Public roads are not the only places motor vehicle accidents can occur here in Louisiana. Sometimes, such crashes occur on private property. For example, the parking lots of businesses are sometimes the scene of such an accident.
There are various things that are different about crashes on private lots and their aftermath, as compared to traditional traffic accidents, including that:
- Some state traffic laws don’t apply to private property.
- There are many fewer types of citations that can be issued in connection to these types of incidents.
- Police generally use a different type of report in their investigations of this type of crash. It is less detailed than the standard motor vehicle accident report.
One way in which private property crashes and public road accidents are alike though is that civil legal matters could come up in connection to both of them. Now, the types of parties that such legal issues can involve can be a little different in crashes on private property. For example, a private property’s owner could potentially end up as a defendant in a legal action involving such an accident. Also, the various unique aspects of accidents on private property (including those mentioned above) could affect what kinds of issues come up (like evidence issues) when building a defense in response to legal actions brought over the crash.
Skilled personal injury defense lawyers can advise parties that have been named as defendants in lawsuits brought over accidents at a business parking lot or some other private property on their options for responding to the suit.
Source: Opelousas Daily World, “Do Louisiana State traffic laws apply on private property?,” Bobby J. Guidroz, Dec. 15, 2014