Who is Liable If I am Injured in a Parking Lot?
If you have been injured in a parking lot, the circumstances will determine who is liable for your injuries. In general, parking lot owners have a reasonable duty of care to ensure no one becomes injured on their property.
Reasonable duty of care means that if there are defects in the pavement, the owner needs to repair them; if it snows and becomes icy, the property owner should have it cleared and spread ice melt. The property owner is responsible for eliminating any hazard that could potentially cause someone to slip and fall.
It does not mean that a parking lot owner will always be liable for an injury that occurs on their property. If they have taken reasonable care and action to prevent harm to others, it is unlikely a court will hold the owner responsible.
Both indoor and outdoor parking lots are subjected to a great deal of wear and tear. Lot owners must be vigilant in checking for and repairing dangerous conditions. In order to prove a negligence claim, you must be able to show the owner was negligent in their duty of care to prevent harm to you and others. This will be determined by the “but for” test. For example, but for the parking lot owner’s negligence in repairing a deep crack in the pavement, you would not have fallen and broken your ankle.
You will also need to prove that the owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to repair it in a timely manner. An owner will probably not be found liable if an event or defect that caused injury was not predictable, which means the lot owner would not have been able to repair the defect.
Injuries Resulting from Criminal Activity
A parking lot owner should take steps to help keep the parking lot safe. However, lot owners are not generally held liable for random acts of violence that may occur.
Some parking lot owners may have a duty to protect cars parked in their lot. Others will post signs stating they are not responsible for theft in an attempt to circumvent this responsibility. Courts vary on whether or not they will hold parking lot owners liable, especially if the customer was unaware of any warning.
Shea Law Group
If you or someone you care about has suffered an injury while on a parking lot, and the injury was due to the nature of the parking lot, we recommend discussing your case with a knowledgeable Waukegan personal injury attorney from Shea Law Group. Call us at (877)-365-0040 or fill out a contact form online. You have nothing to lose as we never charge a dime unless we win a settlement for you.
