Car Accidents In Parking Lots

Parking is usually one of the least memorable parts of driving.  Despite this, notable parking incidents can be associated with negative emotions, such as when you missed the beginning of a much-anticipated concert because you couldn’t find parking or ended up with a parking ticket that cost as much as the concert ticket, or positive ones, such as when you and your future spouse shared your first kiss in a parked car or when you finally successfully parallel parked between two cones in driver’s ed class after many failed attempts.  Car accidents can happen anywhere that cars travel, including parking lots.  The injuries that result from parking lot accidents are usually not very severe, because the cars are usually not moving very fast, but they can still result in costly medical bills.  If you are feeling the physical and financial pain after a car accident in a parking lot, contact a Columbia car accident lawyer.

Who Is at Fault for a Parking Lot Accident?

In any car accident claim, the insurance companies must determine who bears what percentage of the fault for the accident and use this determination as a basis for calculating settlement offers.  These are some common scenarios that lead to car accidents in parking lots:

• One car that is backing out of a parking space collides with a car that is passing by. These accidents are usually the fault of the driver who was backing out, since the cars traveling straight have the right of way.
• One car rear ends another as they drive between rows of parked cars. These accidents are usually the fault of the rear driver, since one should expect the other cars to make frequent stops in a parking lot as they wait for other drivers to back out of spaces.
• A car collides with a stationary structure in the parking lot as the driver tries to maneuver into a narrow or irregularly shaped parking space. Since this is a single-vehicle accident, the driver is at fault unless he or she can prove that the premises owner was negligent in designing inherently dangerous parking spaces.
• A car hits a pedestrian or bicyclist in a parking lot. These accidents are almost always the fault of the driver of the car.

Can Serious Injuries Result From Parking Lot Accidents?

Most car accidents in parking lots do not result in serious injury, because the vehicles are not traveling very fast and they do not strike each other head on.  It is still possible for a parking lot accident to cause injuries serious enough to require medical treatment, and the medical bills for a relatively minor injury can still be financially disastrous.

Let Us Help You Today

The premises liability lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you recover damages after an injury resulting from a preventable accident that took place in a parking lot.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Source:

scstatehouse.gov/code/t56c005.php