Thursday, July 16, 2009

Negligent Security and Premises Liability

A person may have a claim against a landowner or property manager if they sustained an injury due to the failure of the landowner or property manager to protect the injured person from foreseeable crimes on or near the property. It is important to seek legal counsel qualified to handle the specific type of investigation needed to establish that the landowner or property manager knew, or should have known, that such an event was foreseeable. Victims can sustain injury from assault, battery, robbery, rape or any number of other crimes committed by individuals that exploit the insufficient security or lighting of the premises. Negligent security cases may be brought against hotels, shopping centers, malls, schools, housing complexes, office buildings or nightclubs. Most personal injury attorneys won't charge unless they win the case.

Premises Liability is a general term that includes claims for injuries or death resulting from dangerous conditions that existed or activities that happened at a particular location. For instance, premises liability cases can arise from a trip and fall, dangerous conditions that are not readily apparent on a sidewalk or in a pool; injuries caused by insufficient lighting, negligently designed stairways or handrails; or negligent security at a particular location. If corporate partnerships at Rockland Place were made to keep their promises to install security cameras in common areas and hallways, management could be better informed as to which children are playing with fire in their hallways, etc.! Maybe they don't want to know. Obviously, when wasting their government grants and monies, safety for residents is NOT one of their priorities.

Premises liability cases can be complicated because many different entities may own, lease, maintain or control the premises. Additionally, there can be different policies of insurance that may cover the incident. It is important to obtain legal advice and promptly investigate the claim and secure evidence early on because if the dangerous condition is fixed, you may forever lose the evidence that you need to prove your case. As a general rule, property owners are responsible for injuries which occur as a result of dangerous conditions on their property, which the owner knew about, or should have known about and failed to warn others about. Renting to drug-induced alcoholics who habitually party around darkened parking lots is just one example of deliberate negligence, especially when conditions aid and abet criminal activity on a nuisance subsidized property. It really is amazing what some corporate landlords get away with.

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