Holding Property Owners Accountable for Preventable Harm
A night out. A trip to the store. Returning home to an apartment complex. These ordinary moments should not end in tragedy.
Yet assaults, shootings, stabbings, carjackings, and other violent crimes frequently occur on properties where warning signs were ignored. When landlords, property managers, or business owners fail to address known security risks, the consequences can be catastrophic.
Under premises liability law, property owners have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect lawful visitors from foreseeable criminal acts. When they fail to do so, and someone suffers life-altering injury or death, accountability follows.
How Much Is Your Case Worth?
When Is a Violent Crime “Foreseeable”?
Not every crime creates legal responsibility for a property owner. The key issue is foreseeability.
- Was there a known pattern of criminal activity?
- Were there prior assaults, robberies, or disturbances on or near the property?
- Did police repeatedly respond to calls for service at the same address?
- Were tenants or patrons previously harmed in similar ways?
- Foreseeability is not speculation. It is built on evidence.
Our firm establishes foreseeability through:
- Police call-for-service data
- Prior incident reports and internal security logs
- 911 records and dispatch history
- Crime mapping and neighborhood pattern analysis
- Expert evaluation of industry security standards
When a property has a documented history of violent activity, inaction is not an accident. It is a choice.
Common Negligent Security Failures
Violent crime cases often involve systemic breakdowns in security practices, including:
- Broken or disabled access control systems
- Unlocked gates or malfunctioning key fob entries
- Inadequate lighting in parking lots, stairwells, or corridors
- Failure to employ trained security personnel despite known risks
- Poorly positioned or nonfunctioning surveillance cameras
- Ignored tenant complaints about threats or prior violence
- Delayed or inadequate response to ongoing disturbances
Security measures do not need to be perfect. They must be reasonable under the circumstances. When owners cut corners despite escalating crime patterns, the risk shifts to residents and guests.
Catastrophic Injuries Resulting from Violent Crime
Violent assaults frequently result in permanent, life-altering harm, including:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Spinal cord injury and paralysis
- Multiple fractures and internal injuries
- Permanent disfigurement
- Fatal injuries leading to wrongful death
These cases are not only about the moment of violence. They are about the lifelong medical, financial, and emotional consequences that follow.
How We Build Violent Crime Cases
Property owners often argue that criminal acts are unpredictable and outside their control. Our job is to test that claim against the evidence.
We conduct a detailed investigation that may include:
- Securing surveillance footage before it is overwritten
- Analyzing crime statistics and geographic clustering
- Reviewing staffing schedules and security budgets
- Examining lease agreements and internal communications
- Evaluating compliance with industry security standards
- Consulting security experts to assess reasonable protective measures
Contact McEldrew Purtell
Violence changes lives in an instant. When that violence was foreseeable and preventable, the law provides a path to accountability.
McEldrew Purtell represents individuals and families in complex negligent security and wrongful death litigation. We investigate thoroughly, build cases strategically, and pursue justice for catastrophic harm.
Contact our team to discuss your situation and your legal options.
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