Posted on: 15 December 2020

While it's not the best thing to happen to you, a car accident on public property can make it easier to know what to do. You know to take pictures, contact emergency services such as an ambulance and the police and to stay with your car. What happens if you have a car accident on private property such as a shopping mall or restaurant parking lot?

While many of the same steps apply, there are a few more you should take in the event you need to contact a car accident lawyer to help you receive damages if the case should go to court. Here are some of those things you should do when being involved in an accident on private property.

1. Contact Security Guards and Emergency Services

After an accident on private property, always contact emergency services first. This means calling both for an ambulance if anyone is hurt and calling the police to get an accident report. It might take a while for the police to arrive in some cases, so it's a good idea to try to write down what you remember and what witnesses remember while it's fresh in everyone's minds.

You should also contact the security guards on-site to inform them of what happened. They can start an accident report that you can give to your car accident lawyer if need be. They can also check the security cameras and give that footage to your lawyer too. This video footage can potentially show that either the other driver was at fault for the accident, or that the property owner was at fault due to negligence in the upkeep of the roadway.

2. Contact the Property Owner

Another step that you should take if you have a car accident on private property is to contact the property owner. If it's a restaurant that is located in a standalone building, it might be easier to get this information. If the property is a large shopping mall or an industrial setting, it might be a bit harder to get. You can search online for the property owner or you can have your car accident lawyer do your search for you and contact them.

This is an important step because it's possible the accident was caused due to improper maintenance of the roadways, or confusing placement of directional signs such as yielding to oncoming cars or stop signs within the property's grounds. It can also be that the property's parking lot or roadways are simply not wide enough to accommodate the amount of traffic there and so therefore the owner could be liable for any accident that happened there.