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What Should I Do After an Accident in a Parking Lot?

Legally Reviewed and Edited by: Terry Cochran

An accident in a parking lot, although often less severe than a high-speed collision on the road, can still be a stressful experience. It’s important to know the steps to take immediately following a crash to ensure everyone’s safety and streamline dealing with insurance and possible legal implications.

Knowing what to do in a parking lot accident includes ensuring everyone is safe, contacting the authorities, exchanging information with the other party, documenting the incident, notifying your insurance company, and Michigan car accident lawyer to protect your rights.

What to Do Immediately After a Vehicle Accident in a Parking Lot

Even though parking lot accidents typically occur at lower speeds, they can still result in considerable damage. Immediate action following a parking lot accident can preserve crucial evidence, protect you from potential liability and expedite the insurance claim process. In the moments following a parking lot accident, take the following actions:

  • Assess your injuries and contact 911: Immediately after the accident, check yourself and others for any injuries. If there are any injuries, call for medical help. This will dispatch emergency responders to the scene to perform treatment, including transporting you or your passengers to the hospital.
  • Ensure your safety: If you can, move to a safe area away from traffic or turn on your hazard lights to signal an issue if your car is not in a position to be moved. This could mean moving away from the building or out of a busy location in a parking lot, like the crosswalk in front of the building.
  • Contact law enforcement: Depending on the accident’s severity, it might be necessary to call the police. In Michigan, you must report your accident to the police if the collision caused bodily injury or death, property damage over $1,000, or if your car hits a parked, unattended vehicle.

Even for minor accidents, a police report can be beneficial when dealing with insurance companies. It creates an official record of your accident, which provides details such as the date and time of the accident, weather conditions, and vehicle descriptions that your attorney can use to help you file a claim.

  • Document the scene: Take pictures of the accident from multiple angles, capturing the damage to both vehicles and any relevant surroundings like skid marks, signage, or security cameras. These images support your case and help your lawyer reconstruct the events leading up to the accident.
  • Exchange information: Obtain the other driver’s name, contact details, insurance information, vehicle make and model, and license plate number. Your attorney can use this information to help you file a claim with the negligent driver’s insurer for damages.
  • Look for witnesses: If there were any witnesses to the accident, try to get their contact details after the incident. If possible, have them record a statement detailing what they saw. Their testimony can provide an unbiased account of what happened and can be used to support your compensation claim.
  • Seek medical attention: Even if you feel fine, getting checked out by a healthcare professional afterward is a good idea. Some injuries may not be immediately apparent. Symptoms of whiplash, like severe headaches and dizziness, may not show until hours or even days after the accident.

Visiting your primary care doctor or a specialist after a parking lot collision ensures you receive appropriate care. These professionals can evaluate you using various diagnostic methods, such as physical examinations and tests like X-rays and MRIs, to provide an accurate diagnosis and recommend a suitable treatment plan to help you recover from your injuries.

Receiving medical care also creates vital medical records your attorney can use to help you receive compensation. Hospital bills and medical records include details about the severity of your injuries and how they affect your day-to-day activities. Your attorney will use these documents to estimate the value of your claim and support your settlement request.

Tips for Building Your Parking Lot Accident Case

Michigan is a no-fault state, meaning that your personal injury protection (PIP) insurance will cover your injuries and damage regardless of who was at fault in the accident. However, if damages exceed a certain threshold, you may be able to sue the at-fault driver for additional compensation. Here are some tips for building a strong case when filing for compensation:

  • Never admit fault to the police officer: When involved in a vehicle accident, it’s natural to be overwhelmed and even feel an impulse to apologize or take the blame, especially if you believe you may have contributed to the event. However, remember not to admit fault, even to a police officer at the scene.

The moments following an accident are often emotionally charged and confusing, and your perception of the events may not be entirely accurate. Several factors that aren’t immediately apparent could have contributed to the accident, such as a malfunctioning traffic signal, poor road conditions, or the other driver’s behavior. If you prematurely accept blame, you might be overlooking these contributing elements.

Your statements can be included in the police report and might be used against you in court or during insurance settlement negotiations. This could result in you being held liable for damages and injuries that weren’t entirely your responsibility.

