Chicago Negligent Security Attorney

Chicago is known for its high rate of criminal activity. It’s a bustling city with a history of criminal violence dating back to the Chicago mob. Today, Chicago’s murder rate is higher than in New York City or LA [1]. 

As a result, property owners have a duty of care to protect visitors from criminal activity—this duty involves measures like hiring adequate onsite security personnel, putting up security cameras, and installing emergency call boxes, where applicable. Otherwise, if a visitor on the property suffers an injury, the property owners can be held liable.

The Chicago negligent security lawyers at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have helped clients who have been seriously injured after a property owner failed to provide adequate security. 

Read on to learn more about what property owners owe you in terms of security measures, the basis of premises liability and negligent security claims, how long you have to file a claim, and how we can help. 

Business and Property Owners’ Duties for Adequate Security

Businesses have a responsibility to provide adequate security measures on their properties to protect visitors from hazards and foreseeable criminal acts. 

Under Illinois law, a foreseeable criminal act is a criminal activity that could have been predicted based on known risks or past behavior. 

For instance, attempted criminal attacks frequently occur in certain areas and types of establishments, such as bars, alleyways, and theme parks. 

The property owners of these establishments have a duty of care to provide adequate security through the use of security guards, security cameras, and other measures. If they don’t, they can be held liable when a criminal attack occurs. 

The Basis of a Negligent Security Claim

Every personal injury case has elements that you would need to prove to win or to be in a position to recover compensation for your injuries. Those necessary elements in a negligent security case are as follows: 

• You had a right to be on the property, and the property owner owed you the duty of care.
• The possibility of an attack was foreseeable based on what the owner knew or should have known.
• You were injured as a result of the property owner’s failure to provide reasonable security to protect you.

Types of Negligent Security Cases We Handle

Examples of negligent security cases we handle include the following:

• Improperly trained guards
• Inadequate crowd-control measures
• Improperly secured entrances
• Criminal activity
• Foreseeable criminal assaults
• Broken or defective doors 
• Faulty alarm systems
• Inadequate security
• Dog bites
• Failure to comply with industry standards
• Intoxicated or violent customers 

Where Do Most Negligent Security Injuries Occur?

Claims relating to injuries on someone else’s property are most likely to originate from the following places: 

• Nightclubs and bars
• Apartment complexes
• ATMs
• Parking lots and garages
• Alleyways in between businesses
• Hotels
• Entertainment venues
• Colleges
• Restaurants 
• Retailers
• Shopping centers
• Gas stations
• Convenience stores
• Cruise ships
• Shopping malls
• Community pools
• Churches
• Other religious centers

You Have Limited Time to File a Negligent Security Claim in Chicago, IL

The statute of limitations for premises liability cases in Illinois is two years from the date of injury. This means that if a property owner fails to provide adequate security measures, you must file your claim within this time frame, or you will not be able to recover financial compensation for your injuries and losses. 

If there is a chance that you want to file a lawsuit after your injury, it is important to contact a Chicago negligent security attorney as soon as possible. You do not want to wait until the end of this timeframe, as it will make it more difficult for your negligent security lawyer to gather the evidence they need to build your case against the property owners.

Legal Liability Negligent or Inadequate Security Cases

Your Chicago negligent security lawyer will help in determining liability for your injuries. Some common defendants in negligent security lawsuits are as follows:

• Business or property owner
• Homeowners
• Property managers
• Government property owners

Proving Fault in Negligent Security Cases

To prove fault and demonstrate a property owner’s negligence, you generally need to be able to show that the property owner had a duty of care to provide reasonable security measures and that the property owner’s negligent security—such as a failure to install security cameras or hire well-trained security officers—led to the criminal attacks, your injuries, or your losses.

To be awarded compensation, the inadequate security must have caused you to have tangible losses. This is different than simply putting you in danger. Rather, you must have been injured as a result of this breach of duty of care. 

Your losses can come in many forms: your property could have been damaged due to criminal acts, or you could have sustained injuries that required medical treatment. 

In these types of cases, there is a concept called proximate causation. 

For the property owner to have legal obligations to their visitors, they must have a duty of care that’s related to the victim’s injuries. If the injury would not have happened but for the owner’s failure to provide proper security to prevent a criminal attack or other criminal acts, this is enough to be proximate causation. 

