As a risk management and safety professional, I can tell you that one of the most overlooked risk exposures for many business owners or property owners is their parking lots or their parking garages. Too many focus on the liabilities associated with their operation, product, employees, fiduciary losses, invited guests, and take their eyes off the ball relating to the hidden hazards and exposures in their parking lots — until they are hit with a large loss claim.
There are many different examples of what could lead to liability for a business owner, property owner, or commercial parking lot owner if an invitee is injured while on the premises. Such liability can be convoluted by a variety of other exposures and hazards that exist on the property. For example, does the parking garage offer toiletry, are stairwells dimly lit, are homeless people sleeping on or near the premise, are people known to loiter on the premise, is the property in a high crime area, does the owner provide electric charging stations for electrically powered vehicles, is valet offered, etc.
Examples of liability are endless but concerning to most readers would be victims who are attacked while exiting or returning to their vehicles and are assaulted, robbed, injured, raped, and sometimes murdered.
Photos from WikiCommons
A good friend’s son was attacked at night in a parking garage in Cincinnati three years ago by two assailants who attacked him from behind, leaving him unconscious and severely injured. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical and dental bills.
In most cases, parking lot liability cases arise when security measures or supervisors fail to provide sufficient oversight resulting in a catastrophic event. Such events can also occur because of faulty or insufficient security measures, poorly lit areas, lack of monitoring entrances that allow unauthorized individuals to breach the premises.
Depending on the nature of the case, the lives of parking lot negligence victims are often changed forever. Liability for injuries a person suffers depends on the facts of the incident. If the owner of the premises has been negligent then they may be held liable. However, the negligence of another user, a driver or pedestrian, can also be responsible for causing harm.
Regardless the owner of the parking lot has a duty to take reasonable care in its management. That duty includes taking reasonable steps to ensure that people using the lot are not attacked, injured, or have their property damaged in the lot.
This is true whether the owner is a person, business, or a business hired to manage the property. A property management company has the same duty of care and can be responsible if its negligence results in injury or damage.
Of course, this does not mean that every single situation that results in an injury is the responsibility of the property owner. For instance, if the owner is taking sensible and reasonable precautions to prevent people from being hurt on the premises, it is less likely that the courts will hold the property owner responsible.
A parking lot owner has a duty to take care of the property — to prevent and fix dangerous conditions. However, they are not responsible for problems that they could not have anticipated or for hazardous conditions that are not obvious.
To prove a claim that the owner is responsible for their injury, an injured person needs to prove that the parking lot owner’s negligence, or breach of their duty of care, was the cause of their injury or loss. For this to happen the injured party is required to show and prove that the owner knew or should reasonably have known that the unsafe condition existed and still failed to take proper steps to remedy the condition.
For instance, if there is a large pothole in a dark area of the parking lot that is difficult to see and an invitee slips, falls, and/or is injured because of it, this could lead to a valid legal claim for damages. Or if an employee slips and falls on ice while walking to their vehicle then the business owner would be responsible for a worker’s compensation claim.
If someone is hurt by a criminal on the premises and the law finds that the parking lot owner was aware of prior criminal activities on or near their lot or did not take adequate steps to promote security, the injured person could possibly collect damages.
A parking lot accident can also result from inappropriate signage or when no sign exists in a dangerous and unmarked area. For example, a warning sign for a blind spot from approaching traffic, a “Stop” sign, a “Wrong Way” sign, or turning indicators should be mandatory.
All crosswalks must be appropriately marked and easily identifiable by pedestrians, and parking lot owners should utilize speed bumps to control speed on their property.
The owner and operator of the parking lot bear responsibility for making sure that the lot is properly marked and regularly maintained to ensure safe operation. In an unmarked area the owner should have known required signage, the owner could be found liable for an incident.
The parking spaces, traffic flow within the facility, stairwells, and exits must be lighted and well-marked. Lighting is one of the most important aspects of a parking structure and lot safety. Proper lighting practices can reduce the risk of theft, harassment, and assault.
When weather conditions such as snow or rain make a parking lot challenging to navigate or to use, the owner of the lot is required to have personnel or snow removal contractor on hand to ensure safety even if it’s a restaurant, manufacturer, realtor, or office building owner.
To help limit a property owner’s negligence the owner should document and engage in regular inspections of a parking lot they own to ensure hazards do not exist. Ongoing housekeeping is important for continued safety. When a parking facility is littered with garbage, it can appear as though no one is responsible for the area and that surveillance is lax. Regularly inspect the facility, cleaning debris and removing abandoned vehicles when applicable.
For larger parking lots or parking structures, call boxes should be conveniently placed throughout the facility and attendants should be always on duty. Easy access to emergency phones and intercoms can be critical. These systems are best installed in well-lit and easy-to-reach areas near elevators, lobbies, stairs, and parking spots.
Surveillance cameras (CCTV) and security guard services should be offered in high-crime areas. CCTV is a strong method of surveillance, as it creates an instant record of incidents. It’s important that you ensure that employees are trained on what to do when an incident occurs, otherwise you increase your liability.
As a business owner or property owner of a parking lot, you should have a professional risk assessment done by a security firm or by your insurance carrier/broker. These assessments can help identify major risk areas, providing strategies on how to address potential hazards. Risk assessments should be done early on to ensure that parking structures and parking lot owners are proactive instead of reactive.
Risk management is an ongoing process. The key to keeping patrons safe is knowing what hazards to anticipate and how to address them.
Be Safe My Friend.
