What Must Be Shown Under North Carolina Law
Most parking-lot injury claims are based on negligence. That means you’re trying to show the other driver failed to use reasonable care under the circumstances. Parking lots can be tricky because lanes are narrow, visibility is limited, and drivers are often backing out or turning quickly.
Key Requirements
- Duty: Drivers must use reasonable care to avoid harming others, including in parking lots.
- Breach: The other driver did something unsafe (for example, backing without keeping a proper lookout).
- Causation: That unsafe act caused the crash and your injuries (not something unrelated).
- Damages: You had losses, such as vehicle damage, medical bills, pain, or time dealing with limitations.
Evidence That Commonly Helps
- Documents:
- Photos/video from the scene: Vehicle positions, damage angles, parking-space layout, lane markings/arrows, and any visibility obstructions.
- Surveillance video: Many businesses have cameras facing entrances, pumps, or drive lanes. Video can be time-sensitive, so requesting it quickly matters.
- Police report or incident report: These can help with basic facts (who was involved, where, when, witness names). They are not always decisive on fault, especially on private property.
- Vehicle damage patterns: In backing collisions, the location and height of damage can support who was moving and who had the better chance to avoid impact.
- People:
- Independent witnesses: A neutral witness who saw the backing maneuver can be persuasive. Get contact information and a short description of what they saw.
- Your own notes: Write down what happened while it’s fresh: where you were, whether you were stopped, what direction each vehicle moved, and what the other driver said immediately after.
- Data:
- Time-stamped communications: Messages or emails reporting the crash can help show consistency.
- Medical timing (high-level): If you later seek care, records often matter most when they clearly connect the onset/worsening of symptoms to the crash and document how you felt over time.
Common Defenses & Pitfalls
- “You were also careless” arguments (important in NC): North Carolina generally follows contributory negligence, meaning the insurer may try to argue you contributed in any way (for example, you were moving too fast for the lot, not paying attention, or you could have avoided the backing vehicle). Even small factual disputes can matter.
- “Both were backing” or “shared lane” disputes: Parking-lot crashes often turn into a disagreement about who was moving, who had the right-of-way in the drive lane, and whether either driver stopped to look.
- Delayed documentation: Waiting too long to request video, take photos, or identify witnesses can make proof harder.
- Inconsistent descriptions: Small differences in how the crash is described (speed, direction, whether you were stopped) can be used to challenge credibility.
How This Applies
Apply to the facts given: If the other driver backed out after leaving the restaurant and struck your vehicle, the most important proof is often (1) where your car was in the drive lane and (2) whether the other driver checked that backing could be done safely. Photos of the final positions and damage angles, any available surveillance video, and a witness statement can help clarify that you were already established in the lane when the other vehicle reversed. If you have ongoing neck symptoms, consistent documentation of when symptoms started and how they changed after the crash can also help connect the injury claim to the impact.
What the Statutes Say (Optional)
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-154 (Starting, stopping, turning; backing) – requires a driver to make sure a movement can be made safely and not to back unless it can be done safely (the statute also notes that a violation is not automatically negligence per se).
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52 (Three-year limitations period for many injury claims) – sets a three-year deadline for many negligence-based personal injury lawsuits (deadlines can vary by claim type and facts).
Conclusion
To prove fault in a North Carolina parking-lot crash, focus on clear, practical evidence: vehicle positions, damage angles, witness accounts, and any available video showing the backing maneuver. Keep your description consistent and preserve anything time-sensitive, like surveillance footage. Because contributory negligence can be a major issue in NC, it also helps to document what you did to drive carefully and avoid the collision. One good next step is to gather photos, witness contact information, and any video leads while they are still available.
