For many shoppers, the most dangerous part of a trip to the mall is not inside at all. It is the walk across the parking lot, arms full of bags, keys in hand, headed toward a car parked far from the entrance. Robberies, carjackings, assaults, and shootings in shopping center lots happen far too often.
What many victims do not realize is that the business they were visiting may share responsibility for what happened out there.
The duty does not stop at the entrance
Shopping malls and large retailers invite the public onto their property, and that includes the parking areas customers have to cross to get inside. These businesses owe a duty to guard against foreseeable crime not only in their stores and hallways, but also in their lots. Businesses often owe a duty in the parking areas their customers use, which means an attack in a store's or shopping center's lot can support a claim if security there was inadequate.
Why parking areas attract crime
Parking lots and garages are isolated, frequently poorly lit, and easy for criminals to enter and leave quickly. People there are often distracted, alone, and carrying valuables. That combination makes parking areas frequent sites of robberies, shootings, and assaults, and it is exactly why owners who control them are expected to secure them reasonably.
Security failures that show up in lots and garages
When an attack happens in a retail parking area, the investigation often reveals one or more of these problems:
- Lighting that is inadequate or broken on parking levels, ramps, and stairwells
- Surveillance cameras that are missing or not working
- No gates, access control, or attendants at garage entrances
- No security patrols despite a known crime problem in the lot
- Broken elevators or stairwell doors that trap people or leave them exposed
Poorly secured parking structures are also a recurring failure at shopping malls and large retailers generally.
Who controls the lot
Responsibility usually follows control. At a shopping center, the parking may be owned and operated by the mall itself, by a separate property management company, by an individual anchor store, or by a standalone garage operator. The answer can differ even within one property, with one section of the lot belonging to a department store and another to the mall owner. Identifying exactly who was responsible for security where the attack happened is an early and important step.
Depending on the layout, the parties answerable for a lot attack can include the shopping center's owner and manager, a tenant store, or a contracted security provider.
When a parking lot crime is foreseeable
The property's size, traffic, and crime history all bear on whether an attack should have been anticipated. A lot that has seen a string of car break-ins, purse snatchings, or armed robberies puts its owner on notice. If the owner keeps the lights dim, leaves the cameras broken, and never sends a patrol, a court may find it failed to provide the reasonable security the risk demanded.
Injuries and recovery
Parking-area attacks frequently cause catastrophic gunshot injuries. A claim against the responsible business can pursue the costs of medical care now and later, lost income, and emotional trauma. Where the attack was fatal, the family may seek a wrongful-death recovery.
The Haggard Law Firm has handled nearly 500 negligent-security cases. Its results include a $102.7 million verdict, the largest negligent-security verdict in U.S. history, for a patron shot at a Miami nightclub and shopping center with inadequate security, and a $3.9 million verdict for the family of a teenager shot in an apartment parking lot. Both amounts are gross recoveries.
What to do after a parking lot attack
- Get medical care and report the crime to police.
- Note the exact location in the lot or garage, including the level, section, and nearest store entrance.
- Photograph lighting, cameras, gates, and anything else that looked broken or missing, if you can do so safely.
- Write down the names of witnesses and any store or security employees who responded.
- Contact a lawyer quickly. Surveillance footage may be overwritten within days, and the condition of the lot can change once repairs are made.
Excuses you may hear
After a parking lot attack, businesses sometimes say the lot is "public," that customers park at their own risk, or that a sign warned people to lock their cars. None of these automatically ends a claim. A sign posted at the entrance does not replace working lights or a patrol at a lot with a known crime problem. And a lot is rarely as public as owners suggest. Someone owns it, someone maintains it, and someone decides how much to spend securing it. The investigation focuses on who that was and what they knew.
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Attorney advertising. This post is general and is not a substitute for legal advice, and it does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Earlier outcomes do not guarantee similar results.
