Do I Have a Case If I’m Injured Because of a Parking Lot Pothole?

September 6, 2024

Slips, Trips & Falls

Parking lot potholes and other surface abnormalities can cause serious slip-and-fall injuries with lasting ramifications. In terms of obtaining compensation for those injuries, however, not all dangerous parking lot conditions are treated equally.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury caused by a pothole in a parking lot or other defective surface condition, you may wonder if you can sue for damages. Our Virginia Beach premises liability lawyers may be able to help. We have years of experience effectively negotiating with the responsible party or their insurance company to help obtain the best possible outcome for those injured.

How Do Potholes Cause Serious Personal Injuries?

Potholes can cause serious accidents and injuries by, among other things, causing a trip and fall accident.  If a victim does not see the pothole and steps into it, they may lose their balance and fall. Injuries from this type of incident can be severe because the fall is usually on a surface that is hard and unforgiving, such as asphalt.

Victims may suffer from broken bones, knee and foot injuries, and even head and neck injuries, and they sometimes require future surgery and physical therapy to get back to their old selves.

Who Can Be Held Liable in a Pothole-Related Personal Injury?

Whoever is responsible for maintaining the parking lot or other defective surface may be liable for damages incurred as a result of a trip and fall, including:

  • The property owner
  • The property management company
  • A parent company
  • Commercial tenant
  • Federal, state, or local government

In a pothole injury case, determining who is responsible will be one of the first things we would do when representing you. If, for example, a government entity is responsible, the process may be different and more complicated.

Next, we would work to prove that the responsible party was negligent in your case. This involves proving that:

  • The property owner or other responsible party had a duty of care they owed to you.
  • They failed to meet that duty of care, and you were injured as a result.
  • They knew or should have known about the pothole or other defect surface conditions.
  • They failed to warn about the dangerous conditions.

Finally, it is critical to show that you were injured through no fault of your own. Because Virginia follows the pure contributory negligence rule, if the injured party is even partly at fault, they will not be able to recover damages.

For example, if the pothole or other surface abnormality is large enough, Virginia law may bar recovery because the condition was open and obvious. In a similar vein, Virginia law may bar recovery in a slip and fall situation involving a pothole if it was too small to pose a reasonable danger.

Why Hire a Virginia Beach Premises Liability Lawyer?

Property owners, operators, and their insurance companies are rarely concerned about you and your injury. They will want to protect their bottom line, so they will probably deny liability. They often claim that the hazard was open and obvious or that you were at fault yourself for being clumsy or distracted.

Our Virginia Beach premises liability lawyers can help negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf. We are highly experienced in gathering the evidence you need to support your case, as we did for a Virginia client who suffered serious injuries from a slip and fall accident, in which we helped secure a $150,000 settlement.

For help with your pothole-related accident, contact us today. We have offices in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

 

RELATED CONTENT