Unfortunately, parking lot accidents are a common occurrence. Each year, there are about 50,000 parking lot accidents, which account for about 20% of the total number of car accidents nationwide.
Like most car accidents, if you’ve been injured in a car accident in a parking lot, the most obvious party to blame is the other driver. This is the obvious choice mostly because drivers let their guard down while they’re in a parking lot. Whether they’re on the phone – texting, emailing, or talking – or fumbling with their personal items or bags, there are no lack of things to distract a driver from paying attention to their immediate surroundings.
However, parking lot accidents often happen due to conditions beyond the control of the other driver. While this doesn’t mean that the other driver is not to blame, it just means that there may be other parties who may share responsibility for causing your accident to occur. This can be beneficial to you if the other driver happens to be uninsured (3 out of every 10 drivers on the road in the State of Florida are uninsured), or if they are underinsured, meaning they elected to purchase a low amount of bodily injury coverage.
Common Causes of Parking Lot Accidents
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the potential causes (aside from a negligent driver) of parking lot accidents, but these are the most common that we see affecting our clients:
Poor lighting
Dangerous blind spots
Poorly marked lanes
Overgrown/unmaintained landscaping
Lack of signage
When a parking lot accident occurs as a result of a hazardous condition like those mentioned above, the owner and/or property manager will likely bear some responsibility, and each potentially could be named in a lawsuit arising from the accident.
How to Reduce Your Chances of Being Involved
in a Parking Lot Accident
There are a number of things you can do to reduce your chances of being involved in a parking lot accident. For starters, put your phone away and avoid the temptation of checking your email, texts, or checking your social media. If you regularly use a GPS app or system, make sure you program it before you begin to drive. Most importantly, if your vehicle is equipped with a backup camera, make sure it is operational and, even when using it, make sure you look both ways out of your vehicle’s windows before you start backing up, as pedestrians and vehicles can often be outside of the view of the camera.
If you’ve been injured in a car accident in a parking lot or elsewhere, the attorneys at SouthShore Injury Attorneys are experienced in representing motor vehicle accident victims throughout the State of Florida. If you’ve been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, contact SouthShore Injury Attorneys at (813) 419-3866 for a free consultation.
Free Information
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