Apartment complexes, businesses and places that invite the public must have adequate security to protect people on their property from violent crimes. Violent actions can result in serious injuries, including brain injury, paralysis, permanent impairment or disfigurement, or even death. In addition, a victim and their family are certain to suffer severe emotional trauma.
While we cannot bring back the departed or reverse physical and mental injuries, we can use our experience, our compassion, and our strong representation to aggressively protect the victim or the victim's family, and to help them on the road to recovery. The first step we take is to put the business or apartment complex on notice of a Negligent Security claim for failing to protect the victim.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that about 10% of all Traumatic Brain Injuries are due to assaults. Assaults account for 3% of the Traumatic Brain Injuries in children under 15 years of age. Among Traumatic Brain Injury related deaths, assaults were the leading cause of death for children ages 0-4.
Georgia law states that “property owners and landlords must keep their property reasonably safe.” Georgia case law holds that business owners have a duty to minimize foreseeable risks. That duty includes providing proper security, especially when the complex has a history or knowledge of break-ins and prior crimes, including crimes of a violent nature. Apartment complexes and businesses must ensure that all lights on the premises are working, so that there are no dark areas where criminals can lie in wait. If there is a pattern of criminal activity on the property, a security fence might be necessary.
Apartment complexes are one of the most common places for violent crimes to occur due to unsafe conditions and negligent security. There is no law that forces an apartment complex to share its history of burglaries, automobile break-ins, and violent crimes. In each case, we complete an extensive Open Records Request to the county where the apartment complex or business is located. This often results in an expansive chronology of violent crimes at the location.
It is unforgivable that some properties do not provide adequate lighting and protection for visitors and residents. It is vital that a victim or a victim's family has an attorney with the experience and knowledge to force the apartment complex to disclose the security measures they knowingly ignored and then use that information against them to obtain optimal compensation for catastrophic harm caused.