New Jersey Parking Lot Accident Lawyers 

Helping Clients Seek Compensation After a Parking Lot Accident 

Most parking lot accidents involve vehicles traveling at a low speed, with bent fenders or doors as a result. But all too often these accidents result in serious injuries and even deaths, especially when pedestrians are involved. A parking lot can be at a place of employment, enjoyment or shopping. No matter why you’re there, pay attention and be careful — whether you’re driving or walking in a New Jersey parking lot.

Call DeZao & DeZao, P.C. today at (973) 358-6134 or contact us online to schedule a meeting with our parking lot accident attorney in New Jersey!

How Often Do Parking Lot Accidents Occur?

Parking lots can be especially hazardous for pedestrians. A 2012 study of parking lot design and safety by John Stark of Montgomery County, Maryland, reported that:

• 22% of their total pedestrian-automobile accidents between January 2006 and June 2008 occurred in parking lots.
• Almost one in five parking lot accidents involving pedestrians resulted in incapacitating injuries.
• From 2004 to 2009, parking lots usually had the lowest number of severe collisions, but they were the site of 15% to 30% of severe injuries occurring in accidents in the county.

Motorists who use parking lots can quickly become distracted pedestrians, Stark wrote. Drivers look for that golden parking spot through cars and across lanes to see if they can hurry to grab that last good spot. Most of us have been drivers in a hurry or distracted pedestrians in a parking lot.

Who Has Right-of-Way in a Parking Lot?

We have used parking lots so often that our behavior has become automatic, with little thought involved. A driver may not be indeed focused on driving or parking the car. While scanning the scene for the right spot or pulling out of one, a driver may not notice other vehicles or pedestrians around the vehicle.

Many considerations can go into who is at fault in a parking lot accident. Parking lots have right-of-way rules, but drivers can find some situations confusing:

• When vehicles are in a thoroughfare or a feeder lane. A thoroughfare is a lane that exits to a street. Feeder lanes are smaller lanes that end and begin at the thoroughfare. Those on a thoroughfare have the right-of-way over those coming out of feeder lanes.
• A vehicle moving out of a parking space must yield to those driving through the lane. Like a car leaving a driveway onto a street, a vehicle in a parking space doesn’t have right-of-way over those in the feeder lane.
• All stop and yield signs in a parking lot need to be observed as they would on any street. Failure to obey posted signs can leave you at fault in a resulting accident.
• Vehicles should yield to pedestrians.

Weather, poor maintenance, and poor lighting may also contribute to an accident. Not only may a driver be at fault, but those owning or maintaining the parking lot may also be liable if the area isn’t lit properly or cleared of ice or snow.

Contact Our New Jersey Parking Lot Accident Attorney Today

If you or a loved one has been injured in a parking lot accident because of someone else’s negligence, an experienced attorney at DeZao & DeZao, P.C., can help. A time limit applies when a New Jersey personal injury lawsuit can be filed, so don’t wait to contact a motor vehicle accident attorney in Parsippany, NJ. The sooner you seek medical treatment and legal counsel, the better.

We accept most auto accident cases on a contingency basis, which means you’ll pay for our services only if we recover money in your case. 

Contact DeZao & DeZao, P.C. today to schedule a meeting with our parking lot accident lawyer in New Jersey!