How Liable Is An Apartment Complex For Your Security?
If you slip and fall on someone’s property, you may be able to seek compensation for your injuries if negligence was involved. But if you were the victim of a crime that took place at your apartment complex, can you still pursue compensation?
In Florida, owners of apartment complexes need to provide adequate security measures for your safety. A landlord’s failure to meet this requirement could be grounds for negligence.
A Different Perspective
Imagine that you have to walk up a staircase to get to the front door of your apartment. The railing is becoming detached from the stairs. Multiple tenants have complained about it. Your landlord hasn’t put up signs, given updates, or tried to improve the situation. What happens when someone is injured on the stairs? Did the landlord exhibit a degree of negligence?
Because there was an issue that the landlord knew about and did nothing, an attorney would very likely argue that negligence helped cause the tenant’s accident.
Security & Premises Liability
By following the same logic from above, you can see how your landlord has a responsibility to take security measures if there is a safety risk. What are some things your landlord should likely be doing?
Checking crime statistics for your area
Putting up security cameras
Monitoring security cameras
Ensuring you have a way of locking your apartment
Should You Sue?
If you were injured on someone else’s property due to a lack of security, you should speak to an attorney. Why? Because your landlord has to take reasonable steps to protect you. Without understanding your specific situation, it is difficult to determine if you are in a position to file a lawsuit.
Your lawyer will determine whether an argument can be made on your behalf. But he will likely be asking and looking for evidence of whether negligence was involved. What does this look like? For example, he could look for records of the security measures put in place and whether they were maintained.
Have you or others raised safety concerns? When did these requests occur, and is there documentation to prove it? These are the things that demonstrate that your landlord was aware of an issue, and he or she didn’t take additional precautions. Something else that speaks to this is the cancellation of security measures. Was the cancellation justified, or was it due to intentionally avoid the costs associated with adequate security measures?
The Law Office of William C. Robinson
With more than 35 years of civil litigation experience, The Law Office of William C. Robinson is in a unique position to help you. If you have been injured on someone else’s property due to the owner’s negligence, contact us for a free consultation.
