Parking Lot Accidents at Westfield Topanga: Who Is at Fault

A parking lot crash at Westfield Topanga or Northridge Fashion Center is worked out the same way any other California crash is worked out: by comparing what each driver did and assigning fault based on that conduct. What changes in a parking lot is the evidence. Police often will not respond to a crash on private property unless someone is hurt, which means the report, if one exists at all, may say nothing more than “private property, no investigation,” and the case has to be built from photographs, mall security footage and the layout of the lot itself.

That surprises people who assume a police report settles the question of fault. In a lot like Westfield Topanga’s structure off Topanga Canyon Boulevard or the surface lot ringing Northridge Fashion Center, fault usually comes down to a handful of recurring patterns: a car pulling out of a parking space into a car already driving through, two cars backing out of spaces across from each other at the same time, a driver cutting through a row of parked cars instead of using the marked lane, or a pedestrian stepping between parked cars into the path of traffic. This guide walks through how each of those plays out, what security footage can and cannot do for you, and why “there is barely a scratch” is not the same thing as “there is no injury.”

Why the police often will not come

Los Angeles County law enforcement generally responds to a private-property crash only when someone is injured, when a vehicle cannot be moved, or when there is a strong indication that a crime occurred, such as a hit and run where the other driver left the scene. A fender-bender between two moving cars in a mall lot, with no injuries reported at the scene, usually does not bring an officer out. When one does come, or when a report is later requested, it may simply note that the collision happened on private property and that no investigation was performed, without any fault determination at all.

That does not mean fault cannot be established. It means the burden shifts almost entirely to what the drivers, witnesses and cameras captured at the time, since there will be no independent officer’s account to fall back on later. Our guide on getting a police report, hospital care and next steps covers what to do when an officer never comes to the scene at all.

How fault gets sorted out in a parking lot

Mall parking lots generally have two kinds of driving areas: the main through lanes that run past the rows of parking, and the narrower feeder lanes between rows where cars pull in and out of individual spaces. A driver in a through lane generally has the right of way over a driver backing out of a space or pulling out of a row, in the same way a driver on a public street has the right of way over a driver leaving a driveway. A driver backing out of a space owes a duty to look before moving, and a driver who is already backing out generally has some obligation to yield to a car that is already visible and moving through the lot.

The most common fact patterns:

• One car backs out, one car is driving through. The car already in motion in the through lane usually has the stronger position, though speed matters. A car flying through a parking lot at a speed a reasonable driver would not use can share fault even against a driver who backed out carelessly.
• Two cars back out at the same time, facing each other. Both drivers owe the same duty to look before reversing, and fault is often split between them based on which driver had more time or a clearer view.
• A driver cuts diagonally across a row of spaces instead of using the marked lane. This driver is generally in the weaker position, since the shortcut itself is the unsafe choice.
• A pedestrian crosses between parked cars outside a marked walkway. Drivers still owe a duty of care to pedestrians in a parking lot, but a pedestrian who steps out from between cars without looking can bear a share of fault too. A pedestrian struck in a parking lot faces the same evidence problem as a driver: no traffic camera on the street, and a private lot’s own cameras as the main source of proof.
• A car is struck while parked and empty, and the other driver leaves. This is treated as a hit and run, and the owner’s own uninsured motorist coverage often becomes the practical path to a recovery, alongside efforts to identify the driver.

Security footage and how fast to ask for it

Large shopping centers like Westfield Topanga and Northridge Fashion Center generally have security camera coverage across their lots and structures, run by mall security or a third-party property management company rather than by any individual store. That footage is often retained for a limited period before it is recorded over, sometimes a matter of days to a few weeks depending on the system. A request made by an attorney soon after the crash, describing the date, approximate time and location within the lot, has a much better chance of finding footage that still exists than a request made months later. If you were involved in a crash at either mall, noting the exact row, level of the parking structure, or nearest store entrance speeds up the search considerably.

Getting footage released is a separate problem from finding it. Mall security and property management companies are often cautious about handing over video directly to a driver, sometimes citing privacy concerns about other shoppers who appear in the frame, sometimes simply following a policy that routes every request through a corporate office in another state. A written preservation request, sent early and addressed to the property manager by name where possible, at least stops the footage from being recorded over while the parties work out how and when it gets released. Waiting on a phone call that never gets returned is how good footage disappears.

When the property owner shares responsibility

Most parking lot crashes are between two drivers, and the mall or shopping center itself is not involved. There are situations where the property owner’s own conduct contributes to a crash: a burned-out light in a parking structure that leaves a blind corner dark, faded or missing lane markings that make a through lane look like a parking row, a pothole or collapsed curb that causes a driver to swerve, or a walkway design that funnels pedestrians into a driving lane with no clear crossing point. These cases draw on the same premises liability principles from Rowland v. Christian that come up in a slip and fall claim, asking whether the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard and did not reasonably fix it or warn about it. They are less common than driver-versus-driver claims, but they come up, particularly in older sections of a parking structure that have not been resurfaced or restriped in years.

Low-speed crashes and the “no damage, no injury” argument

Parking lot crashes tend to happen at low speed, often under 10 miles per hour, and insurance companies use that fact to argue that a person could not have been hurt. It is the same argument made after low-speed rear-end crashes on the street, applied here to a smaller, slower version of the same collision. The argument does not hold up as a matter of medicine. A sudden, low-speed jolt can still strain a neck or a back, particularly for someone who was not braced for it, was reaching for something in the back seat, or had an existing vulnerability in the spine. The insurance company’s file will emphasize the size of the dent. The medical record, started promptly and followed through, is what actually answers the question, the same way it answers the question in any car accident claim.

What to do at the scene

1. Check on everyone involved, including any pedestrian nearby, before anything else.
2. Photograph both vehicles, the positions of the cars relative to the parking lines, and the row or level number.
3. Look for a security camera and note its approximate location and what it seems to be pointed at.
4. Get names and phone numbers from anyone who saw the crash, including mall employees on a smoke break or shoppers walking to their cars.
5. Exchange insurance information even if the other driver says it was a minor bump, since a minor bump on video can look very different in person.
6. Ask store or mall security whether they will generate an incident report, and get the report number if one is created.
7. See a doctor if anything hurts, even a little, within the next day or two.

Key points

• Police often do not respond to private-property crashes, so a Westfield Topanga or Northridge Fashion Center report may say little more than “private property.”
• Fault turns on the type of lane involved: through lanes generally carry the right of way over feeder lanes and cars backing out of a space.
• Mall security footage exists but is not kept indefinitely, so a prompt request matters.
• The property owner can share responsibility when lighting, markings or the lot’s design contributed to the crash.
• Low speed does not mean no injury, and the insurance company’s “no damage, no injury” argument is about the dent, not the medical record.

Frequently asked questions

If you were hurt in a parking lot crash at Westfield Topanga, Northridge Fashion Center or anywhere in the Valley, call Manoukian Law Firm at (818) 818-5031 or reach us through our contact page. Every case is prepared as if it will be tried, and consultations are free with no fee unless we win. Our Canoga Park injury page has more on how nearby crashes are typically handled.