Who Is at Fault in a Parking Lot Crash at a Scranton Mall or Downtown Garage?

You were easing out of a space at the Marketplace at Steamtown, or inching through a packed lot off Commerce Boulevard in Dickson City, when another car crashed into yours. Now, the other driver is insisting it was your fault because “everyone knows parking lots are 50/50.”

Parking lot crashes are not automatically shared fault, and they are not too small to matter. A low-speed collision can still leave you with a back or neck injury, a totaled vehicle, and an insurer looking for any reason to pay less.

Munley Law has represented Lackawanna County drivers for nearly 70 years, and we know how fault is determined when a crash occurs on private property.

If you were injured in a parking lot crash anywhere in the Scranton area, call our Scranton office at 570-865-4699 for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we win.

Who Is at Fault in a Scranton Parking Lot Crash?

Fault in a parking lot crash is decided the same way as it is on any Pennsylvania road. The driver who failed to use reasonable care is responsible, even though the lot is private property.

Being off the public highway does not change the rules of negligence. If a driver backed out without looking, sped through a lane, or rolled past a stop sign painted on the pavement, they can be held liable for the damage they caused.

What changes in a parking lot is the evidence, not the law. There are no clear lane markings like on a highway; traffic moves in several directions at once, and drivers are watching for open spaces, shopping carts, and pedestrians rather than each other. This makes documenting the scene more important, not less.

Does Right-of-Way Still Apply in a Parking Lot?

Yes. Parking lots have a basic right-of-way structure that usually determines fault. The main lanes that flow toward the exits, called thoroughfares, have the right-of-way over the smaller feeder lanes that run between the rows of parked cars. A driver pulling out of a feeder lane or a parking space must yield to traffic already moving in a thoroughfare.

This rule determines who is at fault in most Scranton lot crashes:

• Backing-out collisions: A driver reverses out of a space into a passing car. The backing driver is almost always at fault, because a car leaving a space must yield to through traffic.
• Two cars backing at once: When drivers reverse out of spaces across from each other, fault is often shared, but rarely evenly. The driver who started first and was already well into the lane usually bears less blame.
• Thoroughfare collisions: A driver in a feeder lane pulls across a main lane and is struck. The driver who failed to yield is at fault.

Is a Parking Lot Crash Always 50/50?

No. The idea that parking lot crashes are automatically split down the middle is a myth, and it is one insurance adjusters are happy to let you believe.

Pennsylvania uses modified comparative negligence, which means fault is assigned based on each driver’s actual conduct. One driver can be found 100% at fault, or the split can land at 80/20, 70/30, or wherever the facts point.

This is important for your recovery. Under Pennsylvania law (42 Pa.C.S. Section 7102), you may recover compensation as long as you are less than 51% at fault, and your award will be reduced in proportion to your share of the blame. When an adjuster pushes a 50/50 split that the evidence does not support, they are protecting their bottom line, not stating the law.

Should You Call the Police After a Parking Lot Crash in Scranton?

Yes, call the police even though the crash happened on private property. Scranton police can respond to a collision in a mall lot or a downtown garage, and an officer’s report creates an independent record of the scene before the cars are moved.

If officers decline to respond to a minor lot crash, document everything yourself before you leave.

• Photograph both vehicles, their positions, and any debris before anyone moves them
• Get the other driver’s name, license, insurance, and plate number
• Note the exact spot: which lot or store, which row, which garage level
• Look for witnesses, including store employees and nearby shoppers
• See a doctor the same day, even if you feel fine, because soft-tissue injuries often surface a day or two later

What If the Other Driver Says There Was No Camera?

Do not take their word for it. Most Scranton-area shopping centers and downtown garages are equipped with security cameras, including the Marketplace at Steamtown, the Dickson City retail corridor, and the garages operated by the Scranton Parking Authority. This footage is often the single best proof of who was at fault, and it is also the evidence that disappears fastest.

Many camera systems record over their own footage within days. A lawyer can send a preservation letter to the property owner right away, before the recording is gone. The sooner you act, the better your chance of securing the video that settles the question of fault for good.

Talk to a Scranton Car Accident Lawyer Today

A parking lot crash can feel too minor to fight over and too unfair to let go. It is neither. If you were injured in a crash at a Scranton mall, a store lot off Commerce Boulevard, or a downtown garage, Munley Law’s Scranton car accident lawyers can find out who was really at fault and deal with the insurance company for you.

Call our Scranton office at 570-865-4699 or reach us online for a free consultation. There is no fee unless we win.