What Makes Biloxi Parking Lot Accidents Unique

What makes Biloxi parking lot accidents unique is not only the premises liability issues that often arrive, but also the injuries that often incur. Children, elderly people, and pedestrians are often involved in these wrecks, and the injuries they sustain could be serious. It is in these moments where retaining the services of an experienced attorney could prove fruitful. An experienced parking lot attorney could work on fighting for the compensation you need while you focus on your recovery.

Parking Lot Wrecks Versus Traditional Car Wrecks

Parking lot accidents are different than other car accidents because the same safety rules of the road may not apply. Often there are no well-demarcated lanes and well-demarcated right of ways.

Parking lot accidents unfortunately often involve injuries to pedestrians, especially small children. For example, if someone is backing out of a parking place and looks in their rearview mirror and the child is too small to show up above the rear window and is not seen in the rearview mirror, then that could lead to catastrophic injuries.

In a parking lot, there are people coming to and from their cars, and because many of those pedestrians have small children with them which are not easily seen through car windows, it is all the more important to follow slower speed limits in parking lots and to take extra precautions to know what is behind or in front of a person’s vehicle before they proceed to pull into or out of a parking space.

Responses to Parking Lot Accidents in Biloxi

If the parking lot is private property, the immediate response is not altogether different than the response after an open-road accident; victims still need to call the police and any needed emergency medical services. They want to call law enforcement to get an accident report. They also may want to notify the property owner.

In Biloxi parking lot car wrecks specifically, victims always need to see whether there are any surveillance cameras that may cover the private parking lot to see whether there is evidence from which they could ascertain fault.

What is the Role of the Property Owners?

The role of a property owner after a parking lot wreck depends on the nature of the accident. There is a body of law in Mississippi that is called premises liability law. A property owner of, say, a parking lot could be held liable for injuries that are caused by dangerous conditions that are either created by the property owner or that the property owner knows or should know about.

If the parking lot spaces are well-marked and one driver recklessly pulls out of a parking place without looking to see what is behind them and hits another, that is usually not going to involve a scenario where the owner of the parking lot is going to come into play.

Where the owner of the parking lot may come into play is if there are barricades, for example, that are not properly marked that someone may run into. If parking lot lines are not well-maintained so that people do not understand the right of way, that could lead to potential liability against the parking lot owner. If the lighting in the parking lot is inadequate, that could lead to liability against the parking lot owner as well.

Is Dealing with Insurance Companies Different in Parking Lot Wrecks?

In most scenarios, insurance companies do not treat parking lot accidents any differently than accidents that occur on the road. They want to see who is at fault and they want to evaluate the damages, also known as losses. Where there may be a difference is if there is some factor that indicates the owner of the premises, as opposed to just the drivers in the cars, may also bear some liability.

Usually, an insurance company that is evaluating a claim in a parking lot on behalf of an insured who is claimed to have caused someone else’s injury may look into other individuals who share liability, such as the property owner. That is certainly unique to Biloxi parking lot accidents.

Contributory Negligence

Contributory negligence in parking lot cases in Biloxi means that everyone is responsible for their share of the fault. A determination is made in a case involving, say, a vehicle that backs into a pedestrian. The vehicle owner may claim that the pedestrian, at the last moment, stepped behind them and subjected themselves to the harm. The pedestrian may contradict this, so then it may be up to a jury to determine percentage of fault.

Biloxi is a pure comparative fault state, which means the injured person’s recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault that is delegated against the injured person. If the injured person proves $100,000 worth of damages and a jury determines that the person who backed into them is only 60 percent at fault and the injured person 40 percent at fault, in that scenario the injured person would recover $60,000 instead of $100,000.

Speak to an Experienced Attorney For Legal Help

The most important thing that one would want to look at when hiring a personal injury attorney for these types of injuries is, first, someone who has experience. Victims should find an attorney who has been there for a while, practicing for 10 or 20 years, and who has that wealth of experience. The attorney should have an understanding of the court system and a relationship with the insurance adjusters. Experience counts when one is choosing an attorney.

If you or a loved one was injured in a Biloxi parking lot wreck, then you need to contact an attorney who could help you make a full and complete recovery. Because of what makes Biloxi parking lot accidents unique, an experienced attorney is a must. Reach out today; consultations are free.