No Parking: Auto Accidents in Parking Lots By Sean Burke on March 28, 2015

As any driver who has had his or her license for more than a few weeks knows, crowded parking lots can be as dangerous as the busiest freeways, especially when parking spaces are scarce. While minor auto accidents such as fender benders are daily occurrences in parking lots throughout Southern California, major auto accidents can also occur. And these major auto accidents can, of course, result in major injuries to innocent victims.

There is a lot of misinformation floating around about parking lots and the laws that govern them. One of the biggest myths about parking lots is that the person backing out of a parking space is always at fault for an accident if his or her car is hit by a car that is driving in that lane of parking spaces. Another is that fault is always divided equally if two cars backing out at the same time collide into each other. While there are certainly grains of truth to many of these parking lot myths, negligent behavior is never excusable, even in a private parking lot. If you or someone you love has been injured in a parking lot auto accident due to someone else’s negligence behind the wheel, you have rights under the law. You need an attorney who can help you assert those rights and recover the compensation to which you are entitled.

At The Law Offices of Sean M. Burke in Orange County, auto accidents and parking lots combine to form the backbone of many of the cases we have successfully handled. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your case, don’t assume that your ability to recover damages comes down to “your word against their word.” We will use all of the resources at our disposal to investigate and reconstruct your accident and present the strongest, most compelling case possible on your behalf.

Common Examples of Negligence in Parking Lot Auto Accidents

If you were injured in a car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, or pedestrian accident caused by any of the following acts of negligence, or any other type of negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for the losses and expenses you have suffered in connection with your injuries:

Backing-out accidents: A vehicle collided with you or your vehicle while backing out of a parking space.
Sudden turn: A vehicle collided with you or your vehicle while making an unsafe turn, perhaps to grab an empty space or by failing to drive the correct direction down a clearly marked one-way lane.
Speeding: Even if a speed limit is not posted, the prima facie speed limit in parking lots is 15 mph as established by California law. Any speed in excess of what could be considered safe and reasonable under the circumstances may be considered speeding.
Failure to yield right of way: This type of accident often occurs when motorists enter and exit a parking lot, as well as when motorists ignore street signs (e.g., stop and yield signs) posted in parking lots, as though they were less applicable than on roadways.