Am I liable for my skateboard causing damage to a car?
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Am I liable for my skateboard causing damage to a car?
I was in the parking lot with a friend standing on skateboards and talking. A car
turned the corner and headed in our direction, The car was travelling at about 10 to 15 miles an hour. The car briefly slowed as my friend and I pushed our
skateboards toward the sidewalk. In my scrambled effort to evacuate the path of the vehicle, my skateboard rolled into the driveway. The car began to accelerate and drove over my skateboard. I feel that since I was a pedestrian, and was rushed out of the way, I am not responsible to pay damages.
Asked on June 11, 2018 under Accident Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
There is no law or legal principal saying that a pedestrian is not liable for damage he or she does to a car. If the car was driving at an appropriate speed for a parking lot, you are probably liable, since you should *not* be simply standing on skateboards in a parking lot: a parking lot is not a skatepark or a sidewalk, and is not skating or hanging out/talking--it is for parking, for driving cars to/from parking, and from walking to/from parked cars. You therefore were in the wrong place, and so if the car was driving safely, you were the ones in the wrong and liable. If the car was driving dangerously or carelessly (e.g. excessively fast), then even though you were still in the wrong, the driver's own negligence could cancel that out and result in no liability to you--you cannot recover compensation from another person if you yourself significantly contributed to the accident or damage.
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