During the three years from 2008 to 2011, a staggering 6,483 people were killed in non-traffic accidents. Non-traffic accidents refer to parking lot accidents—which are more common than you might think. You probably never considered the possibility of suffering severe injuries while sitting in a parked car; unfortunately, it happens. Many parking lot accidents that cause fatalities occur when vehicles strike pedestrians. Approximately 44% of the pedestrians killed in parking lot accidents were struck as vehicles were reversing. The other 40% of pedestrians were killed after cars drove directly into them. Even though many people believe that parking lots are safe, the statistics above prove otherwise—do not take your safety for granted while you are walking or driving through parking lots.
Were you involved in an accident at a parking lot? Were you injured in a parking lot after a car drove into you or your vehicle? What are your rights after a parking lot crash? Could you sue the party that caused the accident and caused your injuries? Could you receive compensation for your injuries? If you were involved in a parking lot accident that left you with injuries, you might have many unanswered questions. If you need information about your rights after a parking lot accident, you must contact a law firm that practices in parking lot accidents.
Normandie Law Firm is a personal injury firm that fights for the rights of all injured victims affected by parking lot accidents. If you were injured in a parking lot accident, you must speak with an attorney who can handle parking lot cases as soon as possible. When you contact our law firm and request to speak with our parking lot accident attorneys, you can be certain that our attorneys will provide you with all the information you need to gain a better understanding of your rights and of the steps you could take to exercise your rights. If you would like to have a comprehensive discussion about the possibilities of filing a parking lot accident claim, you must speak with a lawyer that has experience in parking lot accident lawsuits at your earliest convenience—contact us today.
What Injuries Do Victims Sustain?
If you were injured in a parking lot accident, you could have suffered a variety of injuries. The type of injuries you sustained might depend on how you were involved in the accident. If you were injured as a pedestrian, you might have suffered more injuries than if you had been a driver or passenger in another vehicle, for example. You might have suffered some of the injuries listed below:
- Head injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Neck injuries
- Back injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Joint injuries
- Broken bones
- Cuts, scrapes, and bruises
- Sprains and strains
Most victims of parking lot accidents suffer a combination of many of the injuries mentioned above. If you suffered an accident and were injured in a parking lot, you must seek medical attention and legal assistance as soon as possible.
What Causes Parking Lot Accidents?
Why do accidents occur in parking lots? Parking lots are often well-designed or laid out to maximize parking space and ensure reasonable safety. However, parking lot accidents and pedestrian accidents in parking lots are more common than they should be. Parking lot accidents can occur under the following circumstances:
- Drivers stop suddenly and get rear-ended
- Drivers back out of spots without looking and hit other cars or pedestrians
- Drivers turn into a spot too close to other cars and strike the cars
- Drivers back out into each other
- Drivers suddenly stop and turn without brake lights or turn signals
- Drivers make dangerous maneuvers to avoid shopping carts
- Drivers do not follow posted speed limits
- Drivers fail to yield to pedestrians
As you can see, there are many causes of parking lot accidents. Most of the causes listed above include drivers being negligent. However, not all parking lot accidents are caused by driver negligence. Poor safety conditions in a parking lot, such as poor lighting and stray shopping carts, could cause a parking lot accident and result in cars being damaged or pedestrians suffering injuries. In cases in which unsafe conditions resulted in an accident, the parking lot owners or managers could be liable.
Who is Liable for Your Injuries?
Who is at-fault in a parking lot accident? Liability in parking lot accidents depends on the specific details of your claim. For example, if the parking lot is private property owned and managed by a party, the owner or manager is liable for maintaining a reasonably safe parking lot. If the parking lot’s unsafe conditions contributed to the accident, the parking lot owner or manager could be liable. If your accident and injuries were a result of the negligent or reckless actions of another party, the other party involved could be liable. Liability is established based on the four elements of negligence—duty, breach, cause, and harm. If a party owes you a duty of care, the party could be liable or your accident. If your accident was caused by a party’s negligence, you might have the right to sue and receive compensation. It does not matter if you were a victim of a hit and run while you were waiting in your parked car or if you were injured as a pedestrian, you have rights. Parking lot accidents are the cause of thousands of injuries per year and the parties liable should be held responsible; you must contact our law firm as soon as possible.
What Compensation Could Victims Recover?
If you sustained injuries in a parking lot accident and are pursuing a lawsuit against a parking lot owner or driver liable for the accident, you might be interested in learning more about the compensation that you could receive. Although compensation cannot reverse your injuries and help you forget your unfortunate accident, compensation could relieve some of the financial distress caused by your parking lot accident. Every claim is different and results in different compensation; however, you should be familiar with the categories of compensation often available for recovery:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income
- Pain and suffering
- Property damage
- Loss of consortium
- Funeral and burial costs
- Punitive damages
There are many categories of compensation available for recovery. The type and amount of compensation you receive depends on many factors, some of which will be mentioned in following sections. Some categories of compensation are only available to those who file wrongful death claims. Whatever claim you are pursuing, you can be certain that the lawyers at Normandie Law Firm will always fight for your right to receive the maximum amount of compensation for your claim. Our attorneys understand how your parking lot accident suddenly changed the quality of your life, and they are dedicated to helping you recover all the compensation that you deserve for your injuries.
What Verdicts and Settlements have Past Claims Reached?
If you are interested in filing a claim for your parking lot accident, you might be interested in the verdicts and settlements in parking lot accidents in the past. No two parking lot accidents occur under the same circumstances; therefore, no two claims result in the same verdicts or settlement amounts. Below, there are a few examples of past verdicts and settlements for parking lot accidents involving both pedestrians and drivers:
- $24,590—a woman was driving in a bus station parking lot when her vehicle was struck by a bus, causing the woman to suffer soft tissue injuries in her back.
