Parking Lots Can Be Dangerous
The transformation of Florida’s abundant swamp land into something profitable is an essential part of the brand identity of Sawgrass Mills. The few people who have consistently lived in Broward County for 40 years will remember when western Broward, where the enormous mall currently stands, was undeveloped wetlands, with more alligators than people. The mall’s name, Sawgrass Mills, alludes to when the area was nothing but tall grass and rural enterprises. Even though it is impossible to see this unless you are flying over South Florida in an airplane, perhaps on your way to land at Fort Lauderdale International Airport, the mall is shaped like an alligator, and each of the entrances is named after a different Florida species, such as toads, dolphins, and flamingos. Even from an airplane, you have to look carefully to see the alligator shape, because there are so many outlying stores and restaurants in the parking lot. The Sawgrass Mills parking lot is not for the faint of heart, even on sunny days. Several years ago, a South Florida woman got injured when her car fell into a ditch in the flooded parking lot of the Sawgrass Mills mall complex. If you got injured in a preventable accident in a poorly constructed or poorly maintained parking lot, contact a Fort Lauderdale premises liability lawyer.
Woman Injured in Mishap in Flooded Sawgrass Mills Parking Lot
After a heavy rainstorm in the summer of 2017, the management of Sawgrass Mills placed orange cones to mark off areas of the parking lot that were closed. Some of the available spaces were still covered by enough floodwater that it was difficult to see them. When a driver went to the Sawgrass Mills Home Depot after the storm, she turned left into what she thought was a flooded parking space; it was not marked off by cones. It turned out to be a drainage ditch, and her car started sinking. She had to swim out of her car, and she called for a ride home after she reached dry land, thinking that she was two injured.
Two days after her ordeal, she began to experience neck pain and respiratory symptoms. She went to the emergency room and received a diagnosis of pneumonia and a pinched nerve. She sued Sawgrass Mills and Simon Malls, the international company that owns it, for premises liability. She claimed that the mall management should have placed orange cones or a temporary sign to warn visitors of the location of the ditch. Even better, they should have placed a permanent sign or made it inaccessible even in dry weather. To prevail in her lawsuit, she must prove that the accident was the cause of her injuries, and that they were not due to a pre-existing medical condition.
Set Up a Consultation Today
A personal injury lawyer can help you if you got injured in a car accident in a dangerous parking lot. Contact Boone & Davis in Fort Lauderdale, Florida or call 954-566-9919 to explore your potential recovery options today.
Source:
nbcmiami.com/news/local/women-filing-lawsuit-against-sawgrass-mills-after-car-damaged-during-flooding/16419/
