That's not always the case. I live off of US Route 1 on the East coast and there are some houses on one stretch that pre-exist the modern road system, so as a result sidewalks and multiple lanes have caused the road to encroach on the property, and left the residents of those houses with inadequate off street parking. There are always cars parallel parked, all four tires on sidewalk, all the way down one stretch of road that is probably 1/4 mile long. If the residents had any other reasonable option, I'd complain, since they are completely blocking the sidewalk. Overall, I understand why people park that way and why you park the way that you do.

My problem with this womans attitude is that she was parked illegally and technically speaking her car got damaged during the commision of an illegal act, hers not the child. You can't block a public right of way.

If it was my kid and she sued. I would call and file a police complaint every single morning, noon, and night that I saw her car parked on the sidewalk from that point forward.