Illegal Parking and Fault for Hitting a Parked Car

Attorney Answer

A parking violation by the other car does not by itself make the crash their fault, and in Florida a crash does not have to be all one driver's fault. Fault is divided by percentage. What the other car did wrong is one input; what happened in the seconds before contact is another; and your insurer's decision is a claims opinion, not a court's ruling.

Florida's shared-fault statute is § 768.81, and which version applies depends on when your crash happened, because the Legislature changed the rule in 2023 (ch. 2023-15, effective March 24, 2023).

For accidents before March 24, 2023, Fla. Stat. § 768.81(2) provided: "EFFECT OF CONTRIBUTORY FAULT. — In a negligence action, contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as economic and noneconomic damages for an injury attributable to the claimant's contributory fault, but does not bar recovery." Under that version, no percentage of fault ended a claim; it only reduced what could be recovered.

For accidents on or after March 24, 2023, the current statute keeps that proportional reduction and adds subsection (6), which bars any recovery by a party found to be more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm, with an exception for medical-negligence claims. Which regime governs your crash, and how the 2023 change applies to older accidents, is a question for a Florida lawyer rather than something to settle from a page.

Where does the parked car's violation fit? It is evidence. A vehicle left in a marked no-parking area is a circumstance a claims adjuster or a jury can weigh when assigning percentages. Florida's parking restrictions vary by the type of zone and by local rules, so treat that as a general point rather than a rule with a number attached.

It also cuts both ways, which is why insurers so often put a share on the moving vehicle. Section 316.1925(1) requires that any person operating a vehicle "drive the same in a careful and prudent manner, having regard for the width, grade, curves, corners, traffic, and all other attendant circumstances, so as not to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person." A badly parked car in a tight lot is one of those attendant circumstances. The question an adjuster asks is not only whether the other car belonged there, but whether the space you had left was one you could safely take.

Two practical points. Your insurer's fault decision is not final and not binding on a court; you can ask it to reconsider and give it what it did not have. And with a very small dent, what is at stake may be smaller than the cost of fighting about it — worth weighing honestly before you spend money or months on it.

What you can do

1. Ask your insurer in writing for the specific reason it found you responsible, and for a description of what it relied on.

2. Photograph the parking space, the yellow striping, any posted no-parking sign, and how much room was actually left to get past.

3. Request the crash report, or the call record if no report was written, from the law enforcement agency that responded.

4. Get a written repair estimate and keep photographs of the damage before it is fixed.

5. Ask a Florida lawyer whether disputing the fault decision is worth pursuing on damage this small, and what it would take.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who can hear the whole story is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Fla. Stat. § 95.11 sets the deadline for a negligence claim, and the period turns on when your crash happened: two years under § 95.11(5)(a) for claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023, and the former four-year period for accidents before that date. Your own policy also has notice and cooperation terms that run on their own clock. Nothing here calculates your date — have a Florida attorney check it against your facts.