CAR ACCIDENTS
Parking Lot Accidents
During the holidays, parking lots for retail shops, shopping malls, and grocery stores are filled with cars and pedestrians. The increase in number of cars and pedestrians coincides with a greater number of car accidents and pedestrian accidents. Although the speed of the collisions may be low, the degree of harm to motorists and pedestrians, especially children, is high. Injured victims naturally have questions regarding fault for their injuries. These accidents clearly result in substantial physical injuries, medical bills, and lost income. The experienced attorneys at Slatter Law Firm will aggressively fight to recover the maximum compensation for your injuries.
Parking lots can be difficult to navigate. Some parking lots are multiple level structures where exiting and entering the structure proves difficult. Other lots are smaller with tight parking spaces, which makes avoiding a collision while parking or reversing difficult. Regardless of the size or characteristics of the parking lot, all lots have one thing in common: distracted or confused drivers. Therefore, there is an increased likelihood of an accident.
Parking lot accidents are caused by various factors. Below is a description of common causes for these accidents.
Parking lots are filled with many cars and pedestrians, including children. As a result, collisions occur when drivers fail to check their surroundings before pulling out of a parking spot. In most cases, the reversing driver is at-fault for these accidents.
Rear end collisions frequently occur in parking lots. These accidents occur when a front vehicle suddenly stops to avoid another vehicle or pedestrian, causing the rear vehicle to collide with the front vehicle.
Another common cause for these accidents is an abrupt turn. Because of the limited number of parking spots, drivers often engage in unsafe driving practices to obtain a spot. For example, drivers often make sudden turns or turn in a wrong direction in a parking aisle. This hastiness can result in a pedestrian accident with significant injuries.
These accidents are also caused by speeding. Parking lots generally do not have a posted speed limit. However, the law imposes a speed limit of 15 miles per hour for parking lots. Drivers that are speeding in parking lots may also be engaging in the above unsafe driving practices. Speeding greatly increases the severity of an injury from these accidents.
The same rules of the road apply to parking lots. Therefore, drivers must stop at stop signs, yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, and drive in the correct direction. Accidents are caused by drivers’ failure to comply with these laws.
Parking lot accidents are governed by the laws of negligence. The law requires drivers to operate their vehicles with care and caution to prevent harm to other drivers and pedestrians. In other words, drivers must drive at or below 15 miles per hour in parking lots, check their mirrors and surroundings before reversing, obey all traffic signs, yield to pedestrians, and generally drive with caution in parking lots. The above unsafe driving practices are breaches of this duty of care. If the driver’s breach caused the accident, the driver may be at-fault for your injuries.
These accidents often result in significant physical injuries that require lengthy and expensive medical treatment. However, if your accident was caused by another driver’s negligence, then you are entitled to recover compensation for past and future necessary medical treatment, lost income, and pain and suffering. In order to recover all the compensation that you deserve, you should hire an experience parking lot accident attorney, who will aggressively negotiate with insurance companies and obtain all evidence showing the fault of the driver.
Contact Us Today
Contact a Los Angeles personal injury attorney today if you or a loved one was involved in an accident involving a dangerous road condition. Slatter Law Firm has been helping individuals injured due to car accidents and slip and falls throughout Los Angeles and Southern California for over four decades. To schedule a free consultation, call our office at (310) 405-0964 or contact us online.
