You may prefer to park your vehicle in an enclosed garage rather than an open lot for safety and security reasons. However, you may be shocked to learn that parking garages are argubaly more dangerous for you personally, and you might experience an incident that leaves you seriously hurt or with severe damages. With that being said, please follow along to find out how you might get injured while navigating a parking garage and how a proficient Monmouth County parking lot accident lawyer at Wilton Law Firm can help you understand what your legal response should be.
What are the ways in which I can get injured in a parking garage?
Generally speaking, you may be injured either as a pedestrian or driver in a parking garage. While enclosed garages are expected to be safer and more secure, this is only the case if the property owner ensures they equip the premises with sufficient surveillance cameras and security officers. Otherwise, you may be made the unfortunate victim of a violent crime, in which you may be physically attacked and have your personal belongings stolen in the process.
Other than that, you may get injured as a pedestrian by slipping and falling on a pavement crack or uneven surface. The chances of this are heightened if there is a lack of sufficient lighting in the indoor premises. Or, you may get aggressively struck by a driver who is recklessly speeding through the garage. And this is more likely if there is a lack of designated pedestrian walkways throughout the premises.
Lastly, as a driver, you may get injured in an auto accident. This is if there is a lack of warning signage or convex safety mirrors at tight corners of the indoor garage, and you collide with another vehicle upon turning. Or, if you are slowly driving down the exit lane, but another driver abruptly reverses their vehicle into yours without checking their surroundings first.
What should I do if I get injured in a parking garage?
Directly following your accident in a parking garage, you must notify the building management, the security officer on patrol, and your local law enforcement. This is so you may record an incident report and police report, which will become pivotal evidence in your pending personal injury claim. This should be further supplemented by photos and videos of the hazard that contributed to your accident, quotes from eyewitnesses who stuck around at the scene, etc.
Besides evidence, you should worry about your immediate health condition, and also call emergency medical services on to the scene. From here, you should allow the technicians to transport you to the emergency room for addition care via ambulance. Again, obtain any relevant medical records along the way.
You should not proceed any further in your legal action without having adequate legal representation to back you up. So please call and retain the services of one of the talented Monmouth County slip and fall accident attorneys from Wilton Law Firm today.