Parking Garage Accidents
Parking garages offer drivers a convenient and efficient alternative to on-street parking, but accidents in these facilities can leave victims with serious injuries. Individual drivers and passengers, pedestrians, and employees of the parking garage can find it difficult to determine who is liable for injuries and damages in this type of accident. Consulting with an experienced and knowledgeable car accident lawyer can help victims claim the compensation they deserve.
Causes of Parking Garage Accidents
Parking garage accidents happen for a variety of reasons and leave victims with serious and sometimes fatal injuries. Car drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and garage attendants can all be injured in this type of accident. Common causes of parking garage accidents include:
- Distracted driving
- Speeding
- Failure to obey directional signals
- Failure to stop at intersections
- Backing out of a parking spot without looking
- Failure to yield to pedestrians
- Walking through the garage in undesignated pedestrian areas
- Rear-end collisions
- Design flaws in the parking garage
- Poor lighting
- Slippery road conditions
- Poor maintenance of the facility
Negligence and Liability
When the cause of a parking garage accident is due to negligence on the part of the property owner, liability can fall on them for injuries and damages. Poor lighting, failure to properly inspect and maintain the property, and lack of directional signs or stop signals can all result in negligence, which is a determination for liability.
Property owners have a legal responsibility to properly maintain their establishment and keep it free from unnecessary hazards. Broken stairs or handrails, icy or slippery sidewalks, poorly maintained roads, and even faded or damaged signs or road markings can cause serious accidents and injuries that could have been prevented with proper maintenance.
In some cases, drivers can be held liable for injuries and damages. Reckless driving, distracted driving, operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or failure to obey traffic signs and signals are examples of driver negligence. Injured victims may be able to claim compensation for injuries and damages through the driver’s private insurance company.
In rare incidents, pedestrians can be liable for their own injuries if they acted in an irresponsible manner that caused their accident, such as darting out in front of a moving vehicle, walking in an undesignated pedestrian area, and acting in a reckless or dangerous way. For example, if a pedestrian is injured because they fell while they were leaning over the side of the parking garage in an elevated area, the parking garage owner would not be liable for negligence unless the railing was broken. In any case, consulting with an experienced and knowledgeable car accident lawyer can ensure that injured victims claim the compensation they deserve.
New Brunswick Car Accident Lawyers at the Law Offices of Harold J. Gerr Help Victims of Parking Garage Accidents Claim Compensation
If you were injured in a parking garage accident, the New Brunswick car accident lawyers at the Law Offices of Harold J. Gerr can help. We will hold the negligent party responsible for your injuries. Call us at 732-537-8570 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation today. Located in Highland Park, New Jersey, we serve clients throughout New Brunswick, Somerset, Piscataway, Edison, South River, Sayreville, Metuchen, East Brunswick, South Plainfield, Fords, Middlesex, Old Bridge, Iselin, Bound Brook, Perth Amboy, and Colonia.
