Negligent Security
Attorney Daniel Newlin is proud to have successfully represented innocent victims with negligent security claims in Florida. Attorney Daniel J. Newlin is eminently qualified to provide you with prompt, aggressive and experienced legal representation. If you have been injured, or you know someone who has been hurt or killed by negligent security, Attorney Daniel Newlin can help you.
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We live in the day and age of the super-store. "WAL-MART," once an unknown little enterprise, is now a household word. The Ma and Pa shops of the past have been replaced with malls and super-shopping centers. As more and more people have congregated in these centers, their premises and parking lots have become targets of criminals. Not only are patrons being confronted with purse-snatchings but these "people-magnets" have also been the staging areas for violent crimes against the person such as assault, battery, and rape. Premises liability law pertains to injuries that occur because of a failure to protect a person from harm caused by third persons on the premises (for instance, a lack of safety measures to protect patrons of a shopping center in a high-crime area).
A possessor of a premises owes two legal duties to a business invitee: (1) to use reasonable care to maintain the premises in a safe condition, which duty includes a duty to use reasonable care to learn of the existence of any dangerous conditions on the premises, and (2) to give the invitee warning of concealed perils which are or should be known to the landowner, but are unknown to the invitee and could not be discovered by him through the exercise of due care. An invitee is a person who enters and remains on the premises at the express or implied invitation of the person owning or possessing the premises.
The adequacy of the safety measures will vary according to the type of business. For instance, places of amusement, such as a sports stadium, have a continuous duty to look after the safety of patrons, since food and drinks are being sold, and customers are constantly carrying and spilling these items. A safety program must always take into account human imperfection and guard against foreseeable mistakes. In a retail setting, merchandise displays are positioned at eye level and designed to attract customer attention and generate profits. The customer is not expected to look down for hazards all the time.
In negligent security cases, it is only necessary that the landowner be able to foresee that some injury will likely result in some manner as a result of his negligence. Allegations that prior criminal acts had occurred in the area are pertinent to determining foreseeability, and police records of reported crimes in the geographical area are admissible evidence on this issue. Crimes against both persons and property may establish foreseeability. Property crimes very often are stepping stones to crimes against persons; someone burglarizing a car who is surprised in the middle of the act by the car's owner may assault the owner.
If you or a loved on have sustained injury at a business establishment allow Attorney Daniel Newlin and his law partners to help you.
Click Here for a Free Premises Liability Case Evaluation.