Who Is Liable in a Parking Lot Car Accident?

Posted on: December 29, 2025

Even though car accidents that occur in parking lots may happen at a lower speed than those that happen on the road, you may still suffer serious personal injury. When anyone else is to blame for a parking lot accident, you can hold them legally accountable when you file a claim or lawsuit. There may be a number of parties who are to blame for a parking lot accident. When you hire a car accident attorney, they can investigate the crash and determine who was to blame so that you can seek compensation from the right parties. Here are the potentially responsible parties for parking lot car accidents.

The Other Driver Involved in the Accident

The other driver involved in the crash is the most common defendant in a parking lot accident lawsuit. Drivers have the obligation to exercise reasonable care at all times, and not just when they are on roads. You can hold the driver legally accountable when they failed to uphold the duty of care that they owed you under the circumstances. For example, you may take legal action against the driver when they have done the following:

• Not paid attention to where they were going because they were distracted
• Traveled too fast under the circumstances, even when there was no speed limit in the parking lot
• Backed out of a parking spot and into your path when you had the right of way
• Traveled the wrong way when signs indicated where the driver should have been going
• Made an illegal turn in the parking lot

The Owner of the Parking Lot

The parking lot is a premise that belongs to another party. When you are on the property of another, they have a legal obligation to take reasonable measures to keep you safe. In other words, they cannot be negligent. You may be able to hold the parking lot owner legally responsible in a premises liability claim when their actions were the cause of the accident. Here are some scenarios under which you can hold a parking lot owner legally responsible for the accident:

• You were not able to see where you were going because there was poor lighting or visibility
• There were hazardous conditions on the parking lot, which could include broken pavement or ice that was not cleared within a reasonable amount of time
• The parking lot’s design was defective in that there were blind curves or traffic patterns that increased the risk of an accident
• The owner failed to perform maintenance that would have kept the parking lot safe
• There were no warning signs to alert you of hazardous conditions that the owner knew about that you could not have anticipated

The parking lot owner may have outsourced management and operations of the lot to a third party. Then, you may be able to sue the third party in a lawsuit, along with the parking lot owner, if they negligently hired or retained the management agent.

A Third-Party Contractor

The parking lot may have been under construction at the time of the accident, with services provided by a contractor. Alternatively, the parking lot owner may have contracted out ice and snow clearing to a third party. Here, you may be able to hold that third party responsible when their actions were the cause of your injuries. For example, a parking lot contractor may have done a poor job of clearing the roads, or they may have left debris in your path that caused the crash.

Freehold Car Accident Lawyers at Ellis Law Provide the Help You Need

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle crash in a parking lot, speak to the Freehold car accident lawyers at Ellis Law. We can work to determine the responsible party and help you seek full financial compensation for your injuries. To learn more, call us at 732-308-0200 or complete our online form today for a free consultation. We have offices in New Jersey, including Freehold, Neptune City, and Middletown, and New York, and we serve clients throughout both states.