If you or someone you know has suffered serious injuries or death because of a violent crime there are options beyond the criminal justice system to make it right. While police officers and state prosecutors work to put the criminal behind bars, we help victims obtain compensation for their injuries from businesses and establishments that failed to provide security that could have prevented the crime from ever happening.
At Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA, we have years of experience prosecuting violent criminals and understand the pains that victims and their families are forced to live through. By representing victims and their families in negligent security cases we make the community a safer place by holding these businesses and properties accountable. We have the experience and resources to make business and property owners pay for the harm done to our clients by criminals. If you were injured as a result of an attack or accident at a nightclub in Miami, contact our law offices right away for a free consultation.
What is a Negligent or Inadequate Security Case?
Property owners, property managers, landowners and business owners/operators have a duty to protect individuals on their property from foreseeable dangers. Foreseeable dangers in negligent security cases include criminal acts such as armed robberies and burglaries that result in shootings, stabbings, beatings, and even sexual assaults of individuals.
To win a negligent security claim in Miami, you must prove that the criminal act was reasonably foreseeable and could have been prevented had the business/property taken adequate security measures. Inadequate security measures may include failing to provide adequate surveillance, security patrol, fencing, and lighting. Many of these cases are the result of negligent hiring, negligent training of employees, broken locks and windows, and defective alarm systems.
Appropriate security can be very expensive. Unfortunately, many businesses rather keep their costs down than spend money on the resources needed to protect their patrons.
Liability For Negligent Security
Property owners, property managers, landowners, business owners/operators, and security companies can all be liable for injuries that occur on their respective property or at their establishment. In most cases, there is more than one party responsible for failing to provide adequate security. These parties generally include the owner of the premises, the person or company exercising control over the premises, the company providing security services, and sometimes the alarm company.
While crimes because of negligent security can occur anywhere, we find that they most commonly occur at or in the following locations:
- Apartment complexes
- Gated communities
- Hotels, motels, and resorts
- Restaurants and bars
- Nightclubs
- Convenience stores and gas stations
- Grocery stores
- Malls, strip malls, and shopping centers
- Office buildings
- Parking garages and parking lots
- Nightclubs and strip clubs
- Schools
Negligent Security Injury Lawsuits
Whether or not you or your loved one has a viable case will depend on whether the criminal act was reasonably foreseeable and preventable. When determining whether the attack was reasonably foreseeable, we must ask the following questions:
- Have there been similar crimes in the area? – For a court to determine that the business or property had a duty to protect patrons from certain attacks, we must first prove that the business was aware that those types of crimes were happening. A business will not be responsible for failing to provide security where security was never needed.
- How long ago did these similar crimes happen? – The closer in time that the last crime occurred, the stronger case you or your loved one will have. It will be difficult to prove that your criminal attack was reasonably foreseeable if the business/property has not experienced a similar type of crime in the past few years.
- How close to the business or establishment were these prior crimes? – The geographic proximity of the prior crimes to your attack is extremely important. The further the prior crime occurred from your attack, the more difficult it will be for a court to determine a subsequent attack was reasonably foreseeable.
If the criminal act was reasonably foreseeable, we must then ask whether it could have been prevented. Whether the crime could have been prevented will require an analysis of the facts of your case to determine where the security failed. In many cases, the failure is extremely obvious and does not require much analysis at all.
Who Can Bring a Claim for Negligent or Inadequate Security?
The victim of the attack is generally the plaintiff in a negligent security claim. However, many negligent security cases stem from fatal shootings. In these cases, the survivors of the victim may have a viable wrongful death claim against the business or property owner that failed to protect their deceased family member.
Damages You Can Receive for Negligent Security Injuries in Miami, FL
Damages vary depending on the severity of the injury and the person bringing the lawsuit. There have been several multimillion-dollar negligent security verdicts in Florida. When the case involves a claim for wrongful death, the court will consider several factors to determine how much money to award the survivor of the deceased victim. These factors include:
- The amount of the decedent’s net income available to the survivor
- The relationship between the survivor the decedent
- The life expectancy of all parties
- The replacement value of the decedent’s services
In cases where the victim survives the attack, he or she may collect compensatory damages. The purpose of compensatory damages is to make the victim “whole” again. Compensatory damages may include both economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages include measurable figures such as:
- Present and future lost earnings
- Present and future medical expenses
- Vocational rehabilitation
- Household services
- Any other calculable and foreseeable economic loss because of the attack
Noneconomic damages are not so easily calculated in negligent security cases. The award of damages truly depends on the victim’s own unique struggle and how the attack has impacted and will continue to affect their lives. The court will consider the victim’s loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, and the pain and suffering they are now forced to live with.
In some cases where a court finds that the business or establishment’s actions were particularly outrageous and egregious, the victim or their family will be awarded punitive damages. The purpose of punitive damages is to make an example of the defendant to deter other businesses and establishments from acting similarly in the future.
How Long Do I Have to File a Negligent Security Case in Florida?
The statute of limitations for injuries stemming from negligent security is two years from the date of the crime. If the victim was killed during the criminal attack, the survivors have only two years from the date of the death to file a wrongful death action based on negligent security.
Miami Lawyer Representing Victims of Negligent Security
If you lost a loved one as a victim of a crime we ask that you contact our office and speak to an experienced personal injury attorney who will evaluate your case to determine if you may be entitled to compensation. We will come out to the property and research the premises’ criminal history to determine if the attack was reasonably foreseeable. We are ready to seek justice and get you the compensation you are entitled to. Call Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA today at (305) 694-2676 for a free and confidential consultation.