Florida Negligent Security Lawyers

In Florida, premises liability law states that a business or property owner can be held legally responsible for any injury that occurs on their grounds due to unsafe conditions. The business or property owner must be aware or should have been aware of these unsafe conditions, and it must be expected that any other reasonable party would have acted differently in an effort to rectify or avoid the situation. Premises liability law extends to vendors who come onto the property to conduct business, customers who are on-site to buy something or receive a service, as well as visitors and even sometimes trespassers.

Negligent security is a type of premises liability but is unique because it includes a criminal element as the cause of an injury. Additionally, premises liability can sometimes extend to include those who are on the property illegally. In cases of negligent security, an individual must have the legal right to be there.

The first element in a negligent security case is proving that your criminal injury resulted from a foreseeable act. This means that you must show the business or property owner had reasonable suspicion to believe that an act such as the one that caused your injury would occur. The courts call this having “constructive knowledge.” Factors that can lend to establishing “foreseeable criminal acts” include a record of past, similar violent crimes at the property, knowledge of threats, and more.

Not only must your negligent security attorney be able to prove that the event causing your injury was a foreseeable criminal act, but they must also show that the property or business owner failed to take steps that could have reasonably prevented such activity.
In this regard, a property or business owner may either entirely fail to implement any type of security, or they may take steps to implement security that is inadequate or ineffective.
Examples of Failing to Prevent Criminal Activity
It can be challenging to know precisely what actions qualify as taking reasonable steps to prevent criminal activity and subsequent harm to visitors. Showing that the owner fell short of that standard is what an experienced negligent security attorney does, and your case turns on it.
Common examples of business owners failing to prevent criminal activity include:

• A lack of proper security cameras on the property or the failure to monitor or respond to a security alert, alarm, or call.
• Failure to warn visitors and guests about known risks or threats on the property.
• Failure to provide adequate lighting and illumination at night or in dark and desolate areas.
• Lack of security guards or patrol.
• Broken locks, gates, doors, etc., that the owner fails to fix or maintain in good working condition.