Parking Lot Accident In Michigan

  • Check for security cameras in the surrounding area: In the aftermath of a vehicle accident in a parking lot, one crucial step often overlooked is checking for security cameras in the surrounding area. Surveillance cameras can provide unbiased, factual evidence of the event, clearly depicting the incident, the involved parties, and the contributing factors leading up to the collision.

Security cameras are commonly installed in parking lots of shopping centers, office buildings, residential complexes, and public areas for monitoring and security.

These cameras record continuously, capturing every movement within their field of view, and may have recorded the accident. This can provide crucial details of the incident, such as the direction of the vehicles, speed, and drivers’ actions just before the collision. Security footage could prove invaluable in clarifying conflicting accounts of the incident and determining who was at fault.

Act quickly, as some security systems may overwrite footage after a certain period, often within days. If you identify a potential camera, contact the property owner or manager as soon as possible to preserve the footage. Depending on the privacy policies in place, you may need law enforcement or legal help to access this footage.

  • Keep a file of all your expenses: Create a file of all expenses related to the accident, including your medical bills and vehicle repair costs. This can include bills or receipts for:
  • Mechanic fees
  • Hospital or doctor visits
  • Prescription expenses
  • Rehabilitation costs
  • Caregiver fees

You can also include paystubs and W-2s to demonstrate the amount of wages lost since you sustained your injury and had to take time off to recover.

Organize these records in labeled folders or create copies for digital files, and include receipts, invoices, medical reports, and any other relevant documents. This documentation provides undeniable evidence of the accident’s impact on your financial situation and strengthens your compensation claim.

  • Maintain a personal journal: Starting a journal detailing how the accident affects your daily life can strengthen your compensation claim. Consider making handwritten entries or typing them in a digital file that your attorney can print and use to support your case.

Your first entry in the journal can include your account of the parking lot crash, including details about what happened before, during, and after the crash.

As you recover from your injuries, write a daily entry about any pain or emotional struggles you deal with, what treatments you undergo, and the impact of your injuries on your career, relationships, and mental health. Include a date and time on each entry, or use a journaling app like Penzu that automatically timestamps your writing.

  • Make your social media profiles private: Insurance adjusters may try to access your social media profiles to gather evidence to discredit your injuries. For example, you posted photos and videos about attending social events after your parking lot accident. Adjusters can use your social media posts to prove your injuries were not as severe as claimed.

Setting your profiles to private after a parking lot accident gives you more control over who can see your posts and access your personal information. This helps protect your privacy and ensures that only trusted individuals can access your online presence, reducing the risk of potential misuse or unwanted scrutiny.

  • Do not speak to insurers without legal representation: Do not speak to insurance adjusters without having legal representation after an accident. Insurance companies may use aggressive tactics to manipulate you into admitting fault, push for a quick and inadequate settlement, or misrepresent your benefits if filing a PIP or uninsured motorist’s claim.

Your attorney from Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C. can safeguard your interests when dealing with insurers after a crash. Your legal team will handle all insurance negotiations, provide expert guidance, and advocate for your rights.

Liability Complications in a Parking Lot Accident

Liability in your parking lot accident comes down to whether the other driver violated any traffic laws and if their negligence contributed to your harm. In Michigan, you must prove three elements in your parking lot accident case:

  • The other driver involved in the accident was negligent, meaning they failed to exercise the reasonable care expected of them
  • You sustained injuries due to the accident
  • The negligence of the other driver directly caused the harm you experienced

Your attorney can assess the circumstances of the accident and determine when to pursue legal action to protect your rights and seek compensation.

Michigan’s Traffic Laws

Many traffic laws are enforceable on public roads. For example, drivers must slow down and give the right of way to vehicles and pedestrians at public crosswalks, intersections, and highways.

Your lawyer can review surveillance footage and witness statements to see if the other driver has violated traffic laws applicable to parking lots. MCL 257.626 makes reckless driving illegal in areas open to the public, including parking lots. Michigan’s drunk driving law extends to both public and private areas.

Certain laws can complicate liability in a parking lot accident. If surveillance footage shows a driver cutting through a parking lot to evade a traffic control device, they could be in violation of Michigan law. According to MCL 257.611, drivers must obey a traffic light unless directed otherwise by a police officer. Driving on public and private property to avoid it is prohibited. Your attorney from Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C. can investigate if a driver broke this law by checking the location of the traffic control device and the path taken by the other driver.

