It can be challenging to figure out who is liable after you get injured in a parking lot collision. A Forest Hill parking lot accident lawyer from Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers can sort out the liability issues and help you go after compensation from the at-fault party.
Louisiana gives you little time to take legal action. If you miss the deadline, the law could prevent you from ever going after monetary damages for your injuries and other losses.
An Overview of Parking Lot Accidents
The National Safety Council (NSC) says that thousands of people get injured and hundreds of people die annually because of crashes in parking lots and garage structures. Unfortunately, people often assume incorrectly that these places are low risk because driving through the parking lot usually involves low speeds.
When multiple people have to back out of parking spaces while others are driving forward looking for empty parking spots, creates conditions that are ripe for collisions. Also, drivers and pedestrians tend to be distracted by their to-do lists, shopping lists, cell phones, and companions, which divert their attention away from safely driving or walking through the parking lot.
Parking lots tend to be private property, which means that the traffic laws that apply to public streets might not control them. You will want to talk to a parking lot accident lawyer in Forest Hill, LA, about your situation.
Laborde Earles injury was great for me they took care of me very fast and professional. If for any reason I need legal help they will be who I use.
ClientThe Settlement Value of Your Forest Hill, LA, Parking Lot Collision
We will need to talk to you and investigate your specific accident before determining what damages might be recoverable and the potential dollar amount of a settlement you could pursue from the at-fault party. A parking lot accident attorney in Forest Hill, LA, can answer your questions about categories of compensation like:
- Medical expenses. These include the ambulance, emergency room or trauma center, hospital, operations, doctors, diagnostic testing, imaging studies like x-rays or MRIs, physical therapy, and pain management.
- Lost wages. If you were unable to work because of your injuries, and your employer did not pay you your regular wages or salary, we can include the unpaid income in your claim.
- Pain and suffering. The physical discomfort, inconvenience, and emotional anguish of getting hurt are a separate category of monetary damages in addition to your medical bills.
- Wrongful death. If your close relative died from a parking lot accident, whether in a motor vehicle or on foot, we might be able to go after additional compensation for the legal beneficiaries.
We will need to determine who could be liable for the accident before we can pursue a compensation claim.
I thank God for Digger & David. I don’t know what we would have done if it hadn’t have been for them.
Rick Smith | ClientDetermining Liability in a Parking Lot Car Accident
Most parking lots are private property owned by the shopping center or store, but that does not mean that people have a right to drive in an unsafe manner without legal consequences.
Our parking lot accident lawyers will explore what happened and analyze the legal issues in your case. Some of the most common careless acts that cause collisions in parking lots are distracted driving and failing to keep a proper lookout. The duty to drive safely applies to private property and public streets.
Let’s say you were walking back to your car from the grocery store. A driver was using their GPS app to try to find a store while driving up and down the aisles of the parking lot. Unfortunately, the driver hit you because they were looking at their GPS device rather than keeping a lookout for pedestrians. In this example, the driver is negligent.
The reassurance from Digger and his staff gave me that renewed hope that it’s going to be okay down the road.
ClientOur Parking Lot Accident Attorneys Work on a Contingency-Fee Basis
You might think it will cost a lot of money to hire an attorney to handle your claim and sort out all the liability issues in these cases. You will not have to pay any upfront legal fees to get our help with your claim.
We handle personal injury cases like these on a contingency-fee basis. You do not get a bill for hours we work on your case. Instead, we receive a percentage of the settlement or court award at the end of the matter. If you do not win, you do not owe us any money for legal fees.
They treated us like no other people would. Whenever we needed something they were there for us. I put my trust in them and I don’t regret it.
ClientThere is a Deadline to File a Parking Lot Accident Lawsuit
Louisiana has a very short timeline for taking legal action if you get hurt because of someone else’s negligence. The filing deadline for a personal injury case is one year, according to CC Art. 3492. In addition, if your close relative died in a parking lot accident, you can file a wrongful death lawsuit but must do so within one year under CC Art. 2315.2.
The consequences of missing the filing deadline are harsh. The law will prevent you from ever holding the negligent party accountable for hurting you or causing the death of your loved one if the statute of limitations expires before you file.
Pitfalls to Avoid After Getting Hurt in a Parking Lot Accident
In addition to missing the statute of limitations, these mistakes could decrease the economic value of your claim:
- Waiting to get medical attention. The strongest way to connect your injuries to the parking lot accident is to use your medical records from the treatment you received immediately after the collision. The longer you wait to receive medical attention, the more opportunity the defendant has to blame your injuries on another event.
- Settling your case too soon. The claims adjuster will likely dangle a tempting settlement offer under your nose early on. But unfortunately, they do not tell you that you will not get any more money, even though you might not have received all your medical bills yet.
- Handling your claim without a lawyer. Insurance companies love it when injured people try to deal with their claims like DIY projects because the insurer can often pay them far less than they may be entitled.
Discuss Your Claim with a Forest Hill Parking Lot Accident Attorney Today
You do not have to go through this stressful process by yourself. Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers can fight for the compensation you deserve. Contact a Forest Hill parking lot accident lawyer for a free consultation today.
