Attacked On Someone Else's Property And Need A Florida Negligent Security Lawyer? A Crime Does Not Let The Property Owner Off The Hook.
Being hurt in an attack is traumatic, and it is natural to focus only on the person who harmed you. But there is often another party who shares the blame: the property owner or business that failed to keep the place reasonably safe when they knew, or should have known, it was a risk. If poor lighting, broken locks, or absent security left you exposed, that is negligence. Our Florida negligent security lawyers hold those owners accountable, with care and discretion.
When A Property Owner Shares The Blame For A Crime.
Property owners and businesses have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect the people they invite in. Negligent security is what happens when they ignore a foreseeable danger, an area with a history of crime, for example, and fail to provide basic protections.
Poor Or Missing Lighting
Dark parking areas, walkways, stairwells and entrances can create opportunities for crime when the danger was reasonably foreseeable.
Broken Locks, Gates Or Doors
Security features that were damaged, missing or left unrepaired can expose tenants, customers and guests to preventable danger.
Missing Guards Or Cameras
Where the known risks called for security staff, cameras or monitoring, failing to provide them can become part of the negligence case.
Ignoring Earlier Incidents
Prior crimes, complaints or warning signs can show that the owner knew, or should have known, stronger security was needed.
When a foreseeable security failure allows a criminal to harm a customer, tenant or guest, the owner can be held responsible alongside the attacker.
What A Negligent Security Claim Can Recover.
A negligent security claim can seek compensation for the full impact of the attack. The emotional harm is often the deepest, and we make sure it is treated as a real and central part of the claim.
01
Medical Bills
Emergency care, surgery, follow-up treatment and any ongoing medical needs caused by the physical injuries.
02
Emotional And Psychological Trauma
Counseling, therapy and the psychological consequences of living through a violent or frightening attack.
03
Lost Wages And Earning Power
Income lost while you recover and future earning losses where the attack changes your ability to work.
04
The Lasting Effect On Daily Life
The loss of confidence, independence and sense of safety that can remain long after the physical injuries begin to heal.
What Happened To You Was Not Your Fault.
Survivors of an attack often carry blame that was never theirs, replaying what they might have done differently. Please hear this clearly: you were entitled to be safe in that place, and the responsibility for the danger sits with the person who created it and the owner who allowed it. We handle these cases with discretion and respect, at your pace, and we never lose sight of the person behind the claim. Our role is to carry the legal weight so you can focus on healing.
You had every right to expect reasonable security where you were invited to be.
The investigation is about what the owner knew, what they failed to do and how that failure left you exposed.
Where These Attacks Tend To Happen.
Negligent security claims can arise anywhere a property owner or business failed to respond reasonably to a known or foreseeable risk.
01
Apartment Complexes And Residential Communities.
Broken gates, poor lighting, defective locks and ignored prior incidents can put residents and visitors at risk.
02
Parking Lots And Parking Garages.
Dark areas, isolated walkways and missing monitoring can create dangerous conditions where prior crime was foreseeable.
03
Hotels, Bars And Nightclubs.
Businesses serving large crowds may need reasonable staffing, lighting, access control and security appropriate to known risks.
04
Shopping Centers, Stores And Offices.
Commercial properties can become negligent when known risks are ignored and basic security measures are left inadequate.
If the security was clearly lacking, it is worth asking what the owner knew and what they failed to do.
A short conversation can help determine whether the property owner may share responsibility for what happened.
A Firm That Will Handle This With Care.
We are a boutique firm by choice, which means fewer cases, closer attention, and the same attorneys with you from the first conversation to the last. You will never be passed around or left in the dark, and these sensitive cases are handled with the discretion they deserve. There is no fee to talk, and no fee at all unless we win. You deserve a firm that treats you as a person, not a case file.
Direct, focused representation from start to finish.
Your case stays close to the attorneys responsible for the evidence, experts, property-owner and insurer communications and litigation strategy.
Right Experts
Same attorneys
Clear updates
No fee unless we win
What Did The Owner Know And What Did They Fail To Do?
Negligent security cases are rarely about whether the owner could prevent every crime. They are about whether the risk was reasonably foreseeable and whether the owner responded to that risk with reasonable security measures.
