Nashville Negligent Security Attorney
Skilled Nashville Attorneys Holding Defendants Liable
Tennessee law requires all property owners to maintain reasonably safe premises for their visitors. Obviously, there is no such thing as total security and not every danger can be anticipated. But owners may be held legally liable if they fail to maintain a basic level of security, and customers or visitors are seriously injured as a result.
When Is a Business Owner’s Negligent Security to Blame?
Negligent security falls under the category of “premises liability.” In Tennessee, a proprietor is responsible for failing to exercise reasonable care in the face of a known or easily knowable risk. For example, let’s say a retail store is located in a high-crime area where there has been an unusual number of robberies reported in recent months. If the store owner fails to take reasonable safety measures–making sure there is adequate lighting in the parking lot, posting security guards at night, et cetera–and another customer is robbed, then the victim may have grounds to file a premises liability lawsuit.
This is just one hypothetical example. Here are some other scenarios where negligent security may implicate a property owner:
- A hotel does not have security cameras or lock their front door overnight. An attacker subsequently enters the building and proceeds to rape a guest.
- A crowded bar does not hire security guards or bouncers despite history of drunken and disorderly conduct. A fight breaks out between two drunken patrons and an innocent third party is injured in the melee.
- A security guard hired to monitor an office building leaves the premises during work hours. An assailant goes into the offices while the guard is away and steals their contents.
Basically, any situation where there is a foreseeable risk to patrons, the proprietor of the business needs to exercise common sense in keeping everyone safe.
Putting Our 60 Years Combined Legal Experience to Work for You
Negligent security cases are not easy to win. If a security lapse is a one-time affair, the owner may escape liability. The victim usually needs to demonstrate there was a pattern of criminal activity or known security risks that the owner chose to ignore.
The Nashville personal injury attorneys at Bednarz & Bednarz have handled many cases like these. We can investigate a property owner’s negligent acts as well as the overall security problems in the surrounding area. There are a number of factors at play in a negligent security case, including the frequency of reported criminal activity, the prior knowledge of the premises owner, and the relative costs of implementing additional security measures given the likelihood of harm to visitors. We can help you–and a judge and jury, if it comes to that–see the whole picture.
Providing Aggressive Representation to Negligent Security Victims in Nashville, Hendersonville & Middle Tennessee
There is nothing worse than becoming the victim of a violent crime, especially in a place where you have reasonable expectations of safety. An attack can leave you with significant physical and psychological injuries. Where negligent security is at least partially to blame for those injuries, you should not hesitate to seek compensation from the property owner. Call Bednarz & Bednarz today at 615-256-0100 to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys today.