- $47,471—a man was walking to his car when he was suddenly struck by a car backing out in a parking lot. The victim suffered soft tissue injuries and a contusion to his right ribs. His injuries were determined to be 15% permanent.
- $100,000—a woman was exiting a parking lot through the designated parking lot exit when she was suddenly struck head-on by a vehicle being driven into the lot through the exit. The victim suffered from herniated cervical discs.
- $148,493—a woman was stopped in her vehicle when she was involved in a rear end accident in a parking lot. The rear-end accident caused sprains and strains in both her neck and back. She also suffered spinal fluid leakage which created nerve irritation.
As you can see, the verdicts and settlements that were reached in the cases above greatly differ. Although the values of the claims above could help you gain an understanding of your claim’s potential value, you should not expect to recover compensation similar to the cases listed above. For more information about the specific compensation you could receive and the factors that could affect the verdict or settlement your claim reaches, you must contact a parking lot car accident attorney.
What Affects the Value of Parking Lot Accident Claims?
There are many factors that could affect the value of your claim; therefore, it is essential that all of your claim’s details are thoroughly evaluated by an expert in parking lot accidents. There are many factors that could affect the value of your claim. Many of the factors that are taken into consideration when determining the value of your claim are listed below:
- The severity of your injuries
- The permanency of your injuries
- The victim’s past and projected medical expenses
- The victim’s lost wages
- The victim’s loss of earning capacity
- The victim’s mental and emotional suffering
- The victim’s damaged property
- The victim’s comparative negligence, if applicable
For more in-depth information about the factors that affect the value of a parking lot accident claim, you must speak with our experienced attorneys. The value of a parking lot accident case can vary depending on the details of the claim; therefore, your claim should be comprehensively evaluated immediately.
How Long Do You Have to Sue?
When you begin considering filing a lawsuit against the party or parties liable for your accident and injuries, you must proceed legally with a sense of urgency. All claims are subject to a statute of limitations—or a timeline to sue. Statutes of limitations establish the deadlines that apply to claims; if you do not file your claim within the timeline determined by the statute of limitations, you could lose your right to sue. Because of that, you must seek legal assistance and file your claim as soon as possible. If you were injured in a parking lot accident as a pedestrian or a driver or passenger in a vehicle, you must file your claim within two-years of the accident and your injuries. If your accident occurred in a parking lot managed by a government agency, you might be subject to other deadlines that could require you to file claims less than a year from your accident. In addition to the time established by the statute of limitations that applies to your claim, you should be familiar with any exceptions that might apply to your claim. The exceptions that might apply to your claim are based on the details of your claim and could toll or extend the time you have to file your lawsuit. For more information about the timeline that applies to your claim, you must contact a lawyer with experience in parking lot accidents as soon as possible.
What Should You Do after a Parking Lot Accident?
You might have asked yourself the following question: what to do after a car accident in a parking lot? There are many things you could do after a parking lot accident to ensure that you have the tools to file an injury claim at a later time. One of the first things you should do after a parking lot accident is to evaluate yourself for injuries. If you are injured, you must seek medical attention as soon as possible. In many cases, victims do not discover their injuries until many days or weeks after their accidents; whether it is immediately or some time after the accident, you must seek medical assistance as soon as possible—it is of vital importance to ensure that your injuries are correlated with your accident by a medical professional. If you are physically capable, you should take photographs. You should photograph your injuries if they are visible. You should also take photographs of the damage sustained by your vehicle or any vehicle involved. You should also make a note of any security cameras that could have captured the accident. You should also file a report of your accident; therefore, you might have to contact police or parking lot security. You should also gather witness contact information for future reference. After you have done everything mentioned above, you should seek legal assistance as soon as possible. Did you omit something? Are you worried about having lost your right to sue? Do not worry—our experienced parking lot injury attorneys will help you determine whether you can sue the party liable for your accident and your injuries. You must contact Normandie Law Firm as soon as possible.
Who Should You Contact?
If you are interested in learning more about your rights after suffering a parking lot accident, you must speak with a lawyer for accident that happened at a parking lot. The attorneys at Normandie Law Firm are experienced in filing lawsuits against parking lot owners, government agencies, and drivers that could have negligently caused your accident and your injuries. Our attorneys have aggressively fought for parking lot accident victims for claims made for death and serious injury. If you need legal representation, you must contact our law firm as soon as possible.
Normandie Law Firm has focused on making legal assistance accessible to all parties involved in parking lot accidents regardless of their financial situation. Unfortunately, many people with viable parking lot accident claims fail to seek legal assistance because they are intimidated by the expensive legal costs often associated with filing lawsuits. To remain accessible for all victims of parking lot accidents, our law firm offers free consultations and free second opinions to all parties injured in parking lot crashes. During our free consultations and free second opinions, our experienced parking lot accident lawyers will answer all your questions and all your concerns. Our lawyers will provide you with all the information you need to file a successful lawsuit against the party that caused your accident and your injuries. If you were left with unanswered questions, doubts, and confusion by an incompetent attorney with whom you had already spoken, you can be certain that our attorneys will do everything within their reach to ensure that your claim is back on the path towards success. It does not matter if you were injured as a pedestrian or as a driver or passenger in the vehicle—you have rights, and you could sue. Our experienced attorneys will fight for your right to receive compensation and will not rest until you are compensated for your injuries.
Our free compensation and free second opinions are available as part of our Zero-Fee guarantee—a guarantee that ensures that our clients never have to worry about paying any upfront legal fees. Our law firm is also based on contingency. Our strict contingency basis also ensures that our clients do not have to pay any legal fees until our lawyers win their claims, and they recover their compensation. If you need legal assistance, you must contact Normandie Law Firm and request to speak with our attorneys.
