Although you’ve probably spent years parking your car without incident, a parking lot accident is one for the books. These wrecks are usually minor, they may come with moderate to significant injuries, but usually, the biggest issue is frustration. Why is it possible to get in a crash in a parking lot?
Don’t people know parking lot etiquette? Yes, many people know how to park with a bit of common courtesy. However, that doesn’t stop some situations which seem completely unavoidable.
The Major Parking Lot Accident Types
There are a few very common types of crashes in parking lots. The first and most common type of parking lot accident is the “big blind.” Essentially two cars parked across from each other backout at the same time. It’s difficult for drivers to recognize that the other vehicle is in motion because they are either using their mirrors or looking back while reversing.
Second, is the stop sign crash. It’s self-explanatory, but you or the other driver may have noticed that the signs in parking lots are tiny. Why? Because parking lots are often private property and the stop signs are not enforceable. If a police officer responds, they won’t’ write anyone a ticket for not adhering to these tiny stop signs. Here the stopped vehicle carries no-fault.
Then there is the accident when two cars rushed to get to a spot. Clearly, both drivers here are a little in the wrong. No one should be in such a rush to find a parking space that they get in an accident. However, it happens, and it happens often — the fault goes to the person who cut across traffic to get into a spot. But there are times when the insurance company will consider how far into their turn that person was before the other vehicle hit them.
Who Has the Right of Way?
There are a few general rules when it comes to parking lot right of way. First, you should always respect stop signs. Even if they’re not technical stop signs, they can help determine fault. Second, the person in the traffic lanes always has the right of way. Third, whenever you’re coming onto a different lane, parking, or pulling out of a space, you should yield.
What is Traffic Lane?
The traffic lane is something of hot debate in parking lot crashes. Many claim that the traffic lanes are only those which feed into a nearby road. The concept is that the lanes where you park can’t be traffic lanes, because they are “parking lanes.” That’s not quite right, though.
In parking lots, all lanes are traffic lanes. The drivers in those lanes have the right of way. When two traffic lanes converge, the person turning into a traffic lane must yield to others.
A Car Accident Lawyer Can Provide Insight For Your Parking Lot Accident Claim
Determining fault is not as simple or easy as pointing at the other driver and saying that they did it. If you don’t hire a car accident attorney, then you’ll be hoping that your insurance agency has enough interest in the case to defend you. That’s often not the case.
Georgia’s use of contributory negligence in their negligence laws means that insurance companies hardly ever payout full compensation. In fact, your insurance company may not fight a percentage of fault for you at all. Make sure that you explain your situation clearly to your attorney. Doing so to your insurance company might have you failing prey to any one of their numerous tactics that will get you to admit partial fault.
If you were hurt then you a compensation payout with a 30% reduction will still leave you in financial crisis. Take control as much as you can, and hire someone to fight for what you need full and fair compensation.
Reach Out To An Auto Accident Attorney Atlanta
Working with an Atlanta car accident lawyer can give you an edge on your claim. Given that your crash happened in a parking lot, there may be issues with handling car insurance. The crash itself may even be the fault of the property owner.
Parking lot accidents come with all variety of problems. Contact The Weinstein Firm to learn more about what your claim needs. Working with us can lead to a strong claim that could lead to full compensation. Our attorneys will always pursue cases with a drive towards achieving full and fair compensation for any injuries.
