Were you seriously injured on someone else’s property? Read these 3 negligent security claim tips, then contact our Atlanta lawyer today.
1) Recorded Statement
If somebody is the victim of a crime that could lead to a negligent security claim, the insurance carrier for the property owner will often ask the injured party to provide a recorded statement. We are often asked if this is a good idea, and the answer is always no. Don’t ever give such a statement. While you think you may be doing your case a service, you are actually harming it. While you are not familiar with this process and don’t know what to expect, the insurance company will use a trained claims examiner who will ask questions in a manner that may get you to misrepresent what truly occurred. This could harm your case as it goes forward. Don’t ever give an insurance company a recorded statement if you don’t have a lawyer present. There is nothing to be gained by doing this, and you have no obligation to provide such a statement.
2) Minimal Medical Bills
When we get calls about what we call negligent security claims, one of the first things we look into is the significance of the damage of the individual that’s been harmed. While it’s not always essential that the medical expenses need to be high, it is important that there is significant damage. There are cases where someone might have been shot in a robbery on a business premises, and by the time the EMS arrived, that person is already deceased. There aren’t going to be a lot of expenses in that case, but it could be a valuable claim. There are other instances where someone may have literally millions of dollars in medical expenses, but we can’t tie it back to the facility, so that case is not going to have much value.
The best thing to do is look at the injuries first, and then evaluate how those injuries occurred to begin to arrive at whether there’s a claim. There could be completely inadequate security in the face of a known danger, but no real harm associated with it, and you’re not going to have a very good negligent security case. You could be robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot of a high-crime area that’s a supermarket, but receive no physical injuries, and you don’t really have much of case. You need to look at something where there are very significant injuries – someone has been shot or permanently disabled.
We are currently working through a case where a gentleman was shot through the hip and his hip was destroyed and isn’t able to be repaired. That’s the type of injury you’re looking for in a negligent security case. If someone has a gunshot wound that heals, even though there potentially could be negligent security implications, that doesn’t make up a very good negligent security case. What we want to be on the lookout for is cases where someone has been harmed in an area where there was known to be some danger, and the facility owner didn’t do much to try to remedy it, and the person that was harmed has some type of significantly life-altering injury.
3) Settlement Timeline
When we have people come in to see us over potential negligent security claims, one of the first things they want to know is how long they can expect their case to last. Generally, negligent security cases last a long time. It is very rare for a negligent security case to resolve prior to filing a lawsuit, and that is because these cases are very fact-intensive and rely heavily upon expert witnesses. They also usually involve very significant injuries, so those cases on their own tend to drag out a lot longer. Under Georgia law, the injured party has two years from the date of the incident to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Once the lawsuit is filed, we have to go through the discovery process of learning and gathering evidence that helps us support our case. Negligent security cases are highly reliant upon those types of evidence to show that there was knowledge of pre-existing issues on the premises, and that the premises owner didn’t do enough to protect their patrons. From the time of filing, it’s not uncommon for these cases to take somewhere between three to five years before we can resolve them, often with a trial.
Were you or a loved one seriously injured on someone else’s property in Georgia and have questions about these 3 negligent security claim tips?
Contact the experienced Atlanta negligent security lawyers at Gunnels Injury Law today to arrange a free consultation and case evaluation.
Let our experience work for you.
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