Car Accidents, Personal Injury

Parking Lot Car Accidents Can Still Cause Injuries

One would think once you have driven into a parking lot, you are safe from the hazards of driving on the roads. That is just not the case because parking lots are many areas where accidents are bound to happen more frequently than one would think, leading to serious injuries and what it brings after medical expenses, for example, speaking with an Austin car accident attorney would be the best idea to pursue the best outcome.

Causes of Parking Lot Accidents

Parking lots are often buzzing with activity as people pull in and out of them, and given their nature of being congested, especially in busy places such as malls and shopping centers, accidents are bound to happen there at any given time.

With so many vehicles moving in different directions in the parking lot area, rushing to scarce parking spots, pulling in and out of parking spaces, parking lots can be quite chaotic and a situation ripe for accidents to happen. These parking lot accidents are more frequent than most people think, and that may in part help explain their frequency as some people are not as careful in the parking lot area as they would be on the road. At Terry & Kelly Injury Lawyers, we have experienced lawyers who help parking lot accident victims get compensation for their injuries.

There are many reasons that account for these accidents, including the following:

1. Distracted Drivers. Just as it is the case on the roads, distracted driving is even more prevalent as drivers enter or leave parking lots while busy doing things that distract them from paying attention to driving. Leading among these distractions is the use of cell phones to talk or text.
2. Careless or Reckless Drivers. While there are those drivers who tend to simply drive carelessly, there are others who are just careless or reckless. These are the ones who speed through the parking lot and often crash with a driver pulling out of a parking spot or running over a pedestrian trying to get to their car.
3. Aggressive Drivers. Some parking lots hardly ever have parking spots as they are constantly occupied, and when a spot becomes available, some aggressive drivers try to get to it fast and often end up colliding with another driver who may have simply wanted to park, unaware of the aggressive driver.

Common Parking Lot Accidents

The most common car accidents in a parking lot are side-impacts and rear-end collisions.

1. Side impact accidents occur when a driver backs out of a space without taking time to properly check and see if the coast is clear to back out of the space or when a driver drives forward through a vacant parking space and into a passing car. Side impact accidents can also occur when a driver simply disregards parking lot stop signs or yield signs.
2. Rear-end collisions typically occur in various ways, such as when two cars simultaneously back up from their parking spots and collide with each other, or when cars briefly stop in a no-parking area to let a passenger in or out of a car, or when the driver is distracted and not paying attention.

Reach Out to an Austin Car Accident Attorneys

If you have been injured in a parking lot accident, contact Terry & Kelly Injury Lawyers for a free consultation. Our Austin car accident lawyers are ready to help.