Negligent Security Attorney in Philadelphia

When you meet with a negligent security lawyer in Philadelphia from Morgan and Morgan, one of the most important items on the agenda is to determine the factor or factors that caused a property owner and/or operator to commit an act of negligent security. Regardless of the venue, four factors constitute the most common reasons why people fall victim to acts of negligent security.

Not Enough Security Personnel

When you enter a venue in Philadelphia, you expect the owner or operator of the venue to staff enough security personnel to keep you safe from criminal activities. For example, a bank assumes a legal duty of care to staff enough security personnel to deter criminals from committing a crime such as a robbery. If the bank fails to staff enough professionally trained security personnel and a robbery ensues, the bank can be assigned fault for not protecting its customers.

Poorly Trained Security Personnel

Although staffing the right number of security personnel is important, the members of the security team must receive proper training to deliver optimal protection for visitors to a property. Venues that hire off-duty law enforcement personnel to fulfill the duty of care doctrine by staffing professionally trained security professionals to protect visitors against the commission of a criminal act. Hiring personnel with little or no training security training violates the duty of care doctrine if someone or a group of people commit a crime.

Inadequate Lighting

Criminals frequently rely on the element of surprise to commit a crime. One of the most effective ways to surprise a victim is to take advantage of inadequate lighting. Inadequate lighting often becomes an issue at venues that provide parking for visitors. A lack of illumination allows a criminal to move about unobserved to use the element of surprise to cause someone harm. If you are a victim of negligent security caused by poor lighting, a negligent security lawyer in Philadelphia needs to obtain security camera footage to demonstrate a lack of illumination that led to the commission of a crime.

Lack of Technology That Detects Credit Card Skimming

Not every act of negligent security leads to the commission of a crime in which the victim is approached by a criminal, such as a robbery or an assault. Credit card skimming represents one of the most common causes of negligent security. A criminal places an electronic device within a credit card processing machine to scan the credit card numbers of customers. Although credit card skimming is commonly associated with gas stations and convenience stores, the criminal act happens anywhere where a customer provides sensitive financial data to purchase a product or service.

To prove a property owner and/or operator committed an act of negligence that caused you harm, your attorney must demonstrate the presence of the four elements of negligence. Failing to prove just one of the following elements dramatically diminishes the strength of your case for monetary damages.

Duty of Care

Duty of care means that another party assumes legal liability to protect you against harm. One of the most common examples of the duty of care doctrine concerns the role healthcare providers play in their relationships with patients. Healthcare providers assume a duty of care to take every measure possible to prevent a patient from developing an illness or a disease. When it comes to proving negligent security, your attorney must show the owner and/or operator of a property assumed legal liability to protect you against the commission of a crime.

Committing an Act of Negligence

The second element of proving negligence involves presenting overwhelming evidence that the owner and/or operator of a property violated the duty of care doctrine by committing one or more acts of negligence. For example, if the owner and/or operator of Lincoln Financial Field failed to staff enough security personnel and the lack of security personnel led to the commission of a crime against you, your negligent security lawyer in Philadelphia gathers enough evidence to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

A Crime Caused You Harm

Causation can be a difficult element of negligence to prove because the attorney representing the other party might claim you sustained injuries and/or financial losses because of another event. Let’s assume an assailant assaulted you at an area shopping mall. You sustained injuries that required one surgical procedure to heal. The attorney representing the defendant might claim you sustained the injuries as the result of another event, such as a car accident or a slip and fall. Your negligent security lawyer in Philadelphia submits physical evidence such as medical bills and records that coincide with the timing of the assault.

You Sustained Financial Losses

You cannot expect to receive just compensation for a negligent security lawsuit if you do not show that you suffered financial losses because of the commission of a crime. Copies of bank statements can prove you lost money because of a robbery or the skimming of a credit card. The key is to demonstrate the date of the supporting records matches or comes close to matching the date of the crime that caused you financial losses. Your attorney submits the proper legal documents to prove the fourth element of negligence.

As a type of personal injury incident, filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages requires you to meet a deadline. Each state has established a statute of limitations for filing personal injury lawsuits. Most states have set the deadline between two and four years, with a few states going as high as six years and as low as one year. Pennsylvania law has set the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit at two years. The clock starts ticking on a negligent security lawsuit on the day when a victim sustained injuries and financial losses because of the commission of a crime on another party’s property.

Although two years seems like plenty of time to file a negligent security lawsuit, you should act quickly by filing your lawsuit as quickly as possible after the commission of a crime. Since you pay for medical bills out-of-pocket until the resolution of a negligent security case, filing a civil lawsuit with a sense of urgency might help you recover financial losses faster than if you wait until just before the deadline to take legal action. Your negligent security lawyer in Philadelphia wants to act quickly as well to ensure witnesses provide the most accurate accounts of what transpired before, during, and after a commission of a crime.

Searching for the best attorney to handle a negligent security case involves considering several factors.

Experienced Litigator

You should consider lawyers who have the experience necessary to prove the four elements of negligence. This involves screening candidates that specialize in handling negligent security cases. Although your lawyer must be licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, you should only consider a negligent security lawyer who practices negligent security law in Philadelphia. Familiarity with the venues in the City of Brotherly Love is an essential factor to consider.

Responsive Communicator

Filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages can trigger a considerable amount of stress, which is compounded when your attorney fails to respond to emails, phone calls, and text messages. A responsive communicator returns communications within the same business day and if you reach out after business hours, the first thing the next morning.

Positive Client Reviews

An attorney who receives positive client reviews on sites such as Yelp and Google should stand out when you vet candidates to handle your negligent security case. With more than three decades of representing clients, Morgan and Morgan has accumulated an impressive number of positive client reviews that praise the integrity of our lawyers, as well as the transparency in which they conduct business.

If you are a victim of negligent security, schedule a free case evaluation today with a negligent security lawyer in Philadelphia from Morgan and Morgan.