Unfortunately, it remains a fact of life that those with criminal intent will occasionally commit crimes in public places. And often, those crimes will be violent, and innocent people will suffer the consequences.

The primary responsibility for those actions falls on the criminal, of course. But there is a long-recognized principle in premises liability law that business owners are responsible, at least in part, for providing adequate security at their establishments.

Proving that insufficient security contributed to the crime that hurt you is difficult and requires our skilled, experienced premises liability lawyers.

If you want to speak with one of our Long Beach, California-area premises liability lawyers, please call Kirtland & Packard, LLP today at (310) 536-1000 for a free consultation.

What’s Expected of Property Owners

The law recognizes that some crime is unpredictable and could not reasonably be prevented even by a vigilant and security force. In these cases, property owners do not have liability for injuries suffered as a result of criminal activity.

However, a property owner is negligent if or she fails to take reasonable steps to protect visitors and customers from foreseeable danger. Sadly, this comes up quite often.

Examples of negligent and insufficient security include:

  • Simply failing to provide a security force
  • Not properly training or equipping a security force
  • Failing to provide proper lighting
  • A lack of gates, alarms and locks on important doors

Insufficient security claims can arise from a huge range of facility types, including big box stores, apartment complexes and even amusement parks.

And we’re not talking about small crimes here. Clients who file claims for insufficient security have been robbed, beaten or even sexually assaulted. In particularly extreme and tragic cases, innocent people have lost their lives because a property owner did not adequately secure a facility.

We can help. We will investigate the incident and find the cause of your personal injury. Our premises liability lawyers have ample experience making compelling arguments and proving that a property owner neglected to provide adequate security.

If you suffered an injury and want to tell your story to one of our experienced South Bay, California-area premises liability lawyers, please call Kirtland & Packard, LLP today at (310) 536-1000 for a free consultation.