What Compensation Can You Receive From a Negligent Security Case?
When you enter property legally and not as a trespasser or someone committing a crime, you have the right to a reasonable expectation of safety. When you enter commercial properties, event venues, hotels, and apartment complexes, you expect that the property owner has provided a level of security that’s appropriate to minimize your risk of becoming the victim of a crime. Unfortunately, sometimes a property owner’s negligent security ends badly for others.
A common question for injury victims seeking financial accountability for their losses is “What compensation can I receive for my negligent security claim?”
Recovering Compensation for Economic Damages in a Negligent Security Case
Sometimes negligent security ends in the loss of personal property; for instance, if an apartment complex failed to repair a broken security alarm system and your apartment was burglarized, you could recover financial compensation for your losses. But what if a property owner’s breach of their duty of care through negligent security measures results in your physical injury from an attack, assault, or other act of criminal violence? In this case, the claim becomes a personal injury claim against the property owner due to their negligent security measures.
A negligent security case recovers the economic losses or damages caused by the injury, such as the following:
- Reimbursement for medical expenses, such as hospital bills, medication costs, and the cost of any physical therapy or home health care you’ve required
- Anticipated future medical expenses if you need further treatment
- Out-of-pocket costs, such as for home assistance during your recovery or for traveling to see a specialist
- Lost wages or salary from time away from work
- Future income loss if you have surgical procedures or physical therapy scheduled that require time away from work
- Therapy expenses if you experienced emotional trauma
Because no two injuries are the same or have the same impacts, settlements and jury awards for economic damages vary widely between cases. An experienced personal injury attorney in Atlanta, GA carefully calculates economic damages in negligent security cases by reviewing your medical report and bills, consulting with medical experts about the injury’s future treatment requirements, and examining your total expected income loss.
Understanding Non-Economic Damages In a Negligent Security Case
A personal injury attorney uses the total amount of the injury victim’s medical expenses and the anticipated level and duration of the pain associated with the injury to arrive at a figure for non-economic damages. Common non-economic damages in negligent security cases include the following:
- Compensation for pain and suffering
- Compensation for emotional trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, or sleep disturbances
- Catastrophic injury compensation if you experienced permanent harm, such as disfigurement, scarring, loss of limb, vision damage, hearing loss, organ loss, or disability
- Compensation for loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, or diminished quality of life
Although it’s more difficult to assign a monetary amount to intangible damages, such as the pain and trauma of an injury resulting from negligent security, these are the most difficult aspects of the injury for a victim.
How Can a Negligent Security Attorney Help?
No legal process erases the pain and emotional trauma of an injury, especially if the trauma resