Wrongful Death Due to Negligent Security

TL;DR

A wrongful death claim based on negligent security holds a property owner or manager legally responsible when their failure to provide reasonable security measures leads to a fatal attack on their premises. To succeed, the victim’s surviving family must prove the property owner had a legal duty to provide security, breached that duty through inaction or carelessness, and this failure directly caused the death. A critical element is foreseeability, meaning the owner knew or should have known that a violent crime was likely to occur due to prior incidents or the nature of the property.

Key Highlights

Duty of Care: Property owners have a legal obligation to protect visitors from foreseeable criminal acts.
Breach of Duty: This happens when they fail to implement reasonable security like working cameras, proper lighting, or secure locks.
Causation: The specific lack of security must be a direct cause of the fatal incident.
Foreseeability: The criminal act must have been predictable based on previous crimes on or near the property.
Liable Parties: Responsible parties can include landlords, business owners, event organizers, and property management companies.

When a person visits a shopping mall, stays at a hotel, or lives in an apartment complex, they have a reasonable expectation of safety. The law recognizes this expectation and places a legal responsibility on property owners to protect people from preventable harm, including criminal attacks. According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, a significant percentage of violent crimes occur in commercial places, parking lots, and residential areas. These are not always random, unavoidable acts. In many instances, they are crimes of opportunity, made possible by a property owner’s failure to implement basic, common-sense security measures.

This legal responsibility is rooted in the principles of premises liability law. This area of law dictates that property owners and managers must maintain a reasonably safe environment for individuals they invite onto their property, such as customers, tenants, and guests. This duty isn’t just about fixing broken stairs or cleaning up spills; it extends to protecting people from foreseeable third-party criminal acts. The level of security required is not the same for every property. It depends on factors like the property’s location, its history of criminal activity, and the type of business being conducted. A 24-hour convenience store in a high-crime neighborhood, for example, is expected to have more robust security than a small bookstore in a quiet suburb.

When a property owner’s failure to provide adequate security results in a person’s death, the legal system offers a path for accountability through a wrongful death lawsuit. This type of claim asserts that the death would not have occurred if the property owner had fulfilled their duty to provide a safe environment. Successfully pursuing such a case requires a detailed examination of the property’s conditions, its history, and the direct link between the security lapse and the tragic event. The following sections will break down what constitutes negligent security, identify who can be held responsible, and outline the critical steps involved in building a claim for justice.

Justice starts here. Talk to Life Justice Law Group about your wrongful death case.

Understanding the Core Elements of a Negligent Security Claim

For a wrongful death claim based on negligent security to be successful, the surviving family’s legal team must prove four specific elements. These are the building blocks of the case, and the absence of any one of them can prevent a finding of liability. Think of them as a chain; each link must be strong and connected to the next for the claim to hold up.

Establishing the Duty of Care

The first step is to establish that the property owner or manager owed a “duty of care” to the person who died. In legal terms, a duty of care is an obligation to act with reasonable prudence to avoid causing harm to others. This duty is automatically established in many situations. For instance, a landlord has a duty of care to their tenants, a hotel has one to its guests, and a retail store has one to its customers. These individuals are considered “invitees” under the law, and property owners owe them the highest duty of care. This duty includes taking active steps to protect them from foreseeable dangers, including crime.

Proving a Breach of That Duty

Once a duty is established, the next step is to prove that the property owner breached, or violated, that duty. This is the “negligence” in negligent security. The breach occurs when the owner fails to provide security measures that a reasonable property owner would have provided under similar circumstances. This is not about creating an impenetrable fortress; it is about taking sensible and appropriate precautions.

Common examples of a breach of duty include:

Inadequate Lighting: Poorly lit parking lots, stairwells, hallways, and walkways can conceal attackers and make residents or customers vulnerable.
Broken Locks and Gates: Failing to repair or replace broken locks on apartment doors, windows, or security gates provides an easy entry point for criminals.
Lack of Surveillance: The absence of security cameras in critical areas like entrances, exits, and parking garages, or the use of non-functional “dummy” cameras, can be a breach of duty.
Insufficient Security Personnel: In places with a known risk of violent crime, such as large apartment complexes or entertainment venues, failing to hire a sufficient number of trained security guards is a form of negligence.
Failure to Respond to Warnings: Ignoring complaints from tenants or employees about security risks, suspicious individuals, or broken equipment demonstrates a clear disregard for safety.

Demonstrating Causation

Proving a breach of duty is not enough. The legal team must also demonstrate “causation,” meaning the breach was a direct and substantial factor in causing the death. This link is crucial. For example, if an attacker gained access to an apartment building through a broken security gate and killed a resident, there is a strong argument for causation. The landlord’s failure to fix the gate directly led to the circumstances that resulted in the death.

However, if the attacker was another tenant’s invited guest who passed through a fully functional security system, proving causation against the landlord would be much more difficult. The key is to show that “but for” the defendant’s negligence, the fatal attack would not have happened.

The Critical Role of Foreseeability

Perhaps the most contested element in these cases is “foreseeability.” A property owner is not responsible for every crime that happens on their property. They are only responsible for crimes that were reasonably foreseeable. A criminal act is considered foreseeable if the property owner knew or should have known about a risk of similar crimes occurring.

Foreseeability can be established in several ways:

Prior Similar Incidents: Evidence of previous robberies, assaults, or other violent crimes on or near the property is the strongest indicator of foreseeability. Police reports and 911 call logs for the property’s address can reveal a pattern of criminal activity that should have put the owner on notice.
High-Crime Area: The character of the surrounding neighborhood is a factor. A property located in an area with a high crime rate has a greater foreseeable risk, which demands a higher level of security.
Nature of the Business: Certain businesses, like bars, ATMs, or late-night gas stations, inherently carry a higher risk of crime. Owners of these businesses are expected to anticipate these risks and take appropriate precautions.
Direct Warnings: If tenants or employees previously reported security concerns, such as loiterers or broken lights, and management did nothing, it helps prove the owner was aware of the danger.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Security-Related Wrongful Death?

Identifying the responsible party is a key part of a negligent security claim. Liability is not always limited to the person or company whose name is on the property deed. It can extend to any party that had control over the property’s security and failed to exercise that control reasonably.

Commercial Property Owners and Landlords

Owners of apartment complexes, shopping malls, and office buildings are among the most common defendants in negligent security lawsuits. Landlords have a specific duty to ensure the safety of their tenants in common areas like lobbies, hallways, laundry rooms, and parking lots. This includes ensuring that locks work, lighting is adequate, and access points are secure. When they cut corners on security maintenance to save money, they put their tenants at risk and can be held liable if a tragedy occurs.

For example, consider a case where a family sues an apartment complex management company. Their loved one was killed during a home invasion. The family’s attorney discovers that for months, tenants had sent emails complaining about a broken security gate and burned-out lights in the parking garage. By proving the management company was aware of these specific failures and did nothing, the family can establish negligence and hold the company accountable.

Businesses and Retail Establishments

Businesses that are open to the public, such as convenience stores, gas stations, hotels, bars, and restaurants, also have a duty to protect their patrons. The nature of these businesses often creates a higher foreseeable risk of crime. A hotel, for instance, has a duty to ensure its room locks are functional, hallways are well-lit and monitored, and access to guest floors is controlled. A nightclub that serves alcohol has a duty to employ enough security staff to prevent and break up fights that could turn deadly.

Property Management Companies

In many cases, a property owner will hire a third-party property management company to handle the day-to-day operations, including maintenance and security. These companies can be held liable, either alongside the owner or on their own, if their negligence led to a fatal incident. If the management company was responsible for hiring security guards, maintaining cameras, or responding to repair requests, their failures can form the basis of a lawsuit.

Event Organizers and Venues

Organizers of large events like concerts, festivals, and sporting events have a heightened duty to provide security for their attendees. This includes implementing effective crowd control measures, screening for weapons, and having a sufficient number of trained security personnel on-site to respond to emergencies. A failure to plan for foreseeable risks, such as overcrowding or violence, can lead to liability if someone is killed.

Gathering Crucial Evidence to Build a Strong Case

A successful negligent security claim depends entirely on the quality and strength of the evidence. After a fatal incident, it is essential to act quickly to preserve evidence before it is lost, altered, or destroyed. An experienced legal team will launch an immediate and thorough investigation to gather the proof needed to establish the four core elements of the claim.

Documenting the Scene and Incident

The first step is to document the conditions of the property as they were at the time of the incident. This means taking photographs and videos of any security failures, such as broken locks, dark hallways, gaps in fencing, or overgrown landscaping that could hide an assailant. It is also vital to obtain the official police report, which contains the initial findings of law enforcement, witness statements, and other important details. Files from any related criminal investigation can also provide valuable information.

Uncovering a History of Negligence

To prove foreseeability, it is necessary to show that the property owner was on notice of a crime problem. This requires digging into the property’s past. An investigation may involve:

Requesting 911 Call Logs: Obtaining records of all 911 calls made from the property’s address can create a timeline of criminal activity and show that law enforcement was frequently called to the location.
Interviewing Witnesses: Talking to other tenants, former employees, and regular customers can uncover information about prior crimes that may have gone unreported. They can also testify about long-standing security problems that management ignored.
Obtaining Internal Documents: Through the legal discovery process, an attorney can demand internal records from the defendant. These can include emails, maintenance work orders, and internal memos that show management was aware of security risks but failed to act.
Reviewing Public Records: Checking online reviews for the business or apartment complex can sometimes reveal past complaints about safety and security.

The Role of Expert Witnesses

Expert witnesses play a vital part in explaining complex issues to a judge and jury. In a negligent security case, several types of experts are often used to strengthen the claim.

Security Experts: A premises security expert can assess the property and testify about the industry standards for a similar type of property. They can explain what constitutes “reasonable” security and provide a professional opinion on how the defendant’s security measures fell short of that standard.
Criminologists: These experts can analyze crime statistics for the specific area and property. They can help establish foreseeability by showing that the location was prone to violent crime, making the attack predictable.
Economic Experts: In a wrongful death case, an economist can calculate the full financial impact of the loss on the surviving family. This includes projecting the deceased’s lost lifetime earnings, benefits, and other forms of financial support.

Common Types of Inadequate Security That Lead to Fatalities

Negligent security is not a single action but rather a pattern of failures. These failures create an environment where criminals feel emboldened to act. Understanding the specific types of security lapses can help clarify how a property owner’s carelessness can have deadly consequences.

Failures in Physical Barriers and Access Control

The most basic function of security is to control who can enter a property. When physical barriers fail, everyone inside is at risk. This includes:

Broken Gates: A vehicle or pedestrian gate at an apartment complex or gated community that is stuck open or easily bypassed offers no protection.
Malfunctioning Doors: Main entrance doors that do not latch, propped-open side doors, and broken locks on individual apartment or hotel room doors are direct invitations for intruders.
Inadequate Fencing: Fences that are too low, have holes, or are not properly secured at the bottom can be easily breached.
Lack of Key Card Systems: In modern buildings, key card or fob access is a standard security feature. The failure to install or maintain such a system in a large residential or commercial building can be considered negligent.

Deficient Lighting and Surveillance

Criminals thrive in darkness and anonymity. Proper lighting and visible surveillance are two of the most effective crime deterrents.

Poor Lighting: Dark parking garages, unlit stairwells, and shadowy walkways are ideal locations for ambushes and assaults. Property owners have a duty to ensure all common areas are well-illuminated.
Inadequate Surveillance: The complete absence of security cameras in high-traffic areas like lobbies, elevators, and parking lots is a major security flaw. Additionally, having cameras that are non-operational, not monitored, or produce low-quality footage is just as negligent as having no cameras at all.

Inadequate Security Personnel

For some properties, passive security measures like locks and cameras are not enough. The presence of trained security guards is necessary to deter crime and respond to threats. Negligence related to security personnel can include:

No Guards on Site: Failing to employ security guards at a property with a documented history of violent crime.
Poorly Trained Guards: Hiring guards who are not properly trained or certified to handle confrontations or emergencies.
Insufficient Staffing: Having only one guard to patrol a massive apartment complex or manage a large crowd at an event is often insufficient to provide meaningful security.

Lack of Policies and Procedures

Effective security is not just about hardware; it is also about having smart policies in place. A property owner can be found negligent for failing to implement and enforce basic security procedures, such as performing background checks on employees, having a system for visitors to sign in, or creating an emergency response plan.

Understanding Damages in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

No amount of money can ever replace a lost loved one. However, a wrongful death lawsuit seeks to provide financial stability for the surviving family and hold the negligent party accountable for the immense harm they caused. The compensation, or “damages,” awarded in these cases is typically divided into three categories.

Economic Damages: The Tangible Financial Losses

Economic damages are intended to compensate the family for the measurable financial losses resulting from the death. An expert economist is often retained to calculate these figures accurately. They include:

Loss of Future Earnings: The income the deceased person would have been expected to earn over their lifetime.
Loss of Financial Support: The value of the financial contributions the deceased would have made to their family.
Loss of Benefits: The value of lost benefits like health insurance coverage or a pension.
Medical Expenses: The cost of any medical care the victim received between the time of the attack and their death.
Funeral and Burial Costs: The expenses associated with the funeral and burial services.

