If you were recently injured due to criminal activity on another person’s property, you may have the right to seek compensation through a negligent security claim. However, understanding whether your case qualifies as “negligent security” can help you determine your eligibility for a payout.
What are the elements of negligent security in Florida? Here’s what you need to know.
What Is Negligent Security?
When you enter another person’s property, you expect the property owner to take reasonable steps to keep you safe. That includes implementing the necessary security measures to prevent criminal activity. When they fail to do so, they may be liable for the damages that occur to patrons and visitors.
Negligent security is a type of premises liability claim that falls under the personal injury umbrella. It holds the property owner accountable for failing to implement security measures that would have prevented the crime that led to your injuries or other damages.
Criminal activity can happen anytime, anywhere, regardless of a property’s security cameras or guards. You must show that the property owner should have anticipated the possibility of a crime happening on their property and taken steps to prevent it.
Your Case Must Meet These Elements of Negligent Security in Florida
Like any premises liability claim (or any personal injury claim in general), you need to prove that a property owner acted negligently to cause your damages. The four main elements of negligent security in Florida include:
- Duty of care: The property owner owed you a duty of care.
- Breach of duty: The owner breached their duty of care by failing to implement adequate security.
- Causation: The property owner’s breach directly caused an incident.
- Damages: You suffered damages in the incident.
Negligent security cases also require foreseeability. This means the property owner reasonably should have foreseen the crime that led to your damages.
While no one can predict the future, property owners are responsible for knowing about hazards that could harm their visitors. If the property was a prime target for criminal activity, the owner should have known this and taken steps to mitigate the risk.
How To Prove Negligent Security and Strengthen Your Case
Now that you know the elements of negligent security in Florida, you can take steps to prove each element and build a compensation case. Working with an experienced negligent security lawyer can help you support the four elements of negligence along with the accident’s foreseeability.
Your attorney will start by proving that you were lawfully on the property at the time of the incident. Property owners owe a duty of care to the people they, directly and indirectly, invite to their premises, along with those who legally enter for their own gain.
Then, they will gather evidence to prove that the property owner breached their duty of care by failing to implement reasonable security measures. Compelling evidence may include:
- Reports of past criminal activity in the same area
- Examples of the security measures that are standard for that type of business
- Photos or videos showing that existing security measures were not functional
- Police report detailing the crime rate in the area
They will show that implementing certain reasonable security measures may have prevented the accident. For example, if your accident happened in an apartment complex, securing the complex behind a gate with a keypad would have prevented the criminal from gaining access to the neighborhood so easily.
Finally, they will tie your injuries and other damages directly to the criminal incident through medical documentation and other records.
Seek Assistance With Your Negligent Security Claim
What are the elements of negligent security in Florida? Proving duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages can help you build a strong negligent security case. You’ll also need to prove the crime’s foreseeability.
Our attorneys at Steinberg Law, P.A., can collect evidence to bolster your case and guide you through the compensation process. Contact us today at 877-783-4611 or fill out our online form to schedule a consultation.
