Driver Almost Takes Our Car Door off - Says We're at Fault and Won't Answer Calls

LIssun on 16/05/2025 - 23:08
Last edited 17/05/2025 - 10:51 by 1 other user

Hey all, just looking for a bit of advice.

The other day my partner was getting out of the car. She checked the rear-view mirror, saw nothing coming, and got out fully. Just as she stood up, a car came around the corner heading towards her. There wasn’t much room to move, so she kind of "sucked her gut in" and pulled the door in towards herself. The driver clipped the door—nearly hit my partner—and ended up bending the door right around so it hit the front of our car.

The driver stopped and came out all frantic, saying the sun was in her eyes and she couldn’t see. They swapped details (well, the lady gave the bare minimum—just a phone number), and that was that. Now our door won’t close properly without pushing it down from the outside, and the window won’t go all the way down either.

Now the insurance part:

We’re only covered for third party. The other driver claimed it was our fault, and both insurers (RACT for her, AAMI for us) have sided with her. They’re saying my partner “created a hazard” by getting out of the car Reference, so there’s no point trying to dispute it.

We’ve tried calling and texting the other driver to talk it through, but she’s gone radio silent for three days now.

So here’s the question:

There’s no actual evidence, she admitted she couldn’t see, and my partner was almost taken out—has anyone had any luck disputing something like this? Or should we just cop the excess and higher premium?

Street view / diagram:

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    eciuj on 27/05/2025 - 16:59

    Not trying to insinuate anything, but "someone sucking their gut in" and "pulling the door towards themselves" could result in vastly different door angles between different sized people. The door angle could be 30 degrees for one person and 70 degrees for another.

    I would imagine that if the angle was small, it would take a lot of force to bend the door right around. It would more than likely rotate the car a fair bit and cause injury.

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  tasty-falafel on 19/05/2025 - 13:53

  +1

  OP, sounds like unless you can provide some video evidence that the driver had plenty of time to avoid the hazard your GF is liable. Can you look to see whether any of the local business have street facing cameras? You may be able to ask for video evidence which could help you prove innocence.

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  Some Guy on 20/05/2025 - 10:36

  +1

  My wife has been in this situation except the other driver provided fake ID and drove off. Their car was quite damaged and we were told it was stolen.

  We were also told that my wife was in the wrong as she had created the hazard and opening a door into traffic is illegal. So you're stuffed. We bitched to our insurance company loud and long enough about the ridiculousness of the situation that they fixed our car after we paid the excess.

  Why don't you send them a text saying that your insurance company has said it has to pay for their repairs and so you need their information? See if they fall for it.

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    payless69 on 22/05/2025 - 19:43

    Some insurance companies do have an allowance for damage from stolen cars. Read policy!

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      Some Guy on 23/05/2025 - 03:00

      Didn't seem to matter to insurance it was a stolen car. They also didn't acknowledge if there was or wasn't such an allowance, but if there was, it seems sadistic to make us go the long way to get what we've paid for.

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        payless69 on 23/05/2025 - 09:02

        Insurance companies employ loss adjusters. They are professional m/f's to avoid paying.

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  payless69 on 22/05/2025 - 19:41

  Op lets his partner drive and exit just behind traffic islands. Car comes round corner narrowed by isles and their op lets also partner drive.
  Cat fight erupts, no mobile shots taken of plates and licenses.
  Cause for popcorn?

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    tenpercent on 23/05/2025 - 11:22

    +2

    op lets also partner drive

    Wild! What will women be doing next? Wearing jeans and voting? /s

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  trapper on 30/05/2025 - 16:06

  Hey all, just looking for a bit of advice.

  Well in case it's not already obvious, you're at fault here. Or rather your wife is.

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