Is a Restaurant Liable for a Slip-and-Fall Accident in Their Parking Lot?

Business owners are responsible for ensuring the safety of their clients within their parking spaces. During storms and heavy rains, parking spaces are a risk factor to customers’ safety. The floors become slippery, and skidding is a common incident. 

As a customer, you should hold the business owner accountable for slips and falls that you accrue on the premises. The law is particular about the consequences of a client incurring slips and falls in the parking lots of buildings. One of the most important things to note, either as a business owner or a client, is that the law extends the definition of ownership of a premise to the interior space and the environment surrounding it. 

The property owner is in direct violation if they predispose their clients to slips and falls outside of the interior space of their property. If you incur any slips and falls within the parking space of an establishment, reach out to us at Pacific West Injury Law, and we will help you get the justice you need.

What Defines a Slip-and-Fall Accident?

A fall incurred within a  structure refers to a slip-and-fall accident. However, not all falls incurred within the parking lot warrant compensation for your injuries. There has to be proof of negligence from the owner’s side and failure to attend to a risk factor that predisposes harm to their clients.

What Risk Factors Predispose People to Slips and Falls in a Parking Lot?

Various conditions are responsible for slips and falls among clients of premises. These include:

• Heavy rainfall – storms and heavy rainfall are usually a recipe for disaster for those navigating the parking space of a building. These conditions make the floor slippery, and without footwear with good thread, one is very likely to slip and fall. 
• Snow and ice – heavy snowfall and ice also create high chances of skidding when navigating on foot within a parking lot. It is the property owner’s responsibility to ensure that they clear the parking lot of any ice and snow; otherwise, they are culpable for any slips and falls and should be sued.
• Crowded spaces – for one to comfortably walk around within a parking lot, need adequate walking space. Some property owners try to limit the cost of expenditure by creating small parking spaces, making navigation complex for their clients.
• Repairs within the parking lot – A failure to develop proper labels notifying clients that ongoing construction predisposes them to slips and falls poses a significant risk to their physical wellbeing. As a client who has undergone injuries from such slips and falls, it is within your legal mandate to sue the responsible owner of the premises for these injuries incurred.
• Littering – some clients of a property are irresponsible and ignore rules governing the dumping of litter within parking spaces. However, the property owner’s responsibility is to ensure that the parking spaces are free of any waste as an environmental hazard because they also predispose other clients to slips and falls. 
• Old age – most older people usually have trouble walking around in parking spaces and other environments. However, business and property owners should design parking spaces that are friendly to older adults and allow them to navigate these spaces comfortably.
• Parking lot crimes – unsafe parking spaces often create fear among customers of a business and property. These clients may be forced to walk or run in haste from the fear of being attacked, thereby accruing injuries from slips and falls from the rush.

What Is Classified as Negligence?

Negligence refers to ignorance from the business or property owner’s side. In many cases, for you to win a lawsuit against a business or property owner about a slip-and-fall incurred on their property, you need to sufficiently prove that they displayed negligence in attending to the pertinent risk hazards.

The elements that construe negligence include:

• A failure in the responsibility of the business owner to you upon entry into their premises
• A failure to undertake their duty in informing you about risk hazards that may cause slips and falls in their parking spaces
• A failure of the business or property owner to take responsibility for the slips and falls that you incur within their premises

Hiring a lawyer to defend you for the injuries ensures that you do not receive the short end of the stick when suing a business or property owner for compensation for the injuries you have incurred. The lawyer also helps you establish the negligence displayed by the owner, and if there are multiple cases involved, they will help fight to ensure that you are awarded more for these injuries.

How Can Pacific West Law Be of Help?

Pacific West Injury Law is a law firm based in Las Vegas. We are dedicated to helping our clients receive proper compensation for all slip-and-fall injuries incurred within a building. We extend our services to clients who slip-and-fall within parking spaces of a property.

Therefore, you are assured that we will handle all your slip and injury problems to your satisfaction. Currently, we have a robust digital presence, and you can contact us for free.