In addition to collisions between moving motor vehicles or between a vehicle and an unprotected pedestrian, injuries in parking lots can also stem from accidents that do not involve motor vehicles at all. Something like an unseen pothole, an unmarked rise or drop in elevation, or even—rare though it may be in Nevada—an untreated patch of ice could lead to a pedestrian slipping or tripping and suffering serious injuries.
If you were hurt recently through a parking lot fall in Reno, you may have grounds to demand financial restitution from every person whose misconduct played a role in causing your accident. If you want to get the best possible result from your unique claim, you should speak to an experienced slip and fall attorney from Shook & Stone as soon as possible.
Are Parking Lot Owners Liable for Slips and Falls?
Generally speaking, parking lot owners—and all other property owners in Nevada, for that matter—have a “duty of care” requiring them to:
- Keep their land in a reasonably safe condition
- Warn lawful visitors about hazardous conditions on their land, which they have not yet been able to cordon off or fix
However, this does not automatically make landowners liable for every accident that happens on their property, as a qualified attorney can further explain.
For example, parking lot owners in Reno may not be considered legally liable for a fall caused by a hazard that is “open and obvious” to any rational person. Nor are they liable for accidental injuries suffered by people illegally trespassing on their land. Likewise, if a landowner did not have direct knowledge of a hazard in their parking lot and had no reasonable way of discovering the hazard before it could cause an injury, you may have a hard time holding them liable.
How “Comparative Fault” Could Affect Recovery Efforts
Another legal obstacle that can impede a lawsuit or settlement demand over a parking lot fall in Reno is “comparative fault”—in other words, the degree to which you are at fault for causing your injury through your own negligent behavior. For example, if you tripped and fell over an unseen pothole while running through a parking lot instead of walking, a court might find you 25 percent at fault for your accident compared to the lot owner’s 75 percent, and assign you a matching percentage of fault for your ensuing injuries.
Then, in accordance with Nevada Revised Statutes § 41.141, that court would reduce the total value of your final damage award by that same percentage. Even worse, if you are found to hold a majority of the total fault for your own injury, that section of state law would bar you from recovering any compensation whatsoever for that injury, even if a parking lot owner was still partly to blame for it.
Talk to a Reno Attorney About a Possible Parking Lot Fall Claim
None of what is written above should be taken to mean that getting a good result from a claim over a parking lot fall in Reno is impossible. What it should impress on you, though, is that trying to pursue a claim like this alone is almost always a recipe for an unsatisfactory case result.
Our capable lawyers know exactly how to handle situations like yours and, once retained, will work diligently on your behalf to get you every cent of compensation you deserve. Call Shook & Stone today to discuss your legal options.
