Slip and fall accidents are one of the most common legal cases lawyers take to court. Each year, hundreds of people fall and suffer a personal injury in a parking lot owned by a local business. These cases raise a number of questions about who the individual can sue when an injury occurs. Because parking lot injuries differ a bit from falls inside the store, these cases can be hard to try and require an experienced injury lawyer.
Liability in a Parking Lot Injury
Business owners are responsible for maintaining safe premises both inside and outside the establishment to a certain degree. When an individual has a slip and fall accident in a parking lot there are many elements that must be in place before a business can be held legally liable in a lawsuit. The truth is a business is not expected to prevent all possible injuries on their property. They are only required to eliminate reasonable and foreseeable risks. Still, a business may be held liable for a personal injury that occurs on their parking lot if other elements are in place.
Duty of Care
There are two things that must be in place for a business to be liable for a personal injury on a parking lot. The first is called presence of duty of care, and this means the individual suing must be owed a duty of care. Customers and employees qualify for this. Next, it must be shown that there was a breach in duty of care. Injuries that take place on a car dealership lot or grocery store parking area generally meet these qualifications, although a lawyer can go into more detail.
Cause and Injury
Next, the injury must have occurred through negligence on the part of the business owner. The injury cannot come from some other event because the lot owner is only responsible for unreasonable risks presented to customers and individuals. For example, dangerous conditions in a parking lot do not necessarily make a business liable if the danger is so obvious it should be avoided. Lastly, the hurt individual must have injuries that warrant a legal case against the business. A scrapped knee or bruised elbow is not serious enough for a lawyer to take a case to court.
Why Parking Lot Injuries are Different
Although businesses are required to maintain safe premises, a fall in a parking lot can be different than a slip in the store for a couple of reasons. To begin with, a business is not required to eliminate all risk of injury on the property outside. If it’s raining, for example, a store cannot be held liable for a wet pavement. Wet floors inside are a different story because the store should have mats to prevent slips and employees to keep floors dry. Some dangers outside are considered reasonable and a business cannot be held liable for everything.
In general, businesses are only liable for injuries that occur from negligence and a failure to eliminate reasonable risks. Parking lot injuries are often harder to prove in court because there are many safety risks outside that don’t make the owner liable. A lawyer is the best person to consult after a personal injury on a business parking lot. Although not all injuries meet the qualifications for a legal case, an attorney can discuss the details with the client to determine if the business is in fact liable.
Your Personal Injury Attorney Reno,
Steve Hess
