The person whose negligence caused a Texas parking lot accident is generally responsible for the resulting harm. In some cases, more than one person can share responsibility.
Figuring out fault may require looking at who was backing up, which vehicle was already moving through the aisle, where the vehicles were positioned, whether signs or pavement markings were present, how fast each vehicle was moving, and whether either driver had a reasonable chance to avoid the collision. Depending on what happened, responsibility may involve a driver, an employer, a person who entrusted the vehicle to the driver, a property owner or occupier, or more than one party.
How Is Fault Determined in a Texas Parking Lot?
Fault is generally based on whether someone failed to use reasonable care and whether that failure caused the collision and resulting harm. Driver negligence can include failing to keep a proper lookout, backing when it was unsafe, driving too fast for the conditions, disregarding traffic controls, or failing to react reasonably to another vehicle or pedestrian.
No single rule automatically decides fault in every parking lot accident. The way the vehicles moved and the available evidence usually matter.
A Driver Backs Out of a Parking Space
A driver who backs out without first making sure it is safe to do so may be responsible for hitting a vehicle already traveling through the aisle. That does not mean the backing driver is automatically at fault in every case. The driver in the aisle may also contribute by moving too fast for the conditions, failing to watch for vehicles leaving spaces, traveling against marked directions, or failing to react to a reasonably visible hazard.
For example, surveillance video showing that one vehicle was already well into the aisle before the other began backing could be important. Video showing that the vehicle in the aisle approached at an unsafe speed could also affect the fault analysis.
Two Drivers Back Out at the Same Time
Both drivers can share responsibility when two vehicles back out of opposing spaces at about the same time. Evidence may show which vehicle started moving first, how far each vehicle entered the aisle, whether either driver stopped before impact, whether the drivers could see each other, and whether backup cameras or warning systems alerted them to the danger. Texas proportionate-responsibility law allows fault to be divided when more than one person’s conduct contributed to the harm.
A Collision Happens in a Parking Lot Aisle or Intersection
Fault in a parking lot aisle or intersection depends on the drivers’ conduct, the layout of the property, and any traffic controls that apply. Some parking lots have stop signs, directional arrows, crosswalks, marked through lanes, or other controls. Where they exist, those features can help show how drivers were expected to move through the property.
A driver who ignores a clearly visible stop sign and pulls into another vehicle’s path may bear responsibility for the crash. If the other vehicle was moving too fast for a crowded parking lot, however, that conduct may also be part of the fault analysis.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Texas Parking Lot Accident?
More than one driver can be responsible, and in some cases responsibility can extend beyond the drivers involved. Depending on the facts, it may also extend to an employer, a person who entrusted the vehicle to the driver, or a property owner or occupier.
Texas law allows fault to be divided when more than one person’s conduct contributed to the harm. For example, one driver might back out without keeping a sufficient lookout while another moves through the aisle at an unsafe speed. The evidence could support assigning part of the responsibility to each driver instead of placing all fault on one person. That is why photographs, video, witness statements, and other evidence of what each person was doing can be especially important when the drivers disagree about how the crash happened.
In Texas, the jury (or the judge, in a bench trial) decides what percentage of responsibility each party bears for the accident. This can include the claimant, each defendant, anyone who has settled, and any designated responsible third party (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.003). The percentages must add up to 100. Under § 33.001, a claimant cannot recover damages if their percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent. If the claimant’s responsibility is 50 percent or less, their damages are reduced by that percentage (§ 33.012(a)). For example, suppose two drivers back out of facing parking spaces and collide. If the jury finds the claimant 20 percent responsible and awards $50,000 in damages, the claimant would recover $40,000. If the jury found the claimant 51 percent responsible, the claimant would recover nothing.
An Employer
An employer can be held responsible for a crash its employee causes while doing their job. This is called vicarious liability, or respondeat superior, and it applies when the employee was acting within the course and scope of employment at the time of the crash. A crash involving a delivery driver or an employee performing assigned work may require a closer look at what the employee was doing at the time. Driving a company vehicle by itself does not establish that the employee was acting within the course and scope of employment.
A Person Who Entrusted the Vehicle to Someone Else
If someone loans their vehicle to another person, and that person causes an accident, it can bring up a separate negligent entrustment claim when the legal requirements are met. That claim generally involves showing that the defendant entrusted a vehicle to an unlicensed, incompetent, or reckless driver when the person making the entrustment knew or should have known about that problem, followed by negligent driving that causes the collision. Negligent entrustment is different from liability based simply on vehicle ownership. Owning the vehicle does not automatically make someone responsible for another person’s driving.
A Property Owner or Occupier
When a dangerous condition on the property itself contributes to the collision or resulting injury, such as an obstruction that blocks sight lines, a property owner or occupier may face a premises liability claim. A business is not liable simply because an accident happened on its property. A premises liability claimant must establish the legal requirements that apply to the condition and the defendant’s legal duty to either remove or warn of the hazard.
What Evidence Helps Establish Parking Lot Fault?
Surveillance video, photographs, witness statements, vehicle damage, and electronic records can all help show how a parking-lot collision happened.
Useful evidence may include:
- Surveillance footage: Cameras from stores, apartment buildings, offices, garages, or nearby businesses may show how the vehicles moved before impact.
- Scene photographs and video: Images can document vehicle positions, damage, stop signs, arrows, obstructions, lighting, and sight lines.
