Using a parking garage or parking ramp is a decision people make for a number of reasons. Perhaps the parking facility is close to their destination and there is little other parking available. Maybe the driver worries about the potential for someone to vandalize their vehicle or even steal it.
Regardless of why someone chooses to park in a parking ramp or parking garage, or how long their vehicle stays there, that individual probably does not expect to wind up suffering damage as a result of that decision.
Sadly, many people or businesses that operate parking garages and parking ramps view them as passive forms of income, meaning they may not engage in adequate maintenance or care of the property. Serious injuries and premises liability claims can result from a lack of staff, maintenance or security in private, for-profit parking facilities.
Lack of staffing could mean no one’s there to address safety issues
Many parking garages or parking ramps do not have paid employees, while others may have a single individual working the gate. There might not be anyone available to remove accumulated ice and snow in open areas, address leaks or puddling water, or otherwise ensure that clients can safely enter and exit the parking facility.
Someone could easily experience a slip and then fall in a parking facility, an experience that could leave them with a serious injury. Those who get hurt in a parking garage due to negligent property maintenance may have the right to bring a premises liability claim against the owner of the parking garage or parking ramp for not exercising reasonable care to maintain a safe facility.
People can become victims of crimes in parking facilities
People often think of enclosed parking facilities as safer for them and their vehicle than parking on the street. However, on the open street, someone may see it if an individual takes a tire iron to your windshield or attempts to mug you. Even if there are security cameras in place in a parking facility, there may not be anyone actively monitoring the camera for crime, which means that people parking their vehicles in a parking garage could wind up victims of theft or assault.
Those victims may also have the right to bring premises liability claims against the parking garage or parking ramp owner because of inadequate safety precautions or security measures at the facility. When a lack of security cameras combines with an enclosed space, it may create a perfect environment for someone who commits a crime.
Although in many cases you can’t bring a claim for damage to your vehicle that occurs in a parking garage, any injury you personally suffer that is the result of understaffing, inadequate maintenance or a lack of security, could give rise to a valid premises liability claim.
