What is Negligent Security?
Property owners are responsible for maintaining a reasonably safe environment for people invited onto their premises. Negligent or inadequate security claims involve situations where a property owner’s failure to provide sufficient security on their grounds results in a foreseeable criminal act, such as a robbery, rape, assault, or battery. Criminal activity may be considered foreseeable if similar crimes have previously occurred on the premises or in the area.
Negligent security cases can occur in a variety of settings, both residential and commercial:
- Apartment building or complex
- ATMs
- Bars, nightclubs, or lounges
- College dorm
- Convenience store
- Hotel or motel
- Movie theaters
- Office buildings
- Parking garage
- Parking lot
- Parks and recreational areas
- Retail store
- Schools
- Shopping mall
Every negligent security case is different, and the definition of adequate security will differ depending on the premises and foreseeable crime. Examples of adequate security include security officers, adequate lighting, functioning locks or key-in entry, and security cameras or alarms.
The responsible party in a negligent security lawsuit can be the property owner, security contractors, security personnel, property lessees, business owners, or landlords.
How is Negligent Security Proven?
Negligent security actions can be incredibly complex cases, making them difficult to prove. When hiring a lawyer to represent you in a negligent security case, be sure that they have experience handling and winning these cases and are willing to prepare and take the case to trial. There are many elements that your legal team will have to prove, including:
- The property owner or manager had a duty of care
- The plaintiff was on the property legally (not trespassing)
- Criminal activity on the premises or in the area was foreseeable
- The property owner did not provide sufficient security on the premises
- The plaintiff was injured or killed due to the lack of sufficient security
- The plaintiff suffered damages, monetarily or physically, as a result of the criminal act on the premises
Injuries caused by a third-party on an unsafe premises can be catastrophic in nature. Brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and even death can be the result of a violent crime. A negligent security claim can help you recover damages, such as extensive medical costs or future and past lost wages.
These cases oftentimes require experts to help prove that negligent security occurred. Expert witnesses can shed light on background crime data of the area, the foreseeability of dangerous crime on the premises, and whether there was any security or sufficient security present to protect from criminal activity.
Every negligent security case has unique situations and circumstances. It is important that you retain an attorney with the experience handling these types of cases and the legal and financial resources necessary to properly develop a case before trial. Thomas J. Henry has handled complex inadequate security cases and achieved real results for our clients.
Victim of Negligent or Inadequate Security?
If you or a loved one were the victim of an assault, rape, or other violent crime due to insufficient security on a commercial or residential premises, contact the personal injury attorneys at Thomas J. Henry immediately. Our firm has represented victims of inadequate security and achieved multi-million dollar verdicts to compensate them for the damages they incurred. Thomas J. Henry has the trial experience and legal and financial resources that are needed to win these complex cases. Call our law offices today to set up a free legal consultation with an experienced injury attorney.
