Parking Lots and Pedestrian Accidents

 Posted on July 14, 2016 in Personal Injury

Hinsdale personal injury attorneyParking lots and garages can be dangerous for pedestrians, who have to navigate tight confines while sharing the space with much larger vehicles. Slip and fall accidents often occur in poorly maintained parking lots, and the hazard is compounded by the number of surrounding cars, whose drivers often do not pay adequate attention to those around them.

Pavement Hazards

Slip and fall injuries are frequent occurrences in parking lots and on sidewalks. Common hazards include:

  • Uneven or cracked pavement;
  • Wet, icy or snow-covered ground;
  • Oil or debris on the pavement;
  • Poor lighting;
  • Nonexistent or damaged stairwell railings;
  • Inadequate security; and
  • Confusing or inadequate signage.

To recover compensation for his or her injuries, a victim must be able to show that there was a dangerous condition or hazard on the property, and that the condition lead to the victim’s injury. Dangerous conditions on property are often caused by poor maintenance or shoddy construction. Owners and occupiers of property are required to exercise reasonable care to discover and replace or repair the damage, or to warn visitors of the risk of injury.

Parking Lot Car Accidents

Parking lots are filled with both vehicles and people on foot, and pedestrians are especially vulnerable in parking lots and parking garages. Because of the high volume of people and vehicles, accidents are quite common. Every year, over 9,000 pedestrians are killed or injured in parking lots or garages.

Pedestrian accidents in parking lots are often caused by a driver’s negligence. Drivers may:

  • Fail to pay attention to their surroundings;
  • Drive recklessly;
  • Ignore stop signs and yield signs; or
  • Fail to see pedestrians while backing out of a spot or turning down a lane.

Pedestrians are also sometimes at fault in parking lot car accidents. They also may fail to monitor their surroundings or dart into traffic.

Those on foot are in an extremely exposed position in comparison with vehicles, and so are much more vulnerable to serious injuries than are drivers or passengers. Fortunately, injuries in parking lots and garages are often less severe than those suffered pedestrian accidents involving vehicles on roads, because of slow speeds. But pedestrians still can be knocked to the ground and suffer head injuries, neck and back injuries, fractures, contusions, and other harm.

Gathering Evidence

In any personal injury case, the first thing to do is to seek medical attention. Victims should go to the emergency room if necessary, and if not, go to their own doctors as soon as possible. Immediate medical attention can help to prove the extent of the injury and to causally tie the injury to the incident.

Victims should also preserve factual evidence. They should:

  • Take photographs of the scene of the accident and of any injuries;
  • Write down the names and contact information of any witnesses;
  • Write down information about the incident;
  • Preserve medical records and doctor’s bills; and
  • Submit an accident report.

Then, the victim can begin pursuit of compensation for his or her injuries.

If you have been injured in a parking lot or garage or on a sidewalk, please contact the skilled DuPage County personal injury attorneys at Martoccio & Martoccio. Call 630-920-8855 for a free, no-obligation consultation regarding your case today.

Source:

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811144.PDF

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