Negligent and Inadequate Security in Jacksonville

Did you suffer an attack or injury because of negligent security? Lawyer Brett Hastings can help you get compensation from property owners and businesses who failed to keep you safe.

When you’ve been injured in an attack or security-related accident, you need to quickly find a lawyer with experience in handling these kinds of cases. In Jacksonville, personal injury attorney Brett Hastings has handled more than 200 bench trials and 20 jury trials in cases similar to yours. He has the experience, resources and team of investigative professionals to help you prove that someone is liable and owes you money for your pain, suffering, expenses and loss of income.

When a business or property owner does not take proper precautions against foreseeable crimes and someone gets injured because a foreseeable and preventable crime, it’s considered a case of negligent security. Florida law permits victims of these events to take those property owners and businesses to court and make them compensate you for the damages that occur. (Find information related to negligent security by lawyer Brett Hastings in our Premises Liability article.)

However, not every crime resulting in injuries is a case of negligent security. A lawyer must prove that the crime was foreseeable and preventable. For example, a landlord with apartments in a high-crime area needs to take precautions against common crimes like burglary and personal attack. Crime rates and news reports will suggest such crime is likely. Failing to provide security measures like keyed entry to common areas of the building or adequate outdoor lighting could result in a burglary or personal attack in which someone gets hurt. Since it was foreseeable and preventable, the victims would have recourse against the property owner.

Other factors that are considered include the likelihood of the crime occurring and the cost to prevent it. In the example above, the apartments are in a “high crime” area where burglary and personal attacks are likely to occur. But if the same apartments were set on fire by somebody with a grudge against a resident, the likelihood of something like this happening is not very great-even in a high-crime neighborhood, so there would be no expectation of the landlord to protect against arson attempts.

Cost of prevention is also a factor. An elderly couple with one or two rental units that help them with monthly expenses is far less able to afford security measures than someone renting out high-end apartments all over town. The later might be expected to afford fences and gates around the property with a guard on duty, but that would be an unreasonable expense for the elderly couple’s properties.

To find out if you are likely to have a successful case of negligent security, a lawyer needs to review your case. Find a lawyer with lots of experience in personal injury and negligent security, like Jacksonville personal injury attorney Brett Hastings. A lawyer with Mr. Hastings experience can tell you whether the business or property owner took reasonable measures to learn which crimes are likely and foreseeable and whether they took reasonable measures to secure against such crimes.