In Philadelphia and other large cities, parking your car in a parking garage or commercial parking lot may be necessary. Many commuters and guests to the city use parking garages while they are at work, sight-seeing, attending concerts, or otherwise staying in the city. Many parking garages take care to ensure that the cars are safe, but they may neglect the safety of the people who park their cars there.
Parking garages are often poorly lit, have dangerous staircases or walking paths, have blind and dangerous corners, and may have poor security to prevent crime victimization. If you or a loved one was injured or was the victim of assault or sexual assault in a parking garage, talk to an attorney today. The Reiff Law Firm’s parking garage injury attorneys represent the victims of these kinds of accidents and injuries and work to get them compensation for their injuries. To schedule a free consultation on your case, contact our law offices today at (215) 709-6940.
Injuries from Parking Lot Car Accidents
Some of the most serious injuries that occur in parking lot car accidents happen when vehicles strike pedestrians. Many parking lots may not have good places for people to walk, and many parking decks have tight corners and steep ramps that cut off the driver’s view. This increases the risk that a driver may be unable to see other cars or pedestrians.
If you are hit by a car as a pedestrian, you could face serious injuries. Some of the most dangerous injuries in Philadelphia car accidents happen in pedestrian accident cases. Even at slow speeds, a driver may run over part of your body or hit you full-force. Without the protective shell of a car around you – and without even a helmet like bikers – you could suffer severe injuries like broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, and back and spinal injuries.
If you were driving another car when you had a collision with a negligent driver, you can face surprisingly severe injuries. Especially in rear-end collisions, you may suffer whiplash injuries. When your car is suddenly struck, it may jerk forward, causing your head to bobble in a whipping motion. This action can cause sprains and strains in your neck, as well as injury to the bones and nerves. Ultimately, many whiplash victims face long-lasting or even lifelong pain and discomfort from these kinds of accidents.
Low speed accidents in a parking lot can also injure your back. Depending on the condition of your back going into the accident, a car accident could cause surprising damage. Low back injuries are especially common after a car accident and may cause ongoing discomfort. Especially if you already suffered from back problems, a car accident may make your condition worse.
Types of Injuries in Parking Garages
Many of the injuries in parking garages are one of three types of injuries: dangerous premises injuries, car accident injuries, or crime victimization injuries. In any case, you may be able to sue the party who was directly responsible for the injuries (i.e. the driver in a car accident case), but you may also be able to sue the parking garage and their owners for their fault in the injury.
The property owner must ensure that their parking garage is safe and free from hidden dangers on the premises. These kinds of injuries can occur in a number of ways, each of which only occurs because the owner failed to keep the premises safe:
- Slip and falls on icy surfaces;
- Trip and falls on uneven or dangerous staircases;
- Falls in poorly-lit areas
- Tripping over debris; and more.
If you were injured in these accidents or a similar situation, you may be able to sue the parking deck’s owners for negligence.
Car accidents are also common in parking lots and parking decks. Though these collisions often involve lower speeds, they can still cause serious injuries. Especially if you were on-foot when you were hit by a car in a parking garage, you could face hospitalization and a lengthy recovery. If the accident occurred because of blind corners, unclear signage, or other dangers caused by the parking garage’s construction or layout, you may be able to take the parking garage owners to court.
Lastly, people wishing to mug, attack, or even sexually assault others may exploit the darkness and relative privacy of a parking garage to harm others. It is the property owner’s responsibility to ensure that the premises are safe for guests, which includes restricting access so that dangerous criminals do not enter the garage. Using patrolling security staff, security cameras, and other security methods is important, and the failure to provide adequate security could make them responsible for your injuries. Even though the crime could not occur without someone else’s intentional actions, the parking garage owners may share responsibility because of their negligent supervision.
Damages for Parking Deck Injury Cases in Pennsylvania
If you were injured in a fall, because of a car accident, or because you were the victim of a crime in a parking garage, you could face substantial costs and injuries. Filing a lawsuit often allows you to claim compensation for various types of legal “damages,” which are paid to cover the physical and financial harms you faced.
If you faced expensive medical bills, the damages from a lawsuit can cover them in full. This includes the cost of hospital visits, doctor’s appointments, medical imaging, surgeries, rehabilitation, and even medical equipment like wheelchairs and crutches.
If your injuries were severe enough to keep you from work, you could be entitled to compensation for your lost wages. These include the wages you missed during your recovery but also any wages you will miss in the future if you are too injured to go back to work or must take a lower-paying job with less demanding tasks.
Pennsylvania law also authorizes damages for pain and suffering. Though these damages are harder to calculate because they have no price tag, you can get substantial compensation for serious injuries. Evidence of how the injury affected your life and what kind of pain you experienced can help demonstrate to a jury that you deserve high compensation.
Some defendants will offer settlements to try to give lower payouts or save themselves the expense of a trial. In many cases, these offers will be lower than what you might be able to achieve at trial. Always talk to an attorney before accepting any settlement offers, because accepting a settlement may prevent you from being able to take your case to court if you are unsatisfied with the outcome.
Suing for Car Accidents in a Parking Lot in PA
When you get into a car accident in a parking lot, you may be able to sue for property damage and personal injury. Damage to your car may be surprising in low-speed crashes – but your primary concern should always be physical injuries. If you suffer any pain in your neck or back, or if you received serious brain or spinal injuries as s pedestrian, you may be entitled to sue the other driver and the owner of the parking lot.
Parking lot and parking deck owners should understand the risks their patrons face. If the parking lot had corners or ramps that are difficult to see around, the owner failed to put mirrors at corners, the lot was poorly lit, or there were no safe paths for pedestrians, they may be partly to blame for car accidents.
The driver that struck you may be held liable for the car accident, much like they could an auto accident that happened on a street or highway. The rules of the road still apply to parking lots; drivers need to follow stop signs, yield signs, and one-way signs. Failing to do so can result in dangerous car crashes. If the other driver struck your stopped vehicle or disobeyed traffic signs, it is often quite clear that they were at fault for the crash. This can help you prove fault when you take the case to court.
If there is more than one party to sue, the court can assign partial blame to each person. This means that you can file a case against both the parking lot/parking garage owner as well as the negligent driver. The jury can assess each party’s contributions to your injury and split the damages among both parties. This helps assure that at least one of them will be made to pay for your injuries.
Philadelphia Parking Garage Injury Lawyers Offering Free Consultations
If you or a loved one was injured in a parking garage in Philadelphia, talk to an attorney today. Our Philadelphia parking garage injury lawyers represent injury victims and fight to take their cases to court and get them the compensation they deserve. For a free consultation, call The Reiff Law Firm today at (215) 709-6940.
