A car backing out of a parking space strikes you as you walk toward the entrance of the grocery store. You’re injured, but the driver’s insurance company tells you that “different rules apply in parking lots” and suggests you share more fault than the driver. Meanwhile, the store’s management says they’re not responsible for driver behavior on their property.
This confusion is exactly why parking lot pedestrian injury claims are more complex than street accidents. Multiple parties might share liability, Utah traffic laws still apply despite being on private property, and critical evidence disappears quickly.
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers represents pedestrians injured in Midvale parking lot accidents. Our office at 7399 S Union Park Ave, Suite 200 serves clients navigating the liability questions that arise when both driver negligence and property conditions contribute to injuries. Call (801) 509-9283 or visit our contact page for a free consultation.
Key Takeaways for Midvale Parking Lot Pedestrian Accidents
- Many Utah traffic rules and the driver’s duty to use due care apply in parking lots that are open to public use, including shopping centers, malls, and business parking areas.
- Drivers retain their legal duty to exercise due care to avoid striking pedestrians as required by Utah Code § 41-6a-1006.
- Property owners might share liability when inadequate lighting, poor design, or maintenance failures contribute to your accident.
- Surveillance footage from parking lot cameras typically is erased within 7 to 30 days, making immediate preservation critical.
- Under Utah Code § 78B-5-818, you might recover compensation even with partial fault as long as you are less than 50% responsible.
Do Utah Traffic Laws Apply in Parking Lots?
Insurance companies may tell injured pedestrians that parking lot accidents follow different rules than street accidents. This misrepresentation benefits insurers by creating doubt about legitimate claims.
Many Utah traffic rules apply to parking areas that are open to the general public. This includes shopping center parking lots, mall parking areas, grocery store lots, restaurant parking, and business parking that the public uses.
What Public Access Means for Your Rights
The critical distinction involves public access. If the general public uses a parking area for business purposes, Utah traffic rules apply there. Commercial parking areas where Midvale residents shop, dine, and conduct business remain subject to state traffic regulations.
Drivers must obey posted control signs in lots open to public traffic and, regardless of signage, keep a proper lookout and yield to avoid colliding with pedestrians. Drivers should exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian.
Who Might Be Liable for Your Parking Lot Pedestrian Injuries
Parking lot pedestrian accidents create liability complexity because multiple parties might share responsibility.
The Driver Who Struck You
The driver who hit you typically bears primary responsibility. Common driver negligence includes backing up without checking mirrors or cameras, speeding through parking aisles, failing to stop at stop signs, and distracted driving while looking for parking spaces.
The Property Owner
Property owners face potential liability when dangerous parking lot conditions contribute to pedestrian accidents. Dangerous conditions that might create property owner liability include inadequate lighting that prevents drivers from seeing pedestrians, obstructed sight lines from landscaping or improperly placed signs, parking lot designs that create traffic flow confusion, lack of designated pedestrian walkways, and failure to repair hazards like potholes that cause drivers to swerve.
When Property Owners Share Responsibility
Property owners must address known dangerous conditions. If property management knew that a particular section had inadequate lighting and previous pedestrian accidents occurred there, their failure to improve lighting might constitute negligence.
The property owner’s commercial general liability insurance typically covers premises liability claims. These policies often carry higher limits than personal auto insurance, providing an additional source of compensation.
Your Potential Comparative Fault
Utah’s modified comparative negligence rule under Utah Code § 78B-5-818 allows recovery as long as your fault does not reach or exceed 50%. Insurance companies aggressively pursue pedestrian fault in parking lot cases.
Common allegations include walking behind backing vehicles without ensuring the driver sees you, crossing parking aisles outside designated walkways, distracted walking while using your phone, and wearing dark clothing in poorly lit areas. These allegations don’t automatically prevent recovery. Even if you walked behind a backing vehicle, the driver still had a duty to check before reversing.
The Critical Importance of Surveillance Footage
Parking lot accident claims rise or fall on surveillance footage. Most commercial properties maintain security cameras, but obtaining this evidence before it disappears requires immediate action.
Typical video retention periods range from 7 to 30 days, though some systems overwrite footage within 48 to 72 hours. Once the recording period expires, video evidence vanishes permanently. A preservation letter from your attorney creates a legal duty for property owners to maintain footage. This letter must go out within days of your accident.
Multiple Camera Sources Might Capture Your Accident
The property owner’s security system covering parking areas is the most obvious source of footage. Individual businesses often maintain separate cameras at their entrances. ATM cameras, neighboring property surveillance, vehicle dashcams from parked cars, and traffic cameras at nearby intersections might provide additional angles.
The footage often proves what happened definitively. Video showing a driver backing without looking eliminates disputes about who caused the collision.
How Insurance Companies Exploit Parking Lot Accident Confusion
Insurance adjusters know that most people feel uncertain about parking lot accident liability. This confusion becomes a tool to minimize claim values.
Common Insurance Company Tactics
Adjusters may suggest that because the accident happened on private property, normal traffic laws don’t apply and your claim has less value. This misrepresents Utah law.
Insurance companies assign disproportionate fault to pedestrians in backing accidents. While walking behind backing vehicles might contribute to comparative fault, drivers backing without ensuring the area is clear violate their primary duty.
Property Owner and Police Report Arguments
When premises liability claims arise, property owners and their insurers claim they have no duty to prevent all accidents. However, property owners must maintain reasonably safe conditions. When inadequate lighting, poor design, or known hazards create dangerous conditions that contribute to pedestrian injuries, liability might follow.
Because parking lot accidents often generate limited police reports, adjusters might suggest these claims lack legitimacy. Police report limitations don’t diminish your claim. Other evidence—particularly surveillance footage—matters more.
