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Philadelphia Negligent Security Lawyer

Every property owner is required to ensure that their premises do not pose any safety risks to lawful occupants. For some establishments such as shopping malls, apartment complexes, hotels, and casinos, the property owner will employ security measures to monitor the property and ensure that no harm comes to residents or guests. Security measures are meant to safeguard lawful occupants, and when they fail and someone is injured, the property owner may be held accountable.

What Defines Negligent Security?

Negligent security can take many forms, and result in many types of injuries to victims. Some instances of negligent security include:

  • Poor security camera placement. Surveillance cameras are meant to monitor specific areas. If they are poorly placed or their view becomes obstructed, it can result in blind spots.
  • Negligent security guards. Security guards must not become complacent in their duties. Some may believe they have an easy job or work somewhere quiet where nothing out of the ordinary ever happens, but that doesn’t mean it will always be that way. Guards need to be thorough on their patrols and carefully monitor their assigned areas. Guard rotations and patrol routes should be regularly changed. Some criminals will survey a target area for some time to memorize guards’ patrol routes to find vulnerabilities.
  • Defective security equipment. Cameras, closed-circuit monitoring systems, electronic door locks, and other security mechanisms need to be regularly inspected and tested for reliability and to ensure that they have not been tampered with or otherwise compromised.
  • Property liability. Property owners need to make sure that their facilities and grounds are clear of hazards to those lawfully present upon them. This may include snow and ice removal, clearing stairwells and walkways of obstructions, and ensuring that all areas are well-lit at nighttime to prevent slip and fall accidents.

This is not an exhaustive list. Any security measure a property owner employs needs to be regularly checked for reliability, and any vulnerability needs to be addressed in a timely manner. Holes in security usually lead to harm to residents or guests on the premises.

Not only can negligent security lead to property damage or theft, but also physical injury from slip and fall accidents, unsafe structures, or bodily harm from assaults, muggings, sexual assaults, and violence. Contact our slip and fall lawyers in Philadelphia to learn more.

Proving Negligence and Obtaining Compensation in Philadelphia

Any personal injury that results from negligent security will still fall under the basic tenets of personal injury law. That means that your attorney will need to establish negligence on part of the property owner or defendant. Proving negligence requires proving three things:

  • The property owner owed a duty of reasonable care to those lawfully present on their premises. In these situations, that means they are required to furnish their building and grounds with reasonable security measures to safeguard residents or guests on the premises.
  • They breached this duty by some action. It may also be due to inaction if they failed to address obvious security vulnerabilities in a timely or thorough manner, or did not exercise adequate care in maintaining their security structure.
  • This breach of duty directly resulted in the victim’s injuries. For example, if a security guard was sleeping instead of watching video monitors like they were supposed to, and an assailant mugs you in view of a security camera, they would be considered negligent since they could have prevented or mitigated the damage done.

Proving negligence is sometimes tricky, and the Philadelphia personal injury lawyers at Ciccarelli Law Offices are well-versed in all manner of negligent security claims in Philadelphia. We believe that victims should not be left to pay for the injuries and losses they sustain if they resulted from another party’s negligence. If you have any questions about a negligent security claim or want to start reviewing your case, reach out to the attorneys at Ciccarelli Law Offices.