Non-Economic Damages: The Intangible Human Cost

Non-economic damages acknowledge the profound emotional and personal losses suffered by the family. These are more subjective and difficult to quantify, but they represent the very real human cost of the tragedy. They may include compensation for:

Loss of Companionship: The loss of the love, care, and society of a spouse or partner.
Mental Pain and Suffering: The grief and emotional distress experienced by the surviving family members.
Loss of Parental Guidance: The loss of a parent’s guidance, nurturing, and instruction for surviving minor children.

Punitive Damages: Punishing Gross Negligence

In some cases, a court may award punitive damages. These are not intended to compensate the family but to punish the defendant for particularly reckless or egregious conduct. Punitive damages are awarded when the property owner’s actions showed a willful disregard for the safety of others. For example, if a corporation knew about a pattern of violent crime at its properties and made a conscious decision not to improve security to increase profits, a jury might award punitive damages to send a message that such behavior will not be tolerated.

The Legal Process: Steps to Take After a Tragedy

Facing the legal system after losing a family member is a difficult prospect, but understanding the process can help provide a sense of control. Taking the right steps in the right order is essential to protecting your family’s rights and building the strongest possible case.

The Importance of Acting Promptly

Every state has a law known as the “statute of limitations,” which sets a strict deadline for filing a wrongful death lawsuit. In many states, this deadline is two years from the date of death. If a claim is not filed within this window, the family loses the right to seek justice forever. Beyond the legal deadline, it is important to act quickly because evidence can vanish. Surveillance footage is often recorded over, witnesses may move or forget key details, and the property owner may repair the security flaws, making it harder to prove what the conditions were like at the time of the incident.

Consulting with a Premises Liability Attorney

The most critical first step is to speak with an attorney who specializes in wrongful death and negligent security cases. A qualified attorney can evaluate the facts of your situation and advise you on your legal options. Once hired, they can immediately take action to preserve evidence by sending a “spoliation letter” to the property owner, legally demanding that they do not destroy any relevant information, such as video recordings or internal documents.

The Investigation and Filing the Claim

Your legal team will launch a comprehensive investigation to gather all the evidence needed to prove the four elements of negligence. This includes visiting the scene, hiring experts, interviewing witnesses, and collecting all relevant records. Once they have built a strong foundation for the case, they will draft and file a formal complaint with the court. This document officially begins the lawsuit and outlines the allegations against the defendant.

Hold negligent property owners accountable, contact Life Justice Law Group today.

Discovery, Negotiation, and Trial

After the lawsuit is filed, the case enters the “discovery” phase. During this period, both sides exchange information and evidence. This can involve written questions (interrogatories), requests for documents, and sworn testimony taken out of court (depositions). Many negligent security cases are resolved before ever reaching a courtroom. Your attorney will engage in negotiations with the defendant’s insurance company and lawyers to try to reach a fair settlement. If a settlement cannot be reached, the case will proceed to trial, where a judge or jury will hear the evidence and decide the outcome.

Losing a family member to an act of violence is a devastating experience. When that loss could have been prevented with reasonable security measures, the pain is compounded by a sense of injustice. The law recognizes that property owners and managers have a fundamental duty to protect people on their premises from foreseeable harm. When they fail in this duty through carelessness or a desire to cut costs, they can and should be held financially accountable for the consequences.

Proving a wrongful death case based on negligent security requires a meticulous investigation to establish the owner’s duty, their breach of that duty, the direct causation of the death, and the foreseeability of the crime. This involves gathering physical evidence, uncovering a history of prior incidents, and leveraging the testimony of security and economic experts. The goal is to secure compensation for the family’s immense financial and emotional losses and, in some cases, to obtain punitive damages that punish the defendant’s reckless disregard for human life.

The path to justice is complex, and the legal deadlines for taking action are strict. If your family has suffered a loss due to what you believe was inadequate security, do not wait. The most important step you can take is to seek guidance from an experienced wrongful death attorney. A consultation can provide the clarity and direction needed to understand your rights, preserve critical evidence, and begin the process of holding the responsible parties accountable for their failure to prioritize safety. Contact us for free evaluation today, and let us fight for the justice your family deserves.

Wrongful Death Due to Negligent Security: Holding Property Owners Accountable