reasons. In that situation, the parked driver's car insurance company may end up paying all or part of the damages.

Patterson currently represents a client involved in just such a case. His client was rounding a bend in the left lane of the Washington Beltway, a divided highway, and hit a tow truck parked partially in the lane of travel. His client was unable to swerve due to traffic in the neighboring lane.

"That's a situation where you have clear negligence on the part of the tow truck, and a situation where the driver couldn't have done anything," Patterson says.

Drivers have a duty to move their cars off the road to the best of their ability, particularly where other drivers would not expect to encounter a parked vehicle.

There's always an exception

Of course, in between the aforementioned scenarios lie many shades of gray.

What if a driver turns a corner in a residential neighborhood and strikes a construction worker's trailer? Is the trailer's owner to blame for parking at the corner and not putting up warning cones?

"It's always going to be very fact-specific," says Patterson.

It's also always worth a call to an auto insurance specialist, says Greenberg.

"If the facts reveal that the owner (of the parked car) did not exercise reasonable care and give drivers the ability to avoid it, we might consider pursuing some level of liability," Greenberg says.

And here's another scenario that should haunt any illegal, inconsiderate or other types of bad parkers: Say you've parked your SUV on a city block lined with parked cars, but pulled into an illegal spot that blocks the visibility of the car behind yours. That car then pulls out and into oncoming traffic, causing a crash.

Your car was parked, and it wasn't even hit. But you're not necessarily off the hook.

The person "can certainly collect from the person who pulled out in front of them, but they might also be able to collect from the driver of the parked car," Greenberg says.

How to file a parking-lot car insurance claim

Most car insurance companies won't require a police report for a minor parking lot accident, says CarInsurance.com consumer analyst Penny Gusner. She suggests calling anyway. "Many times the police will tell you to exchange information on your own. But you can tell the insurance company that you did call, but that the police didn't respond."

And if the cops do show up, you've got a police report that lays out the facts.

If police don't respond, Gusner says you should exchange names, contact information, license numbers and insurance companies and policy numbers. If there are witnesses, get their names and phone numbers as well. Take pictures, she says, even if you believe you were at fault. You don't want to be asked to repair damage you didn't cause.

If you hit an unoccupied car, most states require that you find the owner or leave a note so that he or she can contact you. Tell your own insurance company exactly what happened. Your car insurance liability coverage--the coverage you're required to buy--will pay for the other driver's car if you're determined to be at fault.

If another car hits yours but the driver fails to leave a note, your own collision coverage (assuming you carry it) would pay any auto insurance claims.

If another car hits yours and the other driver is at fault, his property damage liability coverage would repair your car.

If the facts are in dispute, exchange information and tell your own insurer your side rather than hashing it out in a parking lot. Let the adjusters settle it.

The original article can be found at CarInsurance.com:
The Parking-Lot Car Insurance Claim

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/12/01/when-your-parked-car-is-at-fault/#ixzz1fUhgx8K7