Can You Sue for Falling in a Parking Lot? How to Determine Liability for Injuries

Build a winning claim for parking lot slip and falls and other injuries. Here’s how to establish liability and get fair compensation.

Parking lots and garages are prime locations for slip and fall accidents. Additionally, more violent crimes occur in parking areas than in any other public area.²

If you’ve been injured by a fall in a parking lot, hit by a car while walking, or were the victim of a crime, the property owner may be liable for your damages. Here we discuss how to prove liability and build a personal injury claim.

When the Parking Lot Owner Should Pay

When the parking lot owner knows or should know about a problem and fails to fix it, the owner is negligent. If their negligence results in injuries, then the owner is liable for the injured person’s damages.

Property owners have a legal duty of care to keep their premises safe. Garage and lot owners are obligated to do what any reasonable owner would do, such as making periodic inspections, making timely repairs, and anticipating common hazards, like snow or ice.

Lot and garage owners don’t have to keep their premises completely safe from all possible harm. It’s nearly impossible for a parking lot owner to discover every newly formed crack, pothole, or dangerous condition. For an owner to be held liable, the danger must be apparent or the owner must have received notice of the danger.

The owner must also have a reasonable amount of time to repair the dangerous condition once they know about it.

A property owner may be liable when:

  • A crack, pothole or other dangerous condition is large enough to be easily seen
  • An employee or other person already reported the problem
  • The owner is aware of criminal activity in the area

Just because you’re injured doesn’t mean the property owners are liable. When you’re filing an insurance claim or a lawsuit, the burden of proof is on you.

To prove liability, you must show:

  1. The parking lot owner was aware or should have been aware of the dangerous condition.
  2. The owner failed to take steps to correct the dangerous condition or to warn visitors.
  3. The owner’s negligence was the direct cause of your injuries.
  4. Your injuries are real and verifiable.

Proving negligence is a bit tricky. The property owner’s insurance company might argue that the dangerous condition was so obvious as to deter a “prudent” person from putting themselves at risk. In other words, if that pothole was big enough, you probably should have seen it and avoided it.

No-Fault MedPay Coverage

Many commercial property owners carry policies with Med-pay coverage, similar to a homeowner’s policy. With Med-pay, you won’t have to prove the parking lot owner was negligent to get your medical bills paid.

Med-pay coverage is limited to actual medical expenses up to a few thousand dollars. It won’t cover lost wages or pain and suffering.

When the Victim Shares Fault

Sometimes the injured person shares blame for causing their own injuries. This is known as comparative fault.

Most states follow a modified comparative fault rule. In comparative fault states, you might still be eligible for compensation, depending on your share of the blame. However, your compensation will be reduced according to your share of fault.

Example: Comparative Fault Reduces Slip and Fall Claim

Todd spent a cold January evening in a trendy downtown sports bar with some friends, including Jane, who was the designated driver. Around 2:00 am, they left the bar.

Walking through the parking garage, Jane stepped over a strip of ice on the way to her car. Todd didn’t notice the ice until he slipped and fell hard, suffering broken bones in his arm and hand. His damages added up to $20,000.

Todd filed a claim with the parking garage owner’s insurance company. Todd had learned that the parking garage often had a stream of water run-off in that section. The owner should have known it would freeze overnight and was negligent for not taking steps to treat the ice.

The insurance company argued that Jane was able to avoid the ice, but Todd wasn’t watching where he was going because he was intoxicated. Under comparative fault rules, the insurance company decided Todd was 50 percent to blame for his slip and fall injuries, so the adjuster only offered $10,000 in compensation.

The claims adjuster doesn’t get to have the final word on shared blame. Contact a personal injury lawyer if you think you’re not being treated fairly.

Evidence to Support Your Injury Claim

Strong injury claims are supported by good evidence. Begin collecting evidence from the moment you’re injured, as best you can.

Photographs and Video

As soon as possible, take photos and video of the dangerous condition that caused your injury. If the area has poor lighting, don’t alter the pictures. Poor lighting is also a hazardous condition.

If you don’t have a measuring tape, use any other object you can place near the condition to show its size. For example, a fast-food drink cup in a pothole can help show the depth and diameter of the hole that caused your fall.

If your injury was a result of uneven pavement or other tripping hazards, try to take pictures from a variety of different angles.

Witnesses

Witness statements are invaluable. Independent witness testimony is very credible because the witness has nothing to gain by telling what they saw.

Get the name and contact information of anyone who saw the dangerous condition and how it injured you. If the witness is willing, use your cell phone to video their statement.

Surveillance Footage

Many parking areas these days have security cameras. Property owners often won’t voluntarily give you the footage without a subpoena. If they refuse to hand it over, let them know you expect them to preserve all pictures, films, and any other records from that day as evidence.

Police Report

Always call 911 to notify law enforcement of a robbery or assault, and to ask for medical help. The investigating officer will write a report of the crime. Police reports can be requested for a small fee.

Proof of Your Damages

If you don’t have documented injuries, you don’t have a case, no matter how upset you are with the property owner or management.

It’s difficult to win compensation for emotional distress without corresponding physical injuries. It may be possible if you had a traumatic experience, like robbery or assault, and records from a treating psychologist or psychiatrist.

Evidence of Injuries: Never delay or refuse treatment after an injury. If your injuries didn’t require emergency care, see your physician or go to an urgent care center as soon as possible. Lack of immediate treatment can break the link between your injury and the dangerous condition, which would sink your injury claim.

You’ll need copies of your medical records and bills to prove you were hurt, and to establish the value of your claim.

Lost wages: Ask your employer to verify the amount of wages you’ve lost, including vacation and sick days, and any bonuses or other compensation you lost due to the injury.

When To Contact an Attorney

If you have fully recovered from minor injuries, you may decide to handle your own insurance claim. You can seek legal advice about a parking lot accident at any point in the negotiation process.

Calculate your compensation by totaling the cost of your medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, and the cost of ruined clothes or other personal items. Add one or two times that amount for pain and suffering.

Send your settlement demand in writing with copies of your bills, receipts, and any other evidence you’ve collected.

After a couple rounds of negotiations with the adjuster, you should be able to reach a settlement.

Help With Complicated Injury Cases

You’ll need a skilled personal injury attorney to pursue fair compensation for serious injuries or complex legal issues like wrongful death, shared blame, or multiple liable parties.

Most law firms offer a free consultation for premises liability claims. An accident attorney will typically agree to work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t owe attorney fees unless your case settles or you win in court.

It costs nothing to find out what an experienced personal injury attorney can do for you.

Parking Lot Injury Claim Questions