Chicago Negligent Security Lawyer

Generally, a landowner does not have any duty to protect others from the criminal activities on their property. However, a duty can arise if a special relationship between the parties exists. Special relationships can include common carriers and passengers, innkeepers and their guest, a custodian and their ward, and a business invitor and invitee. Before a plaintiff can recover any damages, they must demonstrate that a criminal attack was reasonably foreseeable to the landowner; due to potentially inadequate or negligent security.

Once a party takes action to prevent and secure a premises from criminal activity; those who use that premises can rely upon it. An example of that would be security doors, locks, motion detectors, and lights. If you have been a victim and suffered following an instance of inadequate or negligent security, you should contact a knowledgeable premises liability lawyer. A skilled Chicago negligent security lawyer can help you pursue damages to compensate your for the negligence of another.

Burden of Proof

The burden of proof always falls on the plaintiff and their Chicago negligent security lawyer in these cases. The presumption in Illinois that the criminal acts of third parties are unforeseeable. One of the elements of a claim for negligence: show that there is a duty. One of the others: foreseeability.

It is the burden of the plaintiff to show that a criminal act of the other was foreseeable and that the landowner failed to take or was negligent in the manner in which they provided security or other preventative measures for protection.

Proving Negligent Security

A plaintiff has to prove that the landowner’s failure to exercise reasonable care increased the risk of such harm, that they undertook to perform a duty owed by the other or the third person and failed to do so, or the harm suffered is because of reliance of the other or a third person upon the undertaking.

Where the reliance of the other or third person has induced a person to forego other remedies or precautions against such risk, the harm results from the negligence as fully as if they had created the risk.

Adequate security is going to be subject to the particular facts and circumstances of each and every case. If the security was determined to be adequate, a plaintiff would likely lose their case because if the security is adequate, then the landowner will show they met their duty of care. To avoid this occurrence, consult a Chicago negligent security attorney.

Duty of Protection

Although a landowner has no duty to protect others from the criminal activities on their property, once that criminal activity becomes foreseeable and almost predictable to the landowner, they have a duty to address the concern and the potential criminal activity. Say there are repeated break-ins and they occur in a similar manner; the landowner could take reasonable steps to prevent further break-ins. However, they don’t. The landowner could be responsible. The liability of the landowner arises when the criminal actions of others become predictable and foreseeable.

A landowner may be responsible for the criminal acts of others if the landlord has voluntarily undertaken methods to provide security. It performs the undertaking negligently, and the negligence is the proximate cause of the injury to a plaintiff.

Once a landowner voluntarily provides a service, the landowner must continue to do so with reasonable care. If they fail to do so with reasonable care and they are negligent and as a result of that negligence; a criminal conduct occurs, the landowner can be liable.

Criminal Attacks

A preventable criminal attack is one that is foreseeable by the landowner. Burglary, theft and more serious crimes can result in an inadequate or negligent security claim in Chicago.

Various landowners can be held liable if they voluntarily take on the responsibility and perform certain tasks associated with security and preventing criminal conduct. Once they accept that responsibility, they must do so with reasonable care. If they do so negligently, those who relied on their efforts to prevent further criminal acts may be held liable. A Chicago negligent security lawyer can help their client to pursue compensation.

Contact us today to get more help. We look forward to helping you and your loved ones.

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