Negligent Security: How To Determine if You Have a Claim

Negligent Security: How To Determine if You Have a Claim

When you walk into a store, shopping mall, hotel, nightclub, bar, etc., you have the right to expect that the owner has taken reasonable measures to protect you from foreseeable harm.

When that doesn’t happen and you are injured, filing a negligent security lawsuit can help bring the owner to justice.

Negligent security lawsuits are brought against a property owner when a foreseeable injury is sustained by a patron as a result of inadequate security measures. These cases usually come about when an individual suffers a robbery, assault, battery, rape, or even wrongful death.

While all negligent security cases are different, there are a number of core legal principles and important distinctions that will help you understand when a property owner may be held accountable.

What Do You Mean By Foreseeable Criminal Attacks?

While no one can predict the future, property owners have a duty to understand, consider, and act in a way that protects the public from threats to their safety while on their property. For example, if there is a history of criminal activity on or near the property, it is reasonable to assume that someone may be harmed by a similar criminal act.

If the business operator or property owner does nothing to increase protection against this known threat, such as provide/increase security, they may be held liable.

In negligent security cases, attorneys work to uncover prior criminal activity at or around a premises to show an owner/operator had “constructive knowledge” that an incident may occur. This legal standard is the first step toward bringing justice to an injured party.

How Do You Win a Negligent Security Case?

The laws and legal standards differ depending on where you live, but in Florida there are three main elements you need to prove to win a negligent security case:

  1. The defendant was legally required to provide adequate security at the location.
  2. The defendant did not provide reasonable security measures.
  3. The plaintiff’s injury occurred as a result of the defendant’s inadequate security measures.

In a high-profile case that our negligent security attorneys handled, we were able to successfully do just that.

When a patron died in a Florida entertainment establishment, we worked with his family to secure the justice and compensation they deserved.

Through hours of research, interviews, and collaborative work with third-party experts, we were able to show that, in the years prior to the incident, there were a number of reported criminal incidents at and/or near the location where our client died.

That alone was enough to show that the operator had constructive knowledge that an incident could occur, but we did not stop there. During our investigation, we also discovered that none of the security staff on the night of the incident attempted to break up the altercation that ultimately lead to our client’s death.   

Through hard work and tireless preparation, our team of negligent security attorneys was able to show that the property owner did not provide adequate security measures for a foreseeable attack and, as a result, we were able to obtain justice for our clients.

What Do You Do If You’ve Been Injured on Someone Else’s Property?

While the elements involved in a negligent security case may seem simple to understand, there are many nuances that only an experienced negligent security attorney will be able to navigate.

If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property as a result of criminal activity, reach out to one of our attorneys for a free consultation today.