Did you know that if you or someone you know was shot, assaulted, attacked, stabbed, raped, or killed at a bar, sporting event, nightclub, apartment complex, parking lot, or other establishment in Wisconsin that there may be a claim against the owner of that property?
In Wisconsin, property owners owe a duty to keep their premises safe. A property owner may be held liable for injuries or death that occur on their property if they fail to provide adequate security measures, that lead to injuries or even death.
What is Negligent Security?
Negligent security is used to describe a property owner or manager's failure to provide adequate security measures to protect individuals from foreseeable criminal activity, leading to injury or death.
Negligent security falls under the umbrella of premises liability cases and negligence.
There are four elements of negligence in negligent security cases that must be established:
- Duty of Care: the property owner has a responsibility to ensure that reasonable security measures are in place to protect patrons, visitors, and employees from foreseeable dangers. e.g., adequate lighting in parking lots.
- Breach of Duty: the property owner fails to provide adequate security or neglects to address known security risks. e.g., failing to install security cameras despite knowledge of previous criminal activity, ignoring problems like broken lights, or firing security guards to save money for the company.
- Causation: the lack of adequate security must be directly linked to the injury that occurred. This means that if better security measures could have prevented the incident, then the breach is considered the cause. e.g., if a person was shot in a bar that did not have security guards and the shooting could have been prevented by better security then the lack of security caused the injury.
- Damages: real harm, such as physical and emotional injuries, must be suffered as a result of the incident that occurred due to negligent and inadequate security.
Many negligent security cases involve one of the following failures by property owners:
- Lack of proper lighting
- Lack of security guards or security personnel
- Broken or faulty security systems, such as surveillance cameras and alarms
- Lack of surveillance or monitoring surveillance footage
- Failing to address previous criminal activity
- Inadequate training or supervision of security staff
- Unsecured entrances and exits
Examples of Negligent Security in Wisconsin
Negligent security can happen almost anywhere but some common locations in the Milwaukee area may include:
- Bars: bars often have high volumes of intoxicated individuals, which increases risk of violence. Bars should have visible security guards, surveillance cameras in key areas, and bouncers trained in conflict resolution to prevent crime, fights, and violence.
- Nightclubs and Adult Entertainment clubs: nightclubs and strip clubs may attract higher-risk patrons and often involve alcohol, which can lead to violent altercations, fights, and crime. Similar to bars, security teams, surveillance cameras, adequate lighting in parking lots, and crowd control measures necessary.
- Stores: store owners should have well-lit parking lots and surveillance cameras and, if the store is in a known high-crime area, there should be additional security measures in place by store owners.
- Apartment Complex: security measures in place at apartment complexes are critical to ensure the safety of tenants and visitors, such as gated entryways, cameras, security personnel, well-lit hallways and parking lots, and addressing previous criminal activity.
- Hotel: hotels should provide well-lit and secure hallways, 24/7 security and front desk personnel, key card access to rooms, secure room locks as patrons of hotels can be vulnerable to crimes like theft, sexual assault, or even human trafficking.
- Bank: at a bank, patrons expect to be safe and secure, and banks should have a heightened security system such as armed security guards, working surveillance systems, alarm triggers, and bulletproof barriers for employees at a minimum.
- Schools and Colleges: in today's climate with mass shootings at schools, our children deserve to be protected and safe, which means schools should have adequate security measures in place to protect our children, such as well-lit areas, surveillance cameras, controlled access points, school resource officers, campus security, emergency call boxes, and security escorts for students walking at night.
Common Injuries from Negligent Security
Many different types of crimes can occur as a result of negligent security and security failures, including murder, robbery, sexual assault, physical assault, and other serious physical violence. These crimes can lead to life-altering injuries that may include death, gunshot wounds, stab wounds, broken bones, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, PTSD, and even death.
Do I need a Negligent Security Lawyer?
Having an attorney to protect you against companies and people with unlimited resources can be beneficial in any type of case but is especially true for negligent security cases. Negligent security cases can be complex and involve a full investigation to uncover the truth about the case, such as the systemic failures by the company.
At Lojewski Abuse & Injury Law, Attorney Kristen Lojewski will take action and gather all evidence to help you tell your story. In many cases, and negligent security cases are no different, the company will try to blame the victim. Kristen puts a stop to that so that you can Be Seen, Be Heard, Be Safe, and Be Championed.