$3,500,000 Premises Liability – Parking Lot Fatality

A man woke up early one Saturday morning in late October to play golf with his friends.  Just after 7am, on his way to the course, he stopped at a store in a strip mall to pick up beverages.  Walking out of the store and while in the crosswalk, he was struck by a driver speeding through the parking lot.  The driver had a minimal limits, $25,000.00, insurance policy and no other assets from which to recover.

Attorney Baer inspected the parking lot at the time when the incident occurred.  It was near the end of daylight savings time; thus, it was still fairly dark out at that time.  Attorney Baer couldn’t believe what he discovered.  When he arrived at the parking lot just before 7am, it was all lit up.  Then at 7am, despite that it remained dark outside, the parking lot lights turned off.  IT WAS DARK.  The lights were set on a timer to turn off at 7am despite that it was still dark at 7am.

Attorney Baer was able to demonstrate that lighting was a factor in his client’s failure to appreciate the speed at which the vehicle was travelling.  He also hired a parking lot expert to demonstrate how the design of the parking lot encouraged, as opposed to mitigate, speed.  With this evidence, attorney Baer was able to negotiate an early resolution with the shopping center owner shortly after suit was filed.

Bryan Baer

Attorney Bryan Baer has twenty (20) years of legal experience representing clients in serious and catastrophic personal injury and medical malpractice cases. He has been first chair in more than a dozen twelve-person jury trials on both the plaintiff and defense sides. Recognized as a leader in his legal community, he is frequently asked to speak at legal seminars on trial topics ranging from “Best Practices in Voire Dire” to “Maximizing Damages at Trial” as well as insurance issues such as “Navigating the Insurance Landscape” and “Injury Demands & Negotiations.” Learn more here.