In the last few years, there has been a proliferation of lawsuits against business and property owners whenever a person has been either injured or the victim of criminal activity on the owner’s property. The common allegations are that the property owner was negligent in failing to provide adequate security and that the failure was the proximate cause of the injury.
Defending negligent security cases is complex and sometimes time-consuming. Awards in these cases have the potential for being extremely high and unfortunately, awards may be based more on sympathy for the harmed victim than due to any actual negligence on the part of the property owner.
Marrero & Wydler, attorneys at law, are skilled at thoroughly investigating all the facts of the case, interviewing witnesses and consulting with experts when necessary. They know how to protect the rights of their clients.
Although property owners do have a duty to keep their tenants and business visitors as well as employees safe from harm that is foreseeable, the law does not require a duty to keep others safe from all harm. The key is that the harm must be foreseeable.
Foreseeability
In order for a defendant to be held liable for damages, there are two major issues to consider:
- Was the injury foreseeable
- If the injury was foreseeable, was it preventable
Some factors that must be considered include:
- Relationship between the party harmed and the property owner
- History of the property where the harm occurred
- Whether there were any past similar complaints
- Whether the property owner had notice of the dangerous situations
- Whether the property had an opportunity to correct the problem but failed to do anything about it
Attorney Lourdes Wydler and Attorney Oscar Marrero are Miami negligent security attorneys who have more than 30 years of experience between them defending property owners from allegations that they were negligent in providing security for their property. They are knowledgeable and committed to zealously defending their clients in negligent security cases.