Responsibilities for injuries that a person suffers in a parking lot are going to depend on the facts of the incident that causes the injury. If the owner of the premises has been negligent in any way then they may be held liable for any injury or damage to that person. On the other hand, the negligence of another user of the parking lot may be responsible for causing harm as well, such as another driver or pedestrian.

Oftentimes the owner of the parking lot has a duty to take reasonable care in the management of the parking lot, which means that there is an obligation to take reasonable steps to ensure the people using the law are not injured or their property damaged. This is true whether the owner is a person or a business. A property management company that is responsible for a parking lot has the same duty of care as a business owner and can be responsible for negligence resulting in injury or damage. This means that parking lots have to have certain precautions to make sure they’re as safe as possible.

This does not mean that every single situation that results in the injury is the responsibility of the property owner or manager. If the owner is taking reasonable care and precautions to prevent people from being heard on the premises, then the courts are likely going to side with the owner and not hold them responsible for damage or injuries to anyone in the parking lot. However, the injured person needs to be able to prove to the parking lot owner was negligent or breached their duty of care and therefore caused the injury. This requires showing that the owner knew or should have reasonably known that the unsafe conditions existed and still failed to take steps to remedy these conditions.

So let’s talk about common parking lot conditions that result in liability for the owner for parking lot management. There are a variety of conditions and cause injury to a person in a parking lot, and some of these hazards can cause falls or other accidents as well.

Trip Hazards

Such as cracks or uneven areas are potholes and other defects in the pavement that can cause a person to slip and fall. Therefore these hazards must be visibly marked and quickly repaired.

Snow And Ice

If your parking lot manager you’re going to know if your parking lot gets icy. And if your parking lot manager then you know that black ice is extremely dangerous. Therefore you have a reasonable duty to the people using your parking lot to ensure that you salt your parking lot and clean up the snow as soon as possible.

Slippery Surfaces

If the surfaces become slippery when they are wet then you have a duty to warn of the hazard to take action to remove the slick surface. This is especially true of parking lots, as this can cause issues driving and cause you to slip and fall. Much like with snow and ice, you should know how slick your parking lot gets when wet.

Poor Lighting

If there is poor lighting in a parking lot then the parking lot management is liable. For lighting, a parking lot creature is that a user could be the victim of a crime, therefore if there is a crime committed if somebody is injured or the property is damaged, you may be responsible for third-party liability. Not only this but having poor lighting makes trip hazards even more dangerous.

Criminal Activity

If an owner is aware there is criminal activity in a parking lot that they run and they failed to provide adequate security then they are going to be liable for parking lot users the victim of a crime.