Georgia Negligent Security Lawyer

Property owners must use reasonable care to protect visitors from various hazards. This duty includes a duty to offer reasonable security measures to protect against criminal activity. Where security measures are inadequate (or missing altogether), then visitors might sue the property owner if they were injured in any type of attack. Contact the Griffin Law Firm, P.C. to find out more about your rights. A Georgia negligent security lawyer can meet to go over what happened and what security measures, if any, were in effect. You might have a right to seek financial compensation.

Duty to Provide Reasonable Security

Property owners do not guarantee that visitors will be safe from criminal activity, but their duty of care does require providing reasonable security. This duty applies to all types of property owners, including:

• Retailers
• Shopping malls
• Gas stations
• Movie theaters
• Restaurants, bars, and taverns
• Hotels and motels
• Apartment buildings
• Business parks and convention centers
• Schools, colleges, and universities
• Public buildings, including public schools and government offices

What Security is Reasonable and Adequate?

The amount of security a property needs will depend on many factors, including the history of crime in the neighborhood. Essentially, where crime is foreseeable, then property owners will need more security measures in place.

Some common security measures include:

• Adequate lighting in common areas and along pathways
• Locks on doors and windows
• Locked gates
• Intercoms at doors
• Alarms
• Security or surveillance cameras
• Security guards

Not every building will require all security measures. Still, the security should be reasonable based on the history and presence of criminal activity.

Furthermore, the property owner might need to take reasonable action to protect guests. For example, a person could be loitering around a store’s parking lot. The store should investigate and possibly call the police to report suspicious activity. A bar must protect guests from intoxicated customers who pick fights or are belligerent. Property owners cannot throw up their hands and do nothing.

Contact a Georgia negligent security attorney to review whether security was adequate at the premises. We can discuss what you remember of the event.

Were You Victimized by Crime?

You might have the right to bring a negligent security claim if you or a loved one experienced any of the following:

• Rape and sexual assault
• Battery
• Aggravated battery
• Kidnapping
• Homicide

Crime victims can certainly sue their assailants. But this person might not have the resources to pay compensation, so it’s also helpful to bring a claim against the property owner where the facts allow.

Our negligent security attorney can review what you remember and try to uncover the security measures in place during your incident.

Examples of Negligent Security Cases

Some common negligent security claims are based on the following:

• A university fails to fix a broken lock on a dorm room door, which leads to the rape of the student at night.
• A hotel does not thoroughly investigate complaints of strange or dangerous people in the halls, and one of these trespassers breaks in and harms a guest.
• A bar does not kick out intoxicated or belligerent customers, who end up starting a fight.
• A shopping mall does not fix lights in the parking lot, which allows a criminal to hide and attack a customer.
• A restaurant fails to put locks on the bathroom door, which allows a stranger to abduct a child who went to the bathroom alone.

Why Negligent Security Cases Are Complex

One misconception is that the state of Georgia will handle this legal claim. Although the state prosecutes criminals, a negligent security case is a civil matter. Victims are seeking financial compensation from the property owner for failing to provide sufficient protection against foreseeable criminal activity. You should hire your own Georgia negligent security lawyer to assist with this type of claim.

Our clients benefit from our experience uncovering the full extent of security at the premises. We can investigate the history of crime, as well, to see if the owner should have beefed up security. A history of robberies or rapes is a clear sign that more than minimal security is warranted.

Large companies have powerful insurers and law firms defending them from claims. They are not eager to admit liability for any criminal activity. For this reason, you deserve a Georgia negligent security attorney who only represents your interests.

How Our Negligent Security Lawyer Helps Clients

Griffin Law Firm has a thriving premises liability practice, which includes cases based on negligent security. We have developed considerable experience reviewing the evidence to determine what steps a property owner should have taken to discharge their duty of care.

A negligent security attorney with our firm can help by:

• Documenting the crime, including coordinating with the police to find useful evidence in a case
• Analyze the history of crime in the area to better assess the property owner’s obligations to beef up security
• Preserving evidence that inadequate security contributed to the crime
• Helping document our clients’ injuries and the costs endured by victims and their families.

Because these are civil cases, you are entitled to legal assistance. We can pull together all the different threads of evidence and then negotiate with the property owner for a settlement.

It’s critical to hire a negligent security attorney as soon as possible. Some victims wrongly think they must wait until the criminal case is completed. Instead, you can pursue your civil negligent security claim independently of the criminal case.

What is Fair Compensation for a Victim of a Crime?

A civil claim seeks to compensate for damages suffered in the incident:

• Medical treatment for any injuries suffered. Some victims are stabbed, shot, strangled, or raped. You deserve medical care for all injuries.
• Lost income. Many crime victims need time to recover mentally and physically, which means they must miss work. You can request compensation for lost wages.
• Pain and suffering. Crime victims often struggle with PTSD or self-blame. We can seek financial compensation for all pain and suffering.
• Property loss or damage. A criminal could have robbed you, in which case you should seek property damages.

If a loved one died in an attack, then we can discuss whether to bring a wrongful death claim.

Speak with a Negligent Security Lawyer in a Free Consultation

Griffin Law Firm, P.C., can help anyone who was victimized by negligence security. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a Georgia negligent security attorney.