Who Is At-Fault When an Individual Is Injured or Killed in a Parking Lot Accident?

 Posted on September 25, 2020 in Car Accidents

Parking lots can be chaotic – especially when drivers are not following proper parking lot protocol. Drivers may cut across parking spaces, travel the wrong way, fail to yield to pedestrians and make other risky maneuvers. Although vehicles moving through parking lots are typically traveling at low speeds, there is still a potential for car accidents involving serious injuries or even fatalities. If you or a loved one were involved in a parking lot car accident, you may have questions about how liability is determined and whether you or your loved one are entitled to compensation.

Right of Way Rules in Parking Lots

Before you can recover compensation through a personal injury claim, you and your lawyer will need to determine the party or parties responsible for the accident. Liability for a parking lot accident is largely dependent on right of way rules. Drivers in “feeder lanes” or side lanes are expected to yield to drivers in the main thoroughfares. Drivers exiting a parking space must yield to all other vehicles. Every driver should be attentive to their surroundings and watchful for pedestrians. Children are especially vulnerable to injury in parking lots. Not only do children often run and dart between vehicles, they are also smaller and less visible to drivers.

Distracted Drivers and Unlawful Drivers

Despite countless public service announcements and programs designed to curb distracted driving, texting and driving and other forms of distracted driving continue to be a problem. If a driver was looking at his or her phone, GPS, or radio dial instead of looking at the road at the time of the accident, he or she may be considered negligent. If the other driver was intoxicated, he or she will almost certainly be considered at-fault for the accident. However, proving that a driver was distracted, inebriated, or otherwise not following the law is not always easy. Your lawyer may use police reports, surveillance footage, photographs of the accident, and other types of evidence to prove fault.

It should be noted that the liable party in a parking lot accident is not always another driver. If the accident occurred because of defects or inadequacies with the parking lot’s signage or pavement, then the owner of the parking lot may be the legally responsible party.

Contact a Lake County Parking Lot Accident Attorney

If another party’s negligence led to you or your loved one being injured in a parking lot accident, you may have a valid personal injury claim. You or your loved one could be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost income due to missed work, disability, reduced future earning capacity, pain and suffering, and more. Contact an experienced Waukegan car accident lawyer from Salvi & Maher, L.L.C. to learn more. Call our office at 847-662-3303 today and schedule your free initial consultation today.

Source:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=062500050HCh%2E+11+Art%2E+IX&ActID=1815&ChapterID=49&SeqStart=126100000&SeqEnd=127300000