Forensic Engineering Experts: Parking Lots & Garages

Parking lots are the scene of many pedestrian accidents because of the close proximity of people and cars and the confusing traffic patterns that sometimes exist. In addition to pedestrian-vehicle collisions, many trip and fall accidents occur in parking lots as well. These can be caused by the presence of low parking bumpers, poor lighting or a person's inattentiveness. In most instances, when a serious accident occurs, the design and maintenance of the parking lot must be considered to determine if it was deficient and contributed to the accident. These investigations typically consider parking stall layout, crosswalks, wheel stops, travel arrows, signs and sight issues.

Expertise

We have experience in many aspects of parking lot and garage accidents including:

• Lighting measurements
• Parking lot design layout
• Tripping hazard identification
• Line of sight and visibility analyses
• Adequacy of signage
• Reference library on parking lot safety

Questions Answered

Through scientific analysis, we can help you answer pertinent questions such as:

• Was the lighting in the parking lot adequate?
• Were there dangerous tripping hazards present?
• Were the parking stalls designed in accordance with safe practices?

Case Examples

Child Struck by Car in Parking Field:

After a soccer game, a boy and his father were walking through an unpaved parking field towards their car when a vehicle backing out ran over the boy causing serious injuries. There were no parking stall markings and cars were parked randomly. Thus, traffic entering and leaving could approach from many directions. In addition, there was no artificial lighting and no one was supervising traffic flow. Based upon the minimally designed parking lot, we showed how the accident could easily occur.

Wheel Stop Trip & Fall:

A woman tripped on a wheel stop in a parking stall as she left her car, and was injured. Plaintiff's expert claimed that the use of wheel stops was hazardous in that they presented a tripping hazard. We reconstructed the accident and showed that the visibility that day was adequate for a reasonably cautious person to see and avoid the wheel stop and that, wheel stops were a reasonable method of preventing cars from intruding upon the nearby sidewalk. The jury found for the defense.

Kristopher J. Seluga, PE, is a Mechanical Engineering, Accident Reconstruction, Biomechanics, and Safety Expert with over 20 years of experience. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Mechanical Engineering department at MIT where he worked on the development of novel three-dimensional printing technologies. Mr. Seluga is also a licensed Professional Engineer in New York and Connecticut, and has served as a member of the ANSI engineering committee for the Z130.1 and Z135 standards for golf cars and PTV's. His research interests and peer reviewed publications span the topics of Motor Vehicle Dynamics, Product Safety, and Biomechanics.

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