Multiple Parties Shifting Blame
The driver’s auto insurer blames the property owner for dangerous conditions. The property owner’s liability insurer blames the driver’s negligence. While they argue, both attempt to shift blame onto you.
What Compensation You Might Pursue
Parking lot pedestrian injuries often prove severe despite lower vehicle speeds. Utah law allows you to pursue compensation from multiple sources.
Immediate No-Fault Benefits
Utah’s no-fault (PIP) benefits generally apply to pedestrians struck by a vehicle. PIP benefits from the insurer of the vehicle that struck you provide early medical and wage benefits regardless of fault while liability is investigated. Your own auto policy’s UM/UIM coverage might apply to pedestrian crashes and hit-and-runs, adding another recovery source if the at-fault driver’s limits are low.
Medical Expenses and Lost Income
Emergency treatment, surgery, hospitalization, physical therapy, prescription medications, medical equipment, and ongoing care all qualify as compensable expenses. Future medical needs factor into your claim when injuries require additional treatment. Time away from work during recovery results in lost wages. If your injuries prevent you from returning to your previous job, you might pursue compensation for diminished earning capacity.
Pain and Emotional Harm
Chronic pain, limited mobility, permanent disabilities, and loss of enjoyment of life represent non-economic damages. The trauma of being struck unexpectedly creates lasting psychological effects, including anxiety about parking lots and post-traumatic stress.
When both driver and property owner share liability, you might recover compensation from both parties’ insurance policies.
High-Risk Parking Lots in Midvale
Certain parking areas in and around Midvale present elevated pedestrian risk due to design, traffic volume, or maintenance issues.
Fashion Place Mall
Fashion Place Mall is the area’s largest parking lot complex with multiple levels, numerous entrances, and extremely high pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Collision risk increases during peak shopping periods.
State Street Corridor Shopping Centers
State Street between 7000 South and 9000 South includes numerous strip malls with tight parking configurations. Where pedestrian walkways are limited, backing accidents occur more frequently.
Bingham Junction and Grocery Stores
The Bingham Junction area includes Target, Home Depot, and other big-box retailers with large parking lots. Large vehicles may create blind spots. Grocery stores including Smith’s, Harmons, and Walmart see constant pedestrian traffic. Backing accidents while loading vehicles represent the most common collision type.
Steps to Protect Your Claim After a Parking Lot Accident
Once you’re home and recovering from the immediate shock of your accident, take these steps to protect your legal rights.
Follow All Medical Advice
Attend every appointment your doctors schedule and complete prescribed physical therapy. Gaps in treatment give insurance companies opportunities to argue your injuries were not as severe as you claim.
Preserve All Documentation
Save medical bills, prescription receipts, medical equipment purchases, and records of transportation to appointments. Keep a journal describing your pain levels, limitations, and how the accident changed your life.
Obtain the Police Report
Request a copy from the investigating agency. Even information-only reports provide official documentation of the incident, driver information, and witness statements.
Act Immediately on Surveillance Footage
Contact an attorney within days to send preservation demands to the property owner and businesses. Surveillance systems overwrite footage quickly—often within 7 to 30 days.
Bring All Information to Your Attorney
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers reviews police reports, medical records, photographs, witness information, and property details to identify all liable parties. We handle immediate preservation demands for surveillance footage and negotiate with multiple insurance companies.
FAQ for Midvale Parking Lot Pedestrian Accidents
Will My Own Auto Insurance Cover Me If I’m Hit as a Pedestrian in a Parking Lot?
Your own auto policy’s uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage typically applies even when you’re a pedestrian. If the driver who hit you lacks insurance or carries minimum limits insufficient to cover your injuries, your UM/UIM coverage provides additional compensation. PIP benefits from the insurer of the vehicle that struck you also pay early medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault.
Can I Recover From Both the Driver and Property Owner for the Same Accident?
Yes, when both parties contributed to your injuries. If a driver backed up without looking and inadequate parking lot lighting prevented them from seeing you, both the driver and the property owner might share liability. You might pursue claims against both parties’ insurance policies. This multiple-source recovery often results in higher total compensation than single-party claims.
What If the Driver Who Hit Me in the Parking Lot Left Before the Police Arrived?
Hit-and-run parking lot accidents create unique challenges but don’t eliminate your claim. Your own auto policy’s UM coverage typically covers hit-and-run incidents. Security camera footage becomes critical for identifying the vehicle and driver. Even if the driver is never found, UM coverage from your policy might provide compensation. Property owner liability remains a separate recovery source if dangerous conditions contributed.
How Does Utah’s Four-Year Statute of Limitations Apply to Parking Lot Accidents?
Utah Code § 78B-2-307 establishes a four-year deadline to file personal injury lawsuits from the date of your accident. Claims against government entities require notice of claim within one year under the Governmental Immunity Act. However, waiting years creates practical problems. Surveillance footage erases within weeks, witnesses move away or forget details, and insurance companies become less willing to settle.
What If I Don’t Know Who Owns the Parking Lot Where I Was Injured?
Identifying the property owner requires an investigation that your attorney handles. County property records reveal ownership, but many commercial parking lots involve complex ownership structures. Your attorney researches these relationships to identify all potentially liable parties. Management companies, property owners, and tenants might share responsibility for parking lot safety.
Your Parking Lot Accident Claim Requires Immediate Action
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers clarifies the liability confusion in parking lot pedestrian accidents. We understand how Utah law applies traffic rules to commercial parking areas. We identify when property owners share liability for dangerous conditions. We act immediately to preserve surveillance footage before systems overwrite recordings. We handle claims on a contingency fee basis—you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. Case costs might apply.
Call (801) 509-9283 or visit our contact page to schedule your free consultation. Time matters—surveillance footage won’t wait.
