When you think of personal injuries, what pops into your head? Perhaps it is a car plowing into another car on a highway. Maybe it is a car sideswiping a motorcycle or bicycle on a city street. Whatever the case, you are probably not thinking about parking lots, but many types of personal injuries occur in these exact places.
Of course, they include injuries inflicted by the drivers of vehicles, but there are other types.
Driver-caused injuries
Drivers in parking lots can be at higher risk for causing injury because the have limited visibility. There is a lot of backing up and maneuvering in parking lots as well as a lack of crosswalks and clear directions for pedestrians and drivers on where to go. Some pedestrians are children, making them harder to see. Plus, drivers may not always progress slowly, yet they have to be around slow-moving pedestrians and vehicles.
Driver-related parking lot injuries tend to happen at relatively low speeds but can still lead to serious health concerns such as broken bones and whiplash.
Slip-and-fall hazards
Many parking lots pose slip-and-fall hazards, even when icy or snowy weather is not an issue. For instance, curbs and sidewalks may be uneven or have potholes and cracks. Moreover, inferior lighting might conceal something that could make you trip.
Security issues
Speaking of inferior lighting, it can also cause security issues. Some parking lot personal injuries occur when someone is the victim of a crime such as an assault or mugging. If the lighting conditions had been better, the perpetrator might not have tried to commit the crime or the victim would have been better prepared. Whether the property owner can be found liable in such cases can depend on factors such as whether the neighborhood had a high crime rate and whether the lighting was nonexistent or had been broken and not repaired.