Representing Cases of Inadequate Security in Burlington
Under premises liability law, property owners are responsible for ensuring that people on their properties are kept safe from known or foreseeable hazards. This protection extends to customers visiting a retail store or other business, and those who live at or visit an apartment or condominium. While premises liability deals mostly with slips and falls, there are other aspects to this area of personal injury law.
One of those aspects is security. Certain people can present a danger to others, and property owners have to take precautions to ensure visitors or residents will be safe from people who may threaten or harm them.
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What Is Considered Adequate Security?
Adequate security measures for an apartment complex may include proper lighting in parking lots, an intercom system at the door to buzz in only those with permission to visit the property, locks on the doors, the landlord limiting tenants’ abilities to make duplicate keys, and other precautions.
Adequate security in parking garages may include proper lighting and video surveillance systems.
Adequate security for stores and other businesses may include these measures as well as signs indicating there is very little cash in the cash register, use of a drop safe, and ensuring no employee is ever working by him or herself.
While adequate security will differ depending on the location, it typically includes measures that would prevent or deter a crime from happening. It is reasonable to assume that certain crimes will occur if a property owner doesn’t take certain security measures. For instance, if a landlord of an apartment building doesn’t install locks on the doors, it’s reasonable to assume that someone will wander into an apartment and steal.
Foreseeable Risk
The above examples are security measures for foreseeable risks. But not every crime is foreseeable; and likewise, property owners are not always at fault when a person is the victim of a crime on their property.
For instance, a parking garage may be extremely well-lit, have surveillance in place, and even have security guards on patrol. But still, someone could assault another person as she heads to her car. Since the parking garage’s owner had adequate security in place to prevent this, the owner might not be held liable in a negligent security claim.
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Why Press Civil Charges?
Why would the victim of a crime file a civil lawsuit against a business or property owner, instead of the criminal? One reason is in order to claim compensation. Even if the guilty person is convicted of the crime, the victim will not receive financial compensation as a result. Filing a civil personal injury claim is the only way to do that. Most property owners have insurance to cover them in these claims. This increases the likelihood that a victim will actually receive compensation for his or her injuries, emotional distress, and other expenses.
These cases are very complicated. Large companies have teams of lawyers fighting to ensure that they don’t end up paying. The victim needs to have a qualified and experienced Burlington premises liability lawyer fighting for him or her, too.
If you have been the victim of crime on someone else’s property and you believe it was due to negligent security, contact DiBella Law Offices, P.C., at (781) 262-3338. We know how traumatic your experience was, and we know how difficult negligent security can be to prove. We also know how to do just that, and we never give up fighting for our clients’ rights. Call today for a free consultation.
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