Avoiding Liability Risks in Your Commercial Parking Lot
As the owner of any kind of commercial building, one of several important themes you’ll need to regularly consider is avoiding any issues of liability based on hazards on your property. This can refer to any kind of physical issue that you’re responsible for as a property owner — if your neglect or inattention to such an issue leads to someone being injured on your property, you may be held liable and forced to cover damages.
At Asphalt Masters, we’re here to help prevent one common form of liability for commercial property owners: Issues with your asphalt parking lot. We offer a comprehensive range of parking lot striping, repair and related services, ensuring that your lot is completely safe and well-marked at all times to help you avoid even the slightest risk of liability. Here’s a full rundown of some of the most common parking lot liabilities, plus how you can prevent their risks through a combination of your own processes and our professional services.
Common Liability Risks in Commercial Parking Lots
Here are some of the most common ways that parking lots in disrepair can lead to liability concerns for building owners:
- Non-compliance with ADA rules: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a rule set in place to ensure that everyone, regardless of their physical abilities, has equal access to public spaces. If your parking lot does not meet these standards for accessibility and safety features for disabled people, the government may deem you liable if someone gets injured on your property.
- Hazards from damage: A parking lot in disrepair can pose a number of potential physical hazards to people who use the space. This could include potholes, cracks or other damage that may lead to slips, trips and falls for any visitors to your property.
- Lack of visual cues: If the sort of hazards mentioned above are not properly marked with signs and other visual cues, the potential for injury and harm to visitors will increase. Not only that, but this can also lead to liability concerns if someone does get injured on your property due to hazards that were not properly marked.
- Insufficient lighting: If your parking lot is not properly lit, the visibility of the space will be reduced, along with the potential for accidents and injuries from slips, trips and falls.
- Poor drainage: Poor drainage can lead to dangerous puddles on your parking lot, increasing the chances of someone getting injured. In addition to injury risk, this could also lead to a decrease in overall health and safety conditions for the occupants of your property.
Luckily, there are some simple ways you can avoid all these risks. Our next several sections will dig into how.
Regular Lot Maintenance
First and foremost, the best way to avoid any liability issues based on the conditions of your parking lot is simply to do regular maintenance on the space. This should include avoiding potholes, cracks, and other general damage before they can become worse.
In addition to maintenance activities that you can perform on your own, we also recommend having a professional contractor like Asphalt Masters periodically inspect your parking lot for any potential issues. Not only will this help catch any problems before they become dangerous, but it can also help with documentation and planning for long-term repairs.
Repair Potholes or Other Damage Quickly
One simple reality with asphalt damage: It will only get worse the longer you allow the issue to persist. At Asphalt Masters, we recommend that commercial property owners either repair any damage in their parking lot as quickly as possible or schedule a professional inspection and repair plan before the damage spreads.
For instance, if a major pothole has recently developed on your lot, we recommend that you repair the damage or consult a professional as quickly as possible. This will help prevent any potential injuries from occurring and also limit your liability in the case of any accident or injury.
Ensure Quality Striping
As we mentioned above, visual cues such as clear striping for parking spaces can help prevent many potential hazards in a parking lot. If the striping on your lot is worn, faded or unclear in any way, it’s essential to have the issue addressed immediately.
At Asphalt Masters, we use high-quality materials and expert techniques to ensure that our customers’ parking lots always have clear, accurate striping. In addition to helping with accidents and liability concerns, this also helps ensure that your customers and employees can find good parking spaces quickly so that they can get where they need to go.
Use Proper Lighting
It’s essential for a parking lot to have high-quality lighting in any areas of potential visibility issues such as blind corners or tight turns. Not only will this help prevent accidents, but it can also help your business meet any local regulations regarding lighting conditions.
Ensure Quality Drainage
Another factor that can help prevent accidents in a parking lot is having good drainage. A well-drained parking lot will not be vulnerable to dangerous puddles or thick mud on the ground after days of rain, so visitors and employees can avoid any potential slip-and-fall hazards.
This doesn’t have to be a high-hassle process, either. It’s simple enough to install and maintain quality drainage features, which may include gutters, trenches, or catch basins.
At Asphalt Masters, we can help ensure that your parking lot is fully equipped to avoid any liability hazards. Whether you need regular maintenance and inspections or an entire new parking lot design, our team has the expertise and experience you’re looking for. Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist you!
