Victim of a Crime on Someone Else’s Property? You May Have a Claim for “Negligent Security”
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a crime on someone else’s property, you may have an insurance claim for compensation, and you may be entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit. In some cases, property owners, managers, and others can be held legally liable for injuries caused by crime that occurs on their property. Note that the crime must occur on private property and not, for example, on a public sidewalk, road, or alley. These claims and lawsuits are generally called “negligent security” claims. The general idea is that the property owners/managers were negligent in providing various types of security for their property when the potential for criminal activity was known and foreseeable. If you think you have a claim for negligent security, contact us here at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Our number is (301) 870-1200. We are tough and dedicated Maryland negligent security attorneys in Waldorf, Maryland.
As a general rule, owners of property (and tenants, managers, and others in control of property) must keep their properties secure from known and foreseeable hazards. Crime is a potential form of “known and foreseeable” hazard. When confronted with known and foreseeable hazards, property owners must take steps to remove the hazard or mitigate the danger. If a person is injured by criminal behavior, the injured person has a potential claim if the efforts to remove or mitigate the danger were insufficient. Generally, to be “known and foreseeable,” there must be patterns of criminal behavior in the general area and, often, on the property itself. Media reports and police advisories are a couple of methods that property owners can become aware that crime is a foreseeable hazard in their geographic neighborhoods.
For example, assume a victim is attacked and robbed in a parking lot of a commercial strip mall. That alone is not enough. However, if the evidence shows that other shoppers have been similarly attacked and robbed in the parking lot (or in nearby parking lots), then the property owner had knowledge of criminal activity and had a duty to increase security. In our example, efforts to increase security might include:
- Installing fencing around the parking lot
- Adding more lighting
- Increasing the use of security cameras
- Hiring a security guard company to patrol the parking lot and adjacent areas
- And more
A property owner’s failure to take any of these types of steps can lead to potential legal liability. Further, even if some steps are taken, there may still be a claim for negligent security since the steps taken could be deemed legally insufficient to mitigate or reduce the hazard. For example, the property owner might have hired security guards, but they are unqualified or poorly trained, then the property owner has not really mitigated or reduced the known hazard. Also, the property owner may now be guilty of negligent hiring or negligent training.
Contact Waldorf, MD Personal Injury Attorney Robert Castro Today
This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland personal injury lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Personal Injury lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20601.
