Boca Raton Negligent Security Lawyer
Violent crime rates are on the rise across Florida, and especially in the Treasure Coast area. Criminal courts punish defendants in assault, robbery, sexual assault, and other such crimes. But they do not uphold the rights of victims. Crime victims are just material witnesses in criminal cases. Criminal courts certainly don’t force the legally responsible party, who usually is not the defendant, to financially compensate these victims.
The dedicated Boca Raton negligent security lawyers at Smith, Ball & Báez are committed to upholding the legal and financial rights of crime victims. These claims lay bare the underlying cause of the crime, and force property owners to acknowledge their role in the tragic affair. Additionally, an attorney obtains compensation for a crime victim’s economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.
Duty of Care
The duty of care is the legal version of the Golden Rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you) that Florida schoolchildren once had to memorize. The duty of care, which applies to all property owners, varies in these situations, as follows:
- Invitee: When they visit someone else’s property, most people are invited guests. That invitation could be specific, like a dinner invitation, or general, like an “Open for Business” sign. If the invited guest also benefited the owner, financially or nonfinancially, the owner had a duty of reasonable care, which includes a duty to provide adequate security.
- Licensee: Guests of apartment tenants or hotel guests are licensees. These individuals have direct or general permission to visit, but the owner doesn’t benefit in any way. So, the duty of care is lower. Most owners must only warn licensees about latent (hidden) defects that could cause injury, like a burned-out security light.
- Trespasser: Kids who skateboard at public libraries in violation of city ordinances are trespassers. They usually don’t hurt anyone, but there’s no permission and certainly no benefit. Therefore, no duty of care usually applies. A few loopholes, like the attractive nuisance rule, protect a few child trespassers in a few cases.
The required level of security varies, mostly according to the type of business and any history of violent crimes at that location. A 24-hour check cashing store needs a lot more security than a tea room, especially if that check cashing store had been robbed previously.
Knowledge of Hazard
Additionally, to obtain compensation, a Boca Raton negligent security lawyer must prove the owner knew, or should have known, about the injury-causing hazard.
Written reports of damaged cameras and other smoking guns are the best evidence in these claims. However, owners usually hide such evidence as long as they can. So, if a case settles too early, the best proof, and therefore maximum compensation, is usually unavailable.
Circumstantial evidence of constructive knowledge (should have known) is also admissible in this area. If that camera was broken for several days, the owner should have known about it and should have fixed it.
Owners are financially responsible for negligent security injuries because they have a chance to prevent violent crimes from occurring, if they only invested in proper security.
Talk to a Hard-Working Palm Beach County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced negligent security lawyer in Boca Raton, contact Smith, Ball, Baez & Prather, Florida Injury Lawyers. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.
