Victims of crimes are often in the wrong place at the wrong time. While many crimes are opportunistic, property owners have a regular responsibility to keep their guests and patrons safe. Promoting safety includes discouraging criminal activity and taking reasonable measures to prevent a crime. If property owners fail to ensure safety and injure you, a negligent security lawyer in Las Vegas can represent you.
Consult a local Las Vegas personal injury lawyer immediately when you are the victim of a crime that leaves you with injuries and losses. A lawyer from Shook & Stone can assess whether the property owner failed to maintain a safe setting. If so, you could seek compensation.
Crimes Lead to Physical and Psychological Injuries
Robbery, rape, shootings, stabbings, and other violent crimes take a toll on the people they target. Physical injuries can be catastrophic—for example, a gunshot could lead to a spinal cord injury and permanent paralysis. Even if the physical wounds heal quickly, the psychological trauma could produce disabling symptoms for months or years.
When a crime happens on another person’s property, the owner or business operator could be liable for the victim’s damages. Keeping premises safe is not just about maintaining stairs and walkways in good condition or cleaning up spills promptly. Reasonable crime prevention measures are necessary to maintain a safe environment and protect patrons and guests from preventable incidents that could cause harm.
A Las Vegas negligent security attorney from Shook & Stone can review the circumstances of a crime and evaluate whether more robust security measures could have prevented it. If so, the property owner could be negligent and liable for an injured person’s damages.
Common Examples of Negligent Security Measures
Many factors go into keeping a property safe and free from harm. It requires constant monitoring and maintenance. When property owners fail to implement safety measures and maintain hazard prevention, they put patrons at risk and expose themselves to liability. There are several ways property owners may exhibit negligent security.
All businesses should have a security system in place to deter crime and document incidents in the event of an emergency. However, companies may fail to install cameras or not hire enough security personnel to adequately monitor the premises. Similarly, if cameras or other security features are broken and not repaired, then this can also lead to security vulnerabilities.
Lighting, equipment, and barriers also play an important role in keeping property visitors safe. For example, broken light bulbs in a parking garage may increase the risk of crime, broken locks on sensitive areas of the property may increase the risk of accidents or security breaches, and damaged fencing around pools can lead to serious harm and injury.
Important Legal Actions to Take After a Negligent Security Accident
No one should pay the price for a property owner’s negligence, but unfortunately, it can happen all too frequently. While you may have the right to file a lawsuit against the negligent property owner, you need first to ensure your safety and gather evidence so you can effectively demonstrate that a property owner’s negligence caused your injuries and other losses. The steps you take should include:
- Filing a police report and securing a copy
- Getting medical attention and keeping all records and bills
- Exchanging contact and insurance information
- Taking pictures of your injuries, the scene of the incident, and any other relevant form of evidence
- Getting contact information and statements from witnesses
- Hiring a Lawyer
- Notifying your insurance company and submitting a claim to the property owner’s insurance company
If you’ve suffered significant losses, you should consult a lawyer after collecting evidence. A lawyer can help you accurately determine the value of your case, fight for fair compensation, and save you a lot of time fighting with the insurance company.
Additionally, when you are wondering “how do I file a premises liability claim in Nevada,” your lawyer can walk you through the process and what to expect.
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Nevada Premises Liability Law Governs Negligent Security Accidents
Negligent security cases are governed by Nevada’s premises liability laws. These laws allow accident victims to hold property owners liable when owners negligently fail to prevent hazards on and around the property. While victims can recover compensation in most circumstances, there are a few situations where limitations might exist.
Property owners owe different groups of individuals different levels of care when they’re on the property. For example, places like grocery stores or casinos owe patrons the maximum level of care as they’re invited onto the property for business purposes. These individuals are known as invitees. Lessees, such as tenants, have special permission to be on the property and are subject to a lesser duty of care.
Finally, if an individual is injured while trespassing on the property, the owners are not liable for the injuries. However, NRS 41.515 outlines several exceptions in which trespassers are owed a duty of care.
Property owners can be liable if they intentionally caused the trespasser harm, if the trespasser is a child, or if the property owner doesn’t show reasonable care after learning of the trespasser’s presence.
Determining Whether Security Measures Are Reasonable
It would be next to impossible for any property owner to make their premises impervious to crime. No one wants to live in a fortress, be patted down, or go through a metal detector when they go out for a romantic dinner. However, the property owner or business operator must take reasonable precautions to deter crimes in their specific circumstances.
Reasonable measures vary depending on the situation. What is reasonable for an ice cream shop in a neighborhood with little crime is different from what would be reasonable in a busy casino on the strip. Crucial factors regarding reasonableness include the business’s operating hours, the neighborhood’s crime rate, the costs of crime mitigation, and whether a business may attract specific types of crime.
A business owner must continuously monitor issues and respond appropriately. If they fail to upgrade security after a local uptick in robberies, for example, they’re more likely to be liable for damages if a patron is robbed in the parking lot. A lawyer can review crime statistics, survey similar businesses, and speak with residents and law enforcement officials to determine if the owner’s efforts were reasonable.
A Negligent Security Attorney in Las Vegas Can Help You with Your Claim
An injured person has a limited time to file a lawsuit seeking damages. Under NRS 11.190, a person alleging that negligent security caused their injuries must file a lawsuit within two years of the injury. There are limited exceptions to the rule, so it’s wise to speak with our Las Vegas attorneys soon after an incident to discuss your case timeline and how you can prove premises liability.
A claimant must prove several elements to be successful. First, they must show that they were on the property with permission. Permission does not need to be explicit—a member of the public entering a commercial premises that is open for business does so with permission.
The injured person also must show that the security measures were inadequate under the circumstances and that the owner’s failure to provide better security was negligent. They must demonstrate a connection between the crime and their injuries and prove the injuries led to losses such as medical expenses, lost wages, emotional distress, pain, and suffering.
Consult Our Las Vegas Negligent Security Attorney About a Negligent Security Claim
Criminal attacks are traumatic and require significant recovery time. Contact a Las Vegas negligent security lawyer from Shook & Stone immediately when a crime on someone else’s property causes you to experience physical or psychological injuries.
The owner might be liable for your damages if they failed to provide adequate safety measures. Schedule a free consultation today and let us help you.
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