Prior Crimes Or Incidents
Earlier attacks, police activity, complaints or disturbances can help establish that the danger was already known.
Known Security Problems
Repeated complaints about broken gates, locks, lights or unsafe access points can show the owner had notice of the problem.
Reasonable Measures Available
The case examines whether practical steps such as repairs, lighting, cameras, guards or access control should have been used.
The Owner's Response
Ignoring warnings, delaying repairs or failing to change security after earlier incidents can become central evidence of negligence.
How Can Florida Negligent Security Lawyers Help?
The legal team investigates the property’s security history, preserves evidence and builds the connection between what the owner knew and what their failure allowed to happen.
Preserve Security Footage
Act quickly to identify and secure surveillance footage before it is overwritten, lost or controlled entirely by the property.
Investigate Prior Incidents
Review earlier crimes, complaints, police activity and other warning signs that may show the danger was foreseeable.
Inspect Lighting, Locks And Access
Document the condition of security features and whether basic protective measures were missing, broken or inadequate.
Identify Every Responsible Party
Review the roles of owners, managers, businesses, security contractors and others who may have controlled the property or security plan.
Document The Full Harm
Build the claim around physical injuries, therapy, lost income and the lasting psychological effect of the attack.
Handle The Insurer
Take over communications so the insurer cannot reduce the case to the criminal act while ignoring the property’s security failures.
Why The Owner Will Point Only At The Attacker.
A property owner and their insurer will often argue that the crime was entirely the fault of the criminal and nothing to do with them. That is exactly the defense we are built to meet. Insurance companies are not in business to pay out claims, and they will move to settle quietly and cheaply, or deny responsibility, before the owner’s failures come to light.
01
Prior Crime History
Police records, prior incidents and complaints can help establish whether criminal activity on or near the property was foreseeable.
02
Lighting Conditions
Photographs, maintenance records and witness testimony can show whether dark or poorly lit areas created an avoidable security risk.
03
Locks, Gates And Access Control
Repair records and physical evidence can reveal whether basic barriers and entry controls were broken, missing or left unresolved.
04
Security Staff And Cameras
Staffing, surveillance and monitoring records can help show whether appropriate security measures were absent or inadequate.
05
Complaints And Internal Records
Tenant, employee or customer complaints may show that management received warnings before the attack and failed to respond.
06
The Complete Circumstances
Responsibility should be judged on the known risk and the owner’s response, not simply on the fact that a criminal committed the final act.
Evidence That Can Show What The Owner Knew
We investigate what the owner knew about the risk and what they neglected to do, because the security history often tells a very different story from the one the insurer gives at the beginning.
Security footage can disappear and unsafe conditions can be repaired quickly after an attack. Preserving the evidence early can make a major difference.
Scott Marshall
Three decades of experience fighting your corner.
Scott Marshall founded this firm in 1997 on a simple belief: to serve people well, you have to know them. Nearly three decades and hundreds of clients later, that has not changed. Scott is a trial lawyer who is not afraid to take a case the distance, AV Preeminent rated by his peers and a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a group reserved for attorneys who have won multi-million dollar results.
He speaks English, Spanish, French and Swedish, so more Floridians can tell their story in their own words and be truly understood. When you work with this firm, that experience is the standard behind your case.
AV Preeminent Rated
Peer recognition for professional ability and ethical standards.
Years of Practice
Experience built through complex injury, wrongful death and workers’ compensation matters.
Languages spoken
English, Spanish, French and Swedish.
Questions Survivors
Ask Us.
The answers below are a starting point. A free case review gives you guidance based on the property owner, the circumstances of the attack and the evidence available.
How can the property owner be responsible if a criminal attacked me?
What counts as inadequate security?
Will I have to relive what happened in public?
What will it cost me?
Nothing up front, and no fee unless we win. The first conversation is free and confidential.
When You Are Ready We Are Here To Help.
There is no pressure and no cost to talk. When you feel able, tell us what happened and we will listen with care, explain your options in plain language, and, if there is a claim, handle it with the discretion and respect you deserve. You never pay a fee unless we win, and our goal is accountability for those who left you unsafe.
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