Accidents in car parks are fairly common. With so many cars and people rushing about, accidents will happen. So if you have had an accident in a car park, can you make a claim for compensation?
If the accident was not your fault, we should be able to help you out with a claim. You should discuss the circumstances with us and we will confirm if we think we can make a successful claim for you. To help you in the meantime, here are some common car park accident circumstances where you should be able to make a claim for compensation.
Car pulls out from a parked position
You are driving along and another driver pulls out from a parked position and hits your vehicle. It’s pretty much the same as someone pulling out from a side road on to your major road – you have the right of way. You shouldn’t have any trouble making a 100% compensation claim in these circumstances.
Rear end collisions
Common when cars are suddenly pulling out of spaces and stopping to move in to spaces. Drivers should remain at a low speed. If someone goes in to the back of you, it’s the generally their fault. So if you have been hit in the back, you should have a 100% claim.
Fighting for spaces
It isn’t always clear cut when two or more cars suddenly go for the same space. If you are going to turn left in to a space and someone cuts you up from the opposite direction, they are cutting across your path and you have the right of way. In this scenario we should be able to make a 100% claim for you.
If a car pulls through from opposing spaces in to the same space you are trying to go in to, the blame could depend on the speed of vehicles involved. From a general perspective, there could be an argument that you have the right of way because you’re not cutting through opposing spaces. But if you speed in and you were not taking heed of any other vehicles potentially coming through in to the same space, you could be partly to blame. It’s very circumstantial in this scenario.
When liability cannot be clearly determined, you could face a 50-50 situation. It’s all about evidence and proving your case, which isn’t always easy to do. The things to look out for are witnesses and CCTV. Many car parks now have CCTV and this could be the making or breaking of a case.
Pedestrian injuries
A car driver generally has a greater duty of care to look out for pedestrians, particularly in a car park where pedestrians generally share traffic routes with cars. If you are hit as a pedestrian, it’s likely we can help you out with a claim unless you did something daft like ran out in front of a car!
For legal advice, give us a call on 0800 634 75 75 today.
