Gun Violence Victims – Do I Have a Civil Claim?
When you visit a shopping mall, apartment complex, gas station, motel, sporting event, nightclub, business, or other commercial property, you deserve to be reasonably safe. Unfortunately, every year people are injured and killed while at these establishments due to gun violence and negligent security practices. If a business or property owner fails to take adequate steps to protect your safety, and you suffer a critical injury (or a loved one dies), you could be entitled to monetary compensation to help cover healthcare costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.
Was the Crime Foreseeable?
In most states, businesses have a duty to protect their residents or guests from foreseeable third-party criminal attacks. Foreseeability is the key word. Whether a criminal attack was foreseeable largely depends on the prior criminal history at the property; whether the criminal assailant had a history causing disturbances on the property; or whether the business anticipated or should have anticipated a criminal attack.
If crime was foreseeable at the business/property, the focus becomes what, if anything, did the business/property do to protect its guests? There are several basic measures businesses can and should take to deter crime. For example:
- Adequate Lighting
- Surveillance Cameras
- Controlled-Access Gates
- Maintaining and Enforcing a Criminal Trespass List
- Security Patrols
- Off-Duty Officers
Businesses will do all they can to avoid responsibility. Almost always, a business will argue that the crime and injury were not “foreseeable,” which means the business could not reasonably expect the crime would happen on the property and that the victim would be injured. Businesses also routinely claim there was nothing they could do to keep a crime victim safe – that even if they had security measures, the crimes still would have happened. This excuse is unacceptable because, most times, the business has never even tried to implement any security measures – most likely because they did not want to pay for them. When businesses open their doors to and take money from customers, they should spend their money to keep customers safe.
Mickelsen Dalton
The trial attorneys at Mickelsen Dalton LLC are experienced in holding businesses and property owners accountable for failing to warn and protect their guests from gun violence. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed due to gun violence, do not hesitate to contact Mickelsen Dalton LLC at (678) 641-9054 or brian@mickelsendalton.com.
