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As the victim of injuries resulting from a crime that occurred due to negligent security, you are likely suffering from physical trauma, emotional suffering, costly medical bills, psychological counseling, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, or wrongful death of a loved one.
Our Virginia personal injury lawyers promise to help find who is liable for your injuries. When we move forward with your negligent security case, we will make it our mission to fight for the compensation you deserve to begin to move forward with your life.
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The experienced attorneys at Regan Zambri Long understand that negligent security claims are built upon the following foundation:
Contact the law firm of Regan Zambri Long today for a no-obligation, free consultation. Our Northern Virginia inadequate security lawyers are experienced in premises liability cases involving negligent security, and we are more than prepared to take on yours.
Inadequate security, also often referred to as negligent security, falls under the umbrella of premises liability, which falls under the umbrella of Virginia personal injury.
Personal injury: Harm to someone’s body or mind as the result of the negligence or misconduct of someone else.
Premises liability: The notion that an owner of a property is held responsible for the personal injury inflicted on a guest, customer, or tenant due to deficient security or a dangerous condition.
Inadequate or negligent security: Dangerous conditions resulting from a property owner’s failure to take reasonable measures to keep their property safe with adequate security.
Businesses and property owners are legally obligated to make certain that their premises are reasonably safe. This duty of care includes providing adequate security measures to prevent third parties from harming guests, customers, and tenants. Without these reasonable security measures in place, the risk of injuries resulting from a criminal offense grows. Oftentimes, the injuries that are sustained as a result of negligent security are from violent crimes such as aggravated assault, armed robbery, or rape. As the victim of a crime on someone else’s property, you very well may have grounds for a negligent security claim and you may be entitled to compensation. The key is to establish liability.
According to the Virginia state police, in 2020, there were 15,713 violent crime offenses reported in the state of Virginia.
Violent crime includes the offenses of murder, forcible sex offenses (rape, sodomy, and sexual assault with an object per the FBI’s updated rape definition), robbery, and aggravated assault.
Violent crimes are an unfortunate fact of life. They can, and they do, occur in all types of places, to all sorts of people, all across the world. The best we can do is take proper precautions for our own safety and the safety of those around us. Likewise, when a property owner fails to take reasonable measures to provide adequate security and to promote the safety of their guests, customers, or tenants, potentially dangerous conditions can lead to criminal acts and traumatic injuries.
When we visit places like malls, movie theaters, hotels, stores, concert venues, apartment buildings, or parking garages, we hope and often assume that the property owners of these premises take the appropriate measures to keep the property reasonably safe. To keep their premises reasonably safe, an owner should concern themselves with the security of the property by installing adequate safety measures, fixing any defective equipment, or advertising warnings of any potential dangers.
If a property owner does not take these reasonable steps, and a crime occurs on their property, they are likely to be held liable for injuries sustained by any guests, customers, or tenants, as a result of the crime; particularly if the crime could have been prevented with operational and adequate security. Without those things in place, we have ourselves a negligent security case.
Reasonable is often a considerably subjective word. One person’s definition of “reasonable” can certainly be different than someone else’s. When we are talking about a property owner providing reasonable safety on their premises, we are often referring to a foreseeable crime being prevented due to the safety measures put into place.
In some ways, foreseeability is a lot like common sense. It’s the idea that the consequences resulting from one’s action could be logically anticipated by someone else. For example, it is safe to say that one can anticipate that driving under the influence of alcohol will likely lead to erratic driving and quite possibly, an accident. Or, if there is a puddle of spilled liquid in a grocery store causing a slippery floor, most people would assume that someone is likely to fall if it is not cleaned up. The consequences of these negligent actions are probable or foreseeable.
There are many reasonable precautions property owners can take to help prevent a criminal act from occurring on their premises. To keep their guests safe from injuries at the hands of a third party, some common measures property owners can take are:
The property owners of the premises where your injuries occurred would be liable if it was established that the crime was a result of their inadequate security. Along with the property owners, the person or people responsible for the assault, of course, would be held responsible for the inflicted injuries.
According to Virginia law, under Virginia Code Section 8.01-243(A), you have two years from the accident date to file a civil action for personal injuries arising from the inadequate security of a property owner on their premises.
While property owners are legally required to keep their premises safe, they can not feasibly promise without a doubt that anyone’s safety is guaranteed. To prove that an owner should be held liable for unsafe conditions as a result of negligent security on their property, the danger must have been foreseeable. Regan Zambri Long’s experienced Virginia negligent security attorneys will do the work to determine whether a property owner can be held liable for their failure to exercise ordinary care.
The most common premises criminal activity occurs due to negligent security are parking lots and garages, banks and ATMs, schools, universities, and colleges, daycare centers, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, movie theaters, hotels, amusement parks, apartment complexes, malls, and shopping centers, grocery stores, and transportation stops and hubs.
Contact Regan Zambri Long for your no-obligation, free consultation with our attorneys today. We are here to inform you of your legal rights and to help you receive the compensation you deserve.
