Many of us use our motor vehicles on a daily basis to commute to and from work, to visit friends and family and to run a great number of errands. As we drive our vehicles on the roadways, we should be on constant alert for hazards, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcycles, animals and other motor vehicles given the fact that we might be traveling at rates of speed which would make it very difficult to stop rather suddenly.

There is a very dangerous place to be driving where some of us might not be on this heightened level of alert given the fact that it might not present us with the fast-moving hazards that we would otherwise see on the roadways. We might even be lulled into a false sense of security which would cause some of us to feel like we are not in much danger or risk of being involved in some type of an accident.

This very dangerous place is a parking lot. These would include parking lots at shopping malls, strip malls, gas stations and convenience stores, condominiums, apartment buildings and other commercial establishments. Your vehicle will be moving at a much slower rate of speed and things are not as hectic as they might otherwise be on the roadways but your need to pay close attention to what is going on which is of great importance.

How many times do you see some or all of the following behavior: cars traveling at a high rate of speed; cars backing up without looking; children darting out into the traveled portion of the parking lot; shopping carts moving across the parking lot while unattended; people not yielding to other vehicles; pedestrians crossing the parking lot while not on crosswalks or other safe locations; and people generally not watching when they turn in one direction or another?

Unfortunately, our office has represented a number of individuals who have been injured in parking lot accidents. One woman was standing between her car and the vehicle next to her when the other driver cut the wheel so severely that he wedged our client between the two vehicles. Another individual was hit while crossing from a grocery store to her car when a person who was not looking made a left-hand turn directly into this individual.

We have also represented individuals who have been struck in parking lots by people who are engaged in distracting driving such as using a cell phone or not keeping a proper lookout. Another individual was struck by an elderly gentleman who put his car in reverse, when he thought it was in drive, and stepped on the gas pedal thereby striking our client and knocking her to the ground. These types of accidents can cause very significant injuries especially when they involve pedestrians, people on bicycles or motorcyclists.

Please be very careful when you are operating a motor vehicle regardless of where you are. You might not be as safe as you would otherwise think when you are traveling slowly across the parking lot because of the many risks and hazards that are present. You should also be very careful when you are a pedestrian walking across the parking lot because the risk of being injured is still very present.

If you or someone you know has been involved in some type of a parking lot accident or was injured as a result of the fault of another, please contact our Connecticut personal injury lawyers as soon as possible so that we can provide you with free books and advice so you will know what to do and what not to do.