who should get a ticket?

Question

my friend and I were getting of a rental car, she is out I am retrieving a wallet that fell under seat my foot is out of car, door open, go to finish exiting.. car arrives without warning at the same time to park, wind (was stormy) finish opening door I jump back when I see the car hitting my door all at the same instant. Then the guy jumps out and starts yelling at me I am shaking waiting for the sheriff to fix it, he gets me a ticket for opening door in a driver lane, he gets nothing; he tells me there is no speed limit in a parking lot! how about pedestrian right of way he laughed the guy who hit us was a local young firefighter, ex soldier you think he will try to prevent accident and let the people finish get out of the car! now to make it worse she is the driver and insured I happen to get out of the driver seat so my liscense was asked and was assumed I was the driver we both have accents even though I been a res. of usa for 24 yrs. and she is an md., phd., working here for 4.

Answer 1

It is illegal to open the drivers side door into oncoming traffic. Whoever did it was wrong.

Answer 2

That really sucks. But in the vast majority of states, if you open your door into the path of another moving vehicle you are automatically held 100% at fault for the collision. Just think, if the other guy had been on a bicycle instead, you could've sent him flying over your door and seriously injured him. Mister gung-ho army-boy firefighter may well have been driving like a nut (and a lot of them do, judging by some of my friends), but you're responsible for looking behind and around you first. There's a slim-to-none chance you might be able to get out of the ticket with an "Act of God" defense by explaining to the judge that the unusually heavy wind whipped your door open into the path of the other car without warning (hey, it can't hurt to try it), but I doubt you can get out of paying for the damages to the rental car and the car that hit you.

Answer 3

You are going to get the ticket because you should have look

before you open the door even though the guy was driving

fast in the parking lot.

Answer 4

do what?

Answer 5

what?