Being the victim of a violent crime is one of the most traumatic experiences a person can go through. The physical injuries may heal over time. The psychological wounds often run much deeper. What makes it even harder to process is the realization that the crime might not have happened at all if the property owner had taken reasonable steps to keep you safe.
Businesses, landlords, and property managers often know that crime is a risk on or near their premises. They know the neighborhood. They have received prior complaints. They have seen incidents before. And in many cases, they choose to do nothing because security costs money and they have decided that money matters more than your safety. When that decision leads to someone being assaulted, robbed, or killed, the law holds them accountable. So do we.
What Is an Inadequate Security Claim?
An inadequate security claim is a type of premises liability lawsuit. Rather than involving a physical hazard like a wet floor or a broken step, it involves the failure of a property owner to provide reasonable security measures, a failure that allowed a third party to commit a crime that injured or killed someone on the premises. This area of law is sometimes called negligent security.
The foundation of these cases is a legal concept called foreseeability. A property owner is not expected to prevent every possible crime. But when criminal activity is a foreseeable risk at a given location, whether because of prior incidents, the nature of the business, or the surrounding area, the law requires the owner to take reasonable steps to protect the people on their property.
Who Can Be Held Liable?
Inadequate security liability can extend to multiple parties depending on the circumstances of the crime and how the property was managed. Potentially liable parties include:
- Property owners and landlords who failed to maintain adequate security infrastructure or respond to known crime risks
- Business operators such as bars, nightclubs, hotels, retailers, and parking garage operators who had control over the premises
- Property management companies responsible for overseeing and maintaining the security of the property
- Third-party security companies that were hired to protect the premises but failed to perform their duties adequately
- Event organizers and venue operators who hosted gatherings without appropriate crowd control or security personnel
What Counts as Inadequate Security?
Not every crime on a property gives rise to a legal claim. What matters is whether the property owner took reasonable measures given the foreseeable risk. When they fell below that standard, their failure becomes evidence of negligence. Common examples of inadequate security include:
- No security guards or personnel at a location where crime was a known and recurring problem
- Broken or non-functioning locks, gates, and access controls on doors, stairwells, parking areas, or building entry points
- Inadequate or missing lighting in parking lots, walkways, stairwells, and exterior areas that obscures visibility and enables crime
- Non-functioning or absent surveillance cameras in areas where monitoring could deter crime or identify perpetrators
- Failure to respond to prior complaints from tenants, guests, or employees about criminal activity or safety concerns on the property
- Undertrained or unqualified security personnel who lacked the skills, judgment, or authority to prevent or respond to violent incidents
- Inadequate background checks on employees or contractors who had access to residents, guests, or patrons
- No emergency call or alert systems in areas with known safety risks
What Compensation Can You Recover?
The damages available in an inadequate security case reflect the full scope of harm that violent crime inflicts on its victims. A thorough claim pursues every category of loss, including:
- Medical expenses, covering emergency treatment, surgery, hospitalization, and all future physical and psychiatric care related to your injuries
- Lost wages for the time you are unable to work during your physical and psychological recovery
- Loss of earning capacity if your injuries, trauma, or PTSD have a lasting impact on your ability to maintain employment
- Pain and suffering, including both the physical pain of your injuries and the emotional anguish of surviving a violent crime
- Psychiatric and psychological treatment costs, including therapy, counseling, and medication for PTSD, anxiety, depression, and related conditions
- Permanent disability or disfigurement recognized as separate compensable damages when your injuries produce lasting physical consequences
- Wrongful death damages for surviving family members when inadequate security costs someone their life, including loss of financial support, funeral expenses, and loss of companionship
Why Choose Hamo Law for Your Inadequate Security Case
We Fight Corporations That Put Profit Ahead of People
Property owners and businesses make calculated decisions about security. When those decisions are driven by cost-cutting at the expense of human safety, we hold them accountable for it. We are not intimidated by large corporations, hotel chains, or property management companies. We have been taking them on for over 40 years and we know how to win.
We Know How to Build Foreseeability
Establishing that a property owner knew or should have known about a crime risk requires investigation, legal knowledge, and experience. We know what evidence to look for, how to obtain it, and how to present it in a way that makes the owner's failure undeniable.
Compassionate Representation for Victims of Violent Crime
These cases involve some of the most painful experiences a person can carry. We approach every inadequate security case with the same combination of compassion and aggression that defines everything we do. We fight hard for you in the legal arena, and we treat you with dignity and care throughout the process.
Over 40 Years of Michigan Personal Injury Experience
Hamo Law has been representing seriously injured Michigan residents since 1981. We know Michigan premises liability law, we know the courts, and we know how to build cases that produce results for the people who need them most.
No Fee Unless We Win
You pay us nothing unless we recover compensation on your behalf. There is no cost to calling us today.
What to Do After Being Harmed Due to Inadequate Security
The steps you take after an inadequate security incident can significantly affect your ability to bring a successful claim. Here is what we advise:
- Seek medical and psychological care immediately. Your health comes first. Even if your physical injuries seem manageable, the psychological impact of violent crime is real and should be addressed by a professional as soon as possible. Medical records also document the scope of your harm.
- Report the crime to the police and obtain the report number. A police report creates an official record of what happened and where.
- Document the scene as thoroughly as you can. Photograph the location, noting any broken locks, burned-out lights, absent security cameras, or other conditions that contributed to the crime. Do this as soon as it is safe to do so, because property owners will make repairs quickly after an incident.
- Do not sign anything presented by the property owner, their management company, or their insurer. Any release or statement you sign could be used to extinguish your legal rights.
- Keep a record of your symptoms and their impact. Write down how you are feeling physically and emotionally in the days and weeks following the incident. This contemporaneous record can be powerful evidence of the lasting harm you suffered.
- Contact Hamo Law as soon as possible. Evidence in these cases, including surveillance footage, maintenance records, and prior incident reports, disappears quickly. The sooner we are involved, the better positioned we are to preserve what we need to build your case.
They Had a Duty to Protect You. We Will Hold Them to It.
You did not deserve what happened to you. The property owner who failed to provide reasonable security should be held responsible for the harm that failure caused. At Hamo Law, we have spent over 40 years fighting the corporations and negligent parties that hurt people and then try to walk away from accountability. We are ready to fight for you now.
Consultations are free, there is no obligation, and you pay nothing unless we win. Call us today at 810-234-3667, email us at ahamo@hamolaw.com, or visit our office at 614 S. Grand Traverse Street, Flint, Michigan 48502. You can also fill out our contact form and a member of our team will reach out to you promptly.
Relentless Advocacy. Compassionate Counsel.
