Legal Question in Personal Injury in Wisconsin

traffic accident

with my car legally parked, i went to get something out of it at approximately 1:30 a.m.i retrieved the item, checked the rearview mirror to check for oncoming traffic from behind,didnt see any, opened my door, and promptly got the door hit by a car. i called the police and when they arrived, told them what happened. they proceeded to give me a ticket for obstructing traffic, failing to take notice there was a full lane and a half of roadway this person could have swerved into to avoid hitting my car. at no time did i see the officers give a breathalyzer to the driver. the also did not take my drivers license, and also assuming they did not take the other drivers information. i feel the driver should have been cited for inattentive driving (or similar), and should be held responsible for the damage to my car.


Asked on 2/07/99, 12:04 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
JAY Nixon nixon law offices

Re: traffic accident

These are always tough accidents from a liability

standpoint. Lawfully parked cars, of course,

have a right not to be hit, but drivers also have

a right not to have their lane obstructed. I

would recomend orderring the accident report and

seeing how they wrote it up. You will also be

able to get the other driver's information from

the report. If nobody was hurt, you can then sue

in small claims court for your damages and let a

judge decide (or turn the claim in to your

insurance and let them worry about it). If there

were injuries, you should get representation. Feel

free to discuss further via private e-mail or call.

Jay K. Nixon

Harvey,Nixon & Fisher

P.O.B. 1555, 333 Main St


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Answered on 2/09/99, 6:19 am


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