Parking Lot Slip and Fall and Pothole Injuries in Louisville

• Potholes and crumbling or uneven asphalt
• Broken curbs, sidewalks and ramps
• Wheel stops (parking blocks) in walkways or painted the same color as the pavement
• Ice and snow left on walkways and lots. See ice and snow falls.
• Poor lighting at night
• Drains, grates and uncovered holes
• Oil and fluid spills near gas pumps and drive-throughs

• The property owner of the shopping center, office park or apartment complex.
• The tenant business if its lease puts the lot or sidewalk under its control.
• A property management company hired to maintain the lot.
• A snow and ice removal contractor that didn’t do the job it was hired for.
• A government agency for public lots, garages and sidewalks. Special immunity and notice rules apply; see sidewalk trip and falls.

We read the leases and contracts to find everyone who had a duty to keep the lot safe.

Kentucky property owners owe customers and other invited guests a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe and to fix or warn about hazards they know about or should find with reasonable care. Since Kentucky River Medical Center v. McIntosh (2010) and Shelton v. Kentucky Easter Seals Society (2013), an “open and obvious” hazard usually doesn’t end a case on its own; it is weighed when fault is compared. Kentucky uses pure comparative fault: your share of fault reduces your recovery but doesn’t bar it (KRS 411.182).

• Photos of the defect with a coin, shoe or tape measure for scale
• Photos of the lighting and any warning cones or signs (or the lack of them)
• The exact location: the store you were near and the row or space
• Witness names
• An incident report from the store or property manager
• Weather records for ice falls

Owners often patch potholes right after a fall. Photos taken that day can be the most important evidence in the case.

That is a motor vehicle claim with different insurance rules and a different deadline. See parking lot accidents and pedestrian accidents.

Most other Kentucky personal injury claims, including falls on someone’s property, must be filed within one year (KRS 413.140). Use our statute of limitations calculator.