- Witness statements: Customers, employees, passengers, pedestrians, or other drivers may have seen the collision or what happened immediately before it.
- Vehicle damage: The location and direction of the damage may help show how the vehicles came into contact.
- Dash-camera or vehicle data: Available electronic information may help establish movement, speed, or timing in a disputed collision.
- Police, security, or incident reports: These records may identify witnesses and preserve descriptions made soon after the crash.
Parking lot surveillance footage may not be kept for long. Identifying cameras and requesting that relevant recordings be preserved can therefore become an important evidence issue.
What Legal Duties Apply After a Texas Parking Lot Accident?
Texas traffic laws don’t stop applying just because a crash happens on private property. Texas Transportation Code Chapter 550, which sets out duties after collisions, expressly covers a private access way or parking area that a business provides to its customers. This business-parking-area rule doesn’t cover private residential property or a paid parking garage or lot. A driver should not assume that the duties to stop and exchange information disappear just because a crash happens in a store, restaurant, or other covered business parking area.
The specific duty depends on what kind of collision happened:
- Injury or death: Texas Transportation Code § 550.021 requires a driver involved in a collision that results or is reasonably likely to result in injury or death to stop, determine whether anyone needs aid, and remain at the scene until the driver complies with the information and assistance duties.
- Damage to an attended vehicle: § 550.022 separately requires a driver involved in a collision that results only in damage to an attended vehicle to stop and remain until the required information is provided.
- Providing information and aid: Under § 550.023, a driver must provide the specified identifying and insurance information in covered-injury or attended-vehicle collisions and provide reasonable assistance to an injured person when required.
- Hitting an unattended vehicle: Under § 550.024(a), a driver who hits an unattended vehicle must stop immediately and either locate the vehicle’s operator or owner and provide the required identifying information, or leave a written notice in a conspicuous or plainly visible place on the damaged vehicle. The notice must include the name and address of the operator and owner of the striking vehicle and a statement describing the circumstances of the collision. Failing to comply with that duty can create issues separate from the civil question of who caused the property damage.
What Should You Do After a Parking Lot Accident?
Address injuries first, comply with the legal duty to stop and exchange information described above, and document the scene if you can do so safely. After those immediate duties are addressed, practical steps may include:
- Photographing the vehicles and surrounding parking area
- Documenting signs, lane markings, entrances, exits, and anything that affected visibility
- Getting contact information from witnesses
- Identifying cameras that may have recorded the collision
- Keeping medical, towing, repair, and other relevant records
- Notifying the appropriate insurance carrier according to the policy’s requirements
How Long Do You Have to Bring a Texas Parking Lot Accident Claim?
The general Texas deadline to file a lawsuit for personal injury or damage to personal property is two years from the date the claim arises, which in an ordinary vehicle collision will generally be the date of the accident. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003(a) establishes that two-year period. For an action involving an injury that results in death, § 16.003(b) separately provides that the claim arises on the injured person’s death.
Texas law also has legal-disability rules that can affect the deadline. Under § 16.001, if a person entitled to bring a personal injury claim is younger than 18 or of unsound mind when the claim arises, that period of disability doesn’t count against the two-year clock, meaning the clock doesn’t start running until the disability ends.
Governmental Claims Can Have a Separate Notice Requirement
A separate notice requirement can apply when a claim is brought against a Texas governmental unit. The Texas Tort Claims Act, generally requires notice to the governmental unit no later than six months after the incident giving rise to the claim. The notice must reasonably describe the claimed injury or property damage, when and where the incident happened, and the incident itself.
A city’s charter or ordinance may contain another legally permitted notice period. The statutory notice requirement does not apply when the governmental unit has the type of actual notice described in § 101.101(c) of the Tort Claims Act.
Meeting a notice requirement does not by itself establish that a governmental entity can be sued or is liable. Governmental immunity and the Texas Tort Claims Act’s waiver requirements are separate legal issues.
What Compensation May Be Available After a Parking Lot Accident?
A negligence claim may seek compensation for losses legally caused by the collision. Depending on the harm involved, those losses can include applicable medical expenses, lost income or loss of earning capacity, physical pain, impairment, and property damage.
The available categories depend on the type of injury or loss, the evidence, the parties involved, and the law that applies. A collision involving only vehicle damage will raise different issues from one that causes physical injury and emotional distress.
Insurance can also affect where payment comes from. Depending on the circumstances and policy terms, a claim could involve another driver’s liability coverage, collision coverage, or uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
How Can a Lawyer Help With a Disputed Parking Lot Accident?
A lawyer can investigate the crash, preserve evidence, identify potentially responsible parties, analyze proportionate responsibility, and address the insurance and legal claims that may apply. That work can include seeking surveillance video, reviewing photographs and vehicle damage, contacting witnesses, examining traffic controls and sight lines, reviewing insurance coverage, and evaluating whether responsibility may extend beyond the individual drivers. Those steps can matter especially in cases where the drivers give conflicting accounts, evidence disappears, serious injuries are involved, or an employer, vehicle owner, or property condition may have contributed to causing the collision.
Contact Bailey & Galyen About a Texas Parking Lot Accident
If you were injured in a Texas parking lot collision and have questions about fault, insurance coverage, or the claims process, Bailey & Galyen can review the circumstances and explain the legal options that may apply.
Contact Bailey & Galyen to schedule a consultation and discuss your situation with an attorney.
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