Negligent Security Lawyer New York, NY

Negligent Security Lawyer New York, NY

If you have been injured by a criminal who was trespassing, or passing through, another party’s property, you may benefit from scheduling a consultation with a New York, NY negligent security lawyer. Depending on the nature of the harm you have suffered and the specifics of your situation, you may be able to recover significant financial restitution.  

Common Negligent Security Scenarios

“Negligent security law” may describe a situation in which you are the victim of an assault, rape, robbery, shooting, or other violent act while on another party’s property. Related claims may feature situations such as a customer being followed to their car, removing money at an ATM, staying at a hotel, pumping gas, or walking through an apartment lobby and then being involved in an unprovoked attack. These are not the only situations in which negligent security law applies, but they are (very unfortunately) quite common.

By law, commercial establishments have a duty to keep their premises reasonably safe. When they fail to do so, and someone is harmed by another person on those unsafe premises, a victim may be able to recover monetary compensation. A negligent security lawyer in New York, NY can answer any questions you may have about this process.

Proving a Negligent Security Claim

In order to establish your right to monetary damages, you must prove the following:

The property owner owed you a duty of care. Your lawyer will review various authorities to determine the duty of care that you were owed. For example, laws, regulations, legislation, policies, and community standards may be assessed. This will help to determine what duty you were owed. 

The duty was breached. You must should the alleged liable party fail to adhere to the duty that was owed to you. An example might be when an office building failed to have an electronic security system that monitored the parking lot. 

The breach of duty caused you harm. If you can demonstrate that there was a duty owed to you, and that duty was breached, you will then need to show that it was these two elements that caused or led to your injuries. 

An important aspect in these cases is whether the injuries or violent actions were foreseeable – within reason. For example, if there were several people attacked in a parking lot that did not have adequate security, the risk of future attacks may be considered foreseeable. At this point, the owners or managers of the property should have taken the necessary steps to prevent further attacks. This might include, installing cameras, hiring a security guard, making sure the lights work, and so forth. 

How Oddo & Babat Might Help You

Our negligent security lawyers in New York, NY will be ready to work aggressively to review, preserve, gather, and assess any potential evidence related to your case. Evidence may include:

• Closed circuit video footage
• Witness statements
• Dash cam footage
• Any previous criminal reports or incident reports
• Any security equipment (i.e. locks or alarms)
• Any lighting (or lack of)

We may also talk with industry experts about the crime rates in the area and whether the alleged liable party took the steps to prevent an unfortunate event from happening. Sadly, what our firm often finds is that the owners of a property know about the risks of crime, but choose to ignore it. 

Sometimes, a lawyer might seek an affidavit from police or residents to establish a pattern of criminal activity. If this is needed, our firm can take care of this so you can focus on your recovery. 

Damages that May Be Available

If you have a valid case, you may be able to recover damages for:

• Any past or future related medical expenses
• Out of pocket expenses
• Lost wages
• Loss of income
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Loss of consortium
• Wrong death 

Our experienced negligent security lawyers in New York, New York are ready to explore all options and sources of compensation, including insurance policy and assets. Rest assured, we will seek maximum damages. Call Oddo & Babat, today. 

Speaking with Negligent Security Lawyers

At Oddo & Babat, our negligent security lawyers have the necessary skill, experience, and resources to investigate these cases in full and pursue the liable parties for the harm they may have caused.

For years we have achieved justice for clients who were injured, or died, because of a failure to provide adequate security. We believe our experience is unequaled by other New York, NY negligent security law firms, and this has made us well known for our ability to pursue negligent security cases of all complexities, with confidence.

Both premise liability claims and negligent security claims have one thing in common and that is to provide a safe environment to the plaintiff. The difference in these cases can be found in the relationship between the parties involved. For instance, a defendant in either scenario might be a business owner, landlord, lanager, security company, vendor, or individual, who has a vested interest in overseeing and controlling the property.

A plaintiff could be anyone who was passing by, or visiting, the property, but was not trespassing. These people might include a customer, vendor, guest, tennant, or visitor. Bare in mind that trains, buses, planes, cruise ships, and other moving vehicles could also potentially be involved in negligent security claims.

In a general premises liability case, the defendant has a duty to keep its premises free from tripping hazards, faulty equipment, bad lighting, etc. that could lead to the injury of those visiting the premises. In a negligent security case, the defendant has a duty to keep its premises safe from those who would seek to harm visitors. Insufficient security measures such as the failure to provide cameras, fencing, lighting, automatic lock doors, or security guards could be a reason for the violent act to have taken place.

Our New York, NY negligent security lawyers are highly experienced. Please connect with us if you have been injured at any public venue, including:

• Apartment complexes
• Convenience stores
• Parking lots
• Gas stations
• Night clubs or bars
• Restaurants
• Shopping malls
• Hotels
• Public housing
• Robbery
• Assault and/or battery
• Kidnapping
• Rape
• Shooting
• Homicide
• Window security
• Public event security

Examples of Negligent Security Scenarios

As mentioned above, negligent security can lead to harm in a variety of ways and locations. Some examples are provided below. Although these are hypothetical, nearly all have occurred in real life.

Parking lots and garages: A city-owned parking garage is located in a high-crime area and assaults have recently occurred in the complex. While walking to her car one night, a woman is assaulted by a stranger. There are security guards on duty, but they don’t respond quickly enough because the area is poorly lit and several of the security cameras haven’t been working.

Apartments and Condos: A woman lives alone in an apartment on the first floor. Each first-floor unit features sliding-glass doors that open to an outdoor patio. The locks on the sliding-glass door no longer work and the woman makes several complaints to the landlord. He never bothers to fix them. One night, an intruder breaks in through the malfunctioning doors and commits sexual assault.

Bars and nightclubs: A particular bar near a college campus is known for being crowded, loud and full of raucous patrons. Fights are a regular occurrence. A man who has never been to the bar is minding his own business when he gets pulled into a fight that erupts near him. He is badly beaten. The bar knew about the likelihood of fights, but did not hire more security guards or put other security measures in place.

Stores and shopping malls: It is the day after Thanksgiving and the mall is holding a major Black Friday sale. The store management knows that fights tend to break out each year on this day between customers vying for the best merchandise, yet the store does not contract extra security guards on Black Friday. A man trying to shop for a new TV is overtaken by another customer and beaten. He then gets trampled by yet more customers fighting over the same item.

Failure to Respond

In all of the examples cited above, the owners of the property knew that visitors/customers/tenants faced specific dangers that could have been prevented or mitigated with adequate security measures. But none of the property owners took the action necessary to prevent the harms that the victims later faced.

Although the attackers in each case could face criminal charges as well as a personal injury lawsuit, the property owners are also at fault for failing to take reasonable steps to mitigate harm when they were well aware of the dangers. They can be sued for negligent security.

Were You Injured Due to Negligent Security? We Can Help.

The team at Oddo & Babat, P.C. is dedicated to helping injury victims seek the compensation they need and deserve. For victims of crime, this often includes compensation for medical bills, permanent disability, lost wages, pain and suffering and emotional distress.If you are the victim of a violent act and you believe it happened partially or totally because you were not be adequately protected while visiting property belonging to another person – don’t wait – please call a New York, NY negligent security lawyer today.