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Everyone deserves the right to feel safe and secure, especially in their own home or on their own property. Unfortunately, feeling safe and being safe do not always go hand in hand. Theft, rape, assault, and other crimes can occur more frequently when proper safety measures are not taken.
Basic Duty of Care
When it comes to a negligent security case, proving liability comes down to showing whether a property owner had a “duty of care” to protect others from injury - that is, whether they had a legal obligation to provide safety measures in order to help prevent injuries and ensure visitors and/or residents are reasonably safe.
Under California’s premises liability laws, defining a property as “reasonably safe” comes down to the property owner exercising reasonable care to:
Maintain their property
Inspect the property
Repair any dangerous conditions; and
Give adequate warning of any dangerous conditions
Adequate Security
The physical safety features that are required to provide a reasonable amount of safety will vary case by case. Some common examples of inadequate security include:
Broken apartment gates or keypads
Lack of adequate lighting or broken lights
Lack of physical security (taking into consideration the size of the property and number of people on it)
Broken or lack of security cameras
Typically, in negligent security cases, local crime stats will also be assessed. For example, if an apartment complex sits in the middle of a location that has a high number of theft crimes or assaults, they should take that into consideration when providing security measures. This may involve hiring more security officers and making sure that the property is adequately lit during the night.
Contact a Fresno Personal Injury Attorney
If you were the victim of a crime due to negligent security, you have the right to pursue compensation for your injuries. Our personal injury attorneys will look at evidence of your case to determine if a property owner was responsible for your injuries and help you pursue the compensation you need to recover.
Contact Fowler | Helsel | Vogt at (559) 900-1280 for a free and confidential consultation.