If a vehicle pulls out into oncoming traffic, an accident can occur. Of course, there may be other reasons why an accident has occurred in a parking lot. These examples are just the most common events. The Florida law for reporting a car accident in a parking lot is just the same as if you were on the open road. Florida is a no-fault state. You should notify the police immediately if an accident occurs.
If there are any injuries, you should notify the dispatcher when you call in the accident so that emergency services can be sent to the scene. However, if there has been an injury or severe damage to a vehicle and it cannot move, you do not have to worry about moving either car.
When the police arrive, you will need to provide your identification, insurance information, and provide a statement of the event. Once you have been released from the scene, you should seek any necessary medical care and contact your insurance company. Before giving any official written or verbal statement to the insurer, you should contact an attorney to protect your rights. As Florida is a no-fault state , many people wrongly think that they cannot be held accountable for an accident that they cause.
The same goes for left turn accidents, i. The turning driver in this situation failed to observe right-of-way rules and would be considered at fault for the parking lot accident.
In addition to accidents that occur in a parking lot's through lanes and parking lanes, collisions also occur when two vehicles are backing out of spots on opposite sides of the same parking lane. In this scenario, fault can be difficult to determine because, under the legal doctrine of negligence, both drivers have a duty to make sure that it's reasonably safe to back into the lane of travel before doing so.
When one vehicle has already started to back up, the driver of the vehicle on the opposite side of the parking lane should take reasonable care to observe the other moving vehicle and wait before proceeding to exit the parking space. If the driver does not do so and strikes the other moving vehicle, he or she will likely be deemed at fault for the accident. However, when it is unclear which vehicle began to back out first, and there is a collision in the middle of the parking lane, a determination of fault is much harder to make.
Unfortunately, these instances of "simultaneous backup" seem to be the most common type of parking lane accident, and you should not assume you are at fault just because you backed into another vehicle while exiting your parking space. Fault determinations are important for the drivers involved in parking lot accidents, especially when it comes to whether your car insurance policy will cover damage to the vehicles and any personal injuries that occur. Not only does fault for a parking lot accident usually determine whose car insurance policy will apply, it can also have a financial impact on the driver who is ultimately found to be responsible for the crash.
If that driver is uninsured , they'll be personally on the financial hook for anyone else's injuries, vehicle damage, and other losses. And even when a driver is insured, if their coverage is liability-only meaning it only applies to cover losses suffered by the other driver their own vehicle damage might go uncovered unless they've purchased collision coverage.
It's not uncommon for drivers and especially pedestrians or bicyclists to suffer significant injuries in a parking lot accident. If this happens, the spectrum of losses that the injured person might be entitled to compensation for includes:. These losses and more called " damages " in legalese can be covered in an insurance settlement, but if the two sides can't come to a satisfactory resolution in the insurance claim process, the next step would be filing a lawsuit in court over the accident, where the party found at fault would be ordered to pay the winning party's damages.
Learn more about car accident lawsuits. Protecting yourself and your legal rights starts at the scene of your parking lot accident, and best practices are no different from those you'd follow if you got into a crash on the street or on the highway.
For starters, be careful what you say at the car accident scene —don't admit fault even if you think you're to blame, most importantly—and let the insurance companies sort everything out through their own claim investigations. But do make sure you gather evidence related to the accident, take photos of vehicle damage and of anything else that might be relevant to a fault determination, and try to get the name of the owner or operator of the parking lot, in case you need to inquire about the availability of security camera footage or other video evidence.
Learn more about what to do after a car accident. Sep 28, — No. The passenger has no responsibility. Parking lot accident: Who is at fault? If two cars collide while both are attempting to back out of a parking space, neither has the right of way and they may be held equally at fault. Typically, if only one car is moving at the time of the parking accident, the driver of the moving car is usually at fault. So if one car is legally parked and 8 ….
Mar 4, — For drivers exiting a parking spot, always yield to the cars moving in the lot. Some common causes of fender benders and car crashes in parking lots include: Do not discuss fault with the other driver or drivers. Jan 28, — If a driver backs out of a parking space and hits another vehicle, pedestrian or cyclist, they are typically at fault for the accident. The parked car is not moving. The driver is moving. The driver that 13 ….
Of course, every rule has exceptions. There are so many different possibilities that can occur when you hit a 14 …. Jan 7, — When leaving a parking space, you must yield to all oncoming traffic, as they have the right-of-way. You are responsible for ensuring that it is 16 ….
If another customer or a 17 …. Feb 18, — Some of these parking lot accidents result in nothing more than minor vehicle damage, and determine who was at fault for the accident. The driver who was backing out is almost always at fault in these crashes, with one exception; when two drivers are backing out simultaneously and collide with 19 …. Both drivers had an obligation of ensuring that the road is safe before backing out, under the legal doctrine of negligence.
The driver that exited the parking lot first is not at fault. The vehicle that exited later had a duty of taking reasonable care and observing the moving vehicle before backing out. However, it may be difficult to determine fault if the accident happens in the middle of the parking lane. It may be challenging to tell the driver that began backing out first in that case.
You are not at fault if your car is hit while parked and you can get an accident replacement car while your car is fixed. However, if your door was open, the liability for damage may be split between you and the offending driver.
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