How To Prove Premises Liability If Injured In The Company Parking Lot After Work

May 30, 2018

A premises liability case falls under personal injury where you will have to prove that the owner of the premise where the injury occurred is liable for any damages to your body. In the case where you were injured in the parking lot of your workplace after hours, you cannot file for workers’ compensation claim since it occurred after you had already checked out. Proving the owner is liable for your injuries is the difficult part but it is not impossible if you hire an injury lawyer in Lugoff, SC. He will be in a position to use past experiences and similar cases to show why your employer should pay for your injuries.

How to prove premises liability if you were injured in the company parking lot after hours

There are three things that need to be true for you to have a viable premise liability case:

Your employers are directly responsible for the maintenance of the parking lot.
Your employers were negligent of this duty, with proof.
You were injured as a result of this negligence.

What caused the injury?

The first step in determining who was liable for your injuries is to determine the cause of the injury. If the cause of the injury was due to your own carelessness, then you do not have a case. However, if the injury was caused by something that falls under the responsibility of your Lugoff, SC employer, then you may be in a position to file a premises liability case. Some of the causes that would be viable for this type of case include:

Potholes in the parking lot. If there are really big potholes in the parking lot, you may accidentally trip on one of them and hurt either your leg or arm as you were trying to break your fall.
Snow/ice. It is the responsibility of the owner to remove any ice in the parking lot since someone may slip and fall leading to serious injuries.
Stagnant water. Another common cause of a slip and fall. This is especially the fault of management since the water has been there for a while and they must have been aware of it.
Serious cracks. One may not be able to avoid all the cracks leading them to trip and get injured.
Poor lighting in the area. If there is poor lighting in a parking lot, a lot of accidents can occur and it will be blamed on the employers since they are responsible for ensuring that there is adequate lighting.
Anything blocking a path that caused you to trip.

As long as the accident happened in a parking lot that is under the management of your employers, your personal injury attorney in Lugoff, SC will be able to prove fault such that you can receive compensation for damages. However, he must also prove that you, in no way caused the injuries to yourself through such things as:

You ignored a sign that clearly warned about the cause of your accident. For example, if there was a sign warning about ice or potholes in the area.
You were under the influence. If it is found that you were drunk at the time you got the injury, your case may become complicated since your employers may claim that you were not careful.
You were not keen. If your employers are able to prove carelessness when you were in the parking lot, then you may not have a case.

What types of compensation can you file for in premises liability case?

Medical expenses

You are allowed to file for compensation for all the medical expenses you incurred due to the injury. These include admittance, medical tests, surgery and drugs that you bought.

Lost wages

You may have lost wages during the time it took for you to get better and back to work. You can get compensated for a fraction of your lost wages to allow you to support yourself and your family. If you were disabled as a result of the accident, you can file for compensation since you may not be in a position to work in the same capacity.

Pain and suffering

You can get compensated for all the pain and suffering that you and your family endured while you were injured.

If you are planning to file a premises liability case for injuries caused by a slip and fall in the parking lot of your workplace, then you need an experienced personal injury lawyer Lugoff, SC to represent you. At Connell Law Firm, you are assured competent legal counsel from years of experience in the area. Call us for a consultation and let us help you get the best compensation package possible.