Financial Compensation We Can Secure for Negligent Security Injuries

There are no go-to settlement amounts for negligent security cases. Even similar cases can end up with different outcomes. Having a lawyer advocate for maximum compensation is one of the best ways to try to influence the outcome, as insurance companies and businesses may take your claim more seriously and offer more than a lowball offer to settle your case. 

As an example, in one case, we were able to secure $1,550,000 for a 27-year-old man who was shot at an apartment complex while visiting his friend.

Factors That Affect Negligent Security Settlement Amounts

There are many factors that could impact the size of your settlement. For example, the costs of your losses will have a more direct impact on your settlement size. Your lawyer will advocate for you to recover money to cover medical bills, lost wages, and damaged property. The more losses you sustain, the more that you can expect to recover. 

The extent of your injuries is another important factor that influences settlement amounts. In general, catastrophic and lifelong injuries due to criminal acts will recover more than recoverable injuries will. For example, a wrongful death case will often recover much more than a case where someone broke a bone. 

Whether through a business or through a property owner, an insurance company’s involvement can also increase the size of a potential payout. Companies usually have more assets than individuals. It stands to reason that cases with an insurance company involved typically see higher settlements than cases against individuals alone.

Also, the stronger your case is in terms of witnesses and evidence, the higher the likelihood of greater payouts. Conversely, any doubt or lack of evidence can adversely impact your settlement size.

Damages Our Chicago Negligent Security Attorneys Can Help You Recover

There are different types of damages that could be recovered in negligence cases involving inadequate security, depending on what caused the victim’s injuries and who files the claim. Economic damages directly relate to monetary losses, whereas non-economic damages are assessed by the judge using calculations. 

Some common economic damages in premises liability claims include the following:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages
• Rehabilitation costs 
• Cost of replacing damaged property

Some common non-economic damages in these cases include the following:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional trauma
• Disfigurement

Wrongful Death

If your loved one died as a result of a property owner’s negligence, you could recover the following damages by filing a wrongful death claim:

• The deceased’s medical bills
• Funeral expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of society
• Loss of household income
• Emotional trauma

Filing Negligent Security Claims With Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers

Should you decide to move forward with your case, we’ll start the process of investigating your case and gathering evidence. We will request medical records, contact witnesses, consult with experts, and attempt to find business surveillance footage through security cameras, all of which we will use to build your case. 

Next, we will negotiate with insurance companies and businesses involved in the case. Often, it is possible to reach a fair settlement agreement outside of court. However, if we can’t reach a settlement, our law firm is prepared to take your case to trial.

The Time It Takes to Settle a Chicago Negligent Security Case

There is no standardized timeframe that is required to settle a Chicago negligent security case. Most cases take longer than six months to resolve, although more complex cases may take years within the court and appeals system. 

Your Chicago negligent security lawyer can give you a more realistic idea of what to expect based on past cases that are similar to yours and on current court schedules.

There are some known factors that can slow down or speed up the resolution of your premises liability case. Straightforward cases with smaller claims that can be resolved through mediation are often resolved quicker than cases that require going to court. 

Additionally, cases with indisputable evidence, such as footage from surveillance cameras, strong witness testimony, and insurance companies could be resolved more quickly. 

The Cost of Hiring an Experienced Negligent Security Attorney

It will not cost you anything up-front or out-of-pocket to work with a Chicago negligent security lawyer from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers. Our team works on a contingency fee basis. We only get paid if we are able to get you a jury award or settlement. 

We then take a percentage of the settlement so you never have to worry about paying anything else for our services. If we can’t recover compensation for you, you won’t owe us anything. 

Contact a Chicago Negligent Security Lawyer Today!

When public spaces provide inadequate security and fail to take reasonable measures to protect visitors, the negligent property owners can be held liable for any injuries that occur as a result of that negligence. Contact a Chicago negligent security attorney at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers for a free consultation by filling out our contact form or calling toll-free at (888) 424-5757. 

We also serve clients from Buffalo Grove, Decatur, Naperville, Rockford  and throughout Illinois.

Resources: [1] Crain’s Chicago Business,