Modified Comparative Fault Doctrine

Michigan’s modified comparative fault doctrine determines liability when seeking compensation through a personal injury claim. Under this doctrine, both drivers’ compensation or damages are reduced based on their percentage of fault.

If drivers are more than 51% fault, they are barred from recovering compensation. For instance, a driver backing out of a parking space must take reasonable care to watch out for oncoming traffic. However, if another vehicle passes and reverses as you are backing out of your parking space, they may also be at fault.

Your lawyer can minimize your liability by reviewing the accident details and gathering evidence on your behalf.

What Damages Can You Win in a Parking Lot Accident Claim?

If you suffer injuries in a parking lot accident, you can seek damages to cover your related expenses and intangible losses. Compensation can include benefits provided by your PIP insurance, which covers medical expenses and lost wages. It can also include settlements or damage awards you win in a third-party insurance claim or lawsuit.

  • PIP benefits: PIP insurance is required for all drivers under Michigan law. Although you can choose unlimited coverage on your PIP policy, you must have at least $50,000 in PIP insurance to drive legally.

Your PIP benefits will include coverage up to your policy limits for the following:

  • Medical expenses, including products, services, and accommodations necessary for your care, recovery, or rehabilitation
  • Wage loss benefits up to 85% of your wages if you’re unable to work
  • Household replacement services for up to $20 per day
  • Damage to other people’s property

You can receive in-home attendant care from a family member, friend, or business associate for up to 56 hours per week. If your care exceeds 56 hours, your insurance company must cover your attendant care.

  • UM/UIM insurance coverages: If your parking lot accident is a hit-and-run or the other driver does not have insurance, you can file with your uninsured motorist (UM) or underinsured (UIM) insurance. These elective policies are designed to cover accidents with uninsured or underinsured drivers and are maintained under your auto coverage.

Your attorney can investigate whether the other driver has insurance and their policy limits for compensating you for your damages. If their coverages aren’t enough and you have UM/UIM included in your auto policy, your attorney can help you file a claim to receive economic and non-economic damages.

  • Personal injury claim: In Michigan, you can file a third-party insurance claim against the at-fault driver if your damages exceed your PIP limits. This allows you to seek compensation for financial losses like wages, medical expenses, and rehabilitation after an accident.

It also lets you receive damages for losses such as emotional distress, humiliation, and pain and suffering. However, your injuries must meet the state’s severe injury threshold to win these damages. This means the accident must have resulted in a serious or permanent impairment of your vital body functions and affected your quality of life.

In personal injury claims, your attorney will begin by filing a demand letter with the negligent party’s insurance company. This letter will request a reasonable settlement and provide evidence to support the claim.

If the third-party insurer refuses to pay, you and your attorney can file a lawsuit, which initiates the litigation process. When you take this step, your lawyer will represent you in court, arguing your case for a judge and jury. This takes power from the insurance company and lets the court decide your damage award.

  • Third-party claim: Michigan’s mini-tort law allows you to seek compensation for your vehicle damage. If your vehicle sustains significant damage and the other driver is found to be 51% or more at fault, you can sue for up to $3,000.

Consult a Car Accident Attorney After Your Parking Lot Crash

Experiencing a car accident in a parking lot can be stressful and confusing. While it may seem like a minor incident, consulting a car accident attorney is critical to protect your rights and interests.

Your well-being and financial recovery are paramount. An experienced car accident attorney allows you to focus on your recovery while ensuring you have the support and legal representation needed to navigate the aftermath of a parking lot crash.

Our attorneys at Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. offer skilled legal representation tailored to meet your needs and provide the guidance you need to navigate what to do in a parking lot accident.

Our contingency fee basis means we only get paid if we win your case, so there is no financial risk to you to get started. Call our law firm today at 1-866-MICH-LAW and schedule your no-obligation, free case evaluation.

Disclaimer : The information provided is general and not for legal advice. The blogs are not intended to provide legal counsel and no attorney-client relationship is created nor intended.

Lynn Mayfield is a writer and has worked in finance and education. Lynn earned her Master's Degree in Education and now writes informative articles for various legal organizations. She enjoys drinking coffee and spending time outdoors.

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