Who is Responsible for a Serious Parking Lot Injury?

 Posted on October 10, 2025 in Premises Liability

Anyone who has had small children knows the drill around cars: You need to hold an adult's hand whenever you are in or nearby a parking lot. When we get older, though – especially after we start driving – getting in and out of parking spaces is such a mundane task that, for most of us most of the time, we do not give it a second thought. It is not until a serious accident happens that people suddenly realize what dangerous places parking lots can be.

If you or someone you love has been hurt or killed in a parking lot accident, you probably have questions. Is someone else responsible for the accident? What if it seems like you may share responsibility yourself, even if you are the one who was hurt? Talking to a Barrington, IL parking lot injury attorney is free and can give you a sense of your options. There is no risk in calling us at 224-900-HURT today.

Common Causes of Parking Lot Injuries

Although people usually get in and out of parking lots without any problems, they do present dangers. These can come from more than just cars and other vehicles. Common causes of injuries in parking lots include:

• Robbery and assault

• Poor lighting at night

• Tripping on uneven pavements or sidewalks

• Slipping on uncleared snow or ice

• Pedestrians hit by cars, especially when cars are backing out

Injuries in parking lots are sometimes caused by multiple factors working together at once. For example, many people are badly hurt when they get out of their car at night in the winter and slip on black ice that is too dark to see.

Who is Responsible for Parking Lot Injuries?

For any given case, the responsible party will depend on the specifics of each situation. However, property owners in Illinois are responsible for reasonably anticipating potential causes of injuries and of either fixing them or warning visitors about them in a timely manner.

To have a successful claim, you will need to show that you were legally on the property and that the property owner or manager owed you a duty of care. If you are shopping at a grocery store at night, for example, the grocery store owes you a duty of care to keep the parking lot reasonably safe. You will need to show that the property owner or manager breached that duty – for example, by not having lighting in the parking lot at night, perhaps making it easy for a criminal to assault unsuspecting victims. You will need to show that you suffered damages (these are often medical bills, property damage, etc.). Finally, you will have to show that your damages were a direct result of the breach of the duty of care.

You can even be partly responsible for your injury and still recover compensation. Illinois allows injury victims to pursue claims if they are 50 percent or less responsible for their injuries. The damages a victim is awarded are simply reduced by their percentage of shared fault.

Call a Cook County, IL Parking Lot Injury Lawyer

At Barrington Injury Attorneys, our Barrington pedestrian accident attorneys help clients who are hurt in parking lots, even when they may share some fault. Call us at 224-900-HURT to schedule a free consultation. The sooner we get to work on your case, the better we will be able to find and preserve important evidence to support your claim.