Parking Lot Accidents in BC: 3 Personal Injury Need-to-Knows

It’s an oft-quoted and well-known “fact” that parking lot car accidents are considered to be “no fault”—or, more accurately, equally the fault of both drivers. The outcome of this 50/50 at-fault situation is that both drivers’ insurance goes up, rather than just one. This can make it tempting to leave the insurance companies out of it, especially if it’s just a fender-bender, and refrain from reporting.
However, if anyone sustains a personal injury in a parking lot accident, not reporting is definitely not the right answer. Remember that any automobile accident involving an injury must be reported to the police, along with accidents involving destruction of public property or damage over $1,000.
If you’ve been involved in a parking lot accident and have sustained a personal injury, you can discuss the details of your particular situation with DBM’s personal injury lawyers, located at our Vancouver, Langley, and Coquitlam law offices.
Below we cover three important points to remember if you find yourself dealing with a parking lot crash.
1. Parking lot accidents aren’t always 50/50 shared fault
Although the “no fault in parking lots” rule is often portrayed as traffic law truth, it isn’t actually the case that all parking lot accidents are 50/50 shared fault between the two drivers. For example, if a parked car is struck by a moving car, the second driver is 100 percent at fault. Or, if a driver hits another car while backing up, then that driver is again 100 percent at fault.
 
2. Parking lot accidents must be treated like any other car accident
It is important to treat parking lot accidents with as much attention as any other type of accident, particularly in the event you or a passenger suffers a personal injury or you end up developing one later on. Writing down all the details—the other driver’s information, what happened from your perspective, and the contact details of witnesses—and reporting to ICBC means that if you need to prove your personal injury was due to the other driver’s negligence, you will have the information necessary to start the process.
When you take a personal injury claim to court, it is your lawyer’s job to secure you the funds needed to pay for the treatment and future care of your personal injury by proving your injury was sustained as the direct result of another person’s actions. To do this, your lawyer will need to have as much information as possible.
 
3. Fault affects your ability to make a personal injury claim
Not all parking lot accidents are cut and dry, either 50/50 shared fault or 100 percent the fault of one driver. Depending on the police report, the circumstances of the accident, and the testimony of yourself, the other driver, and any witnesses, the fault in an accident could be apportioned at any split percentage (30/70, 20/80, etc.). To receive damages, or monetary compensation, for your personal injury, the injury must be related to the at-fault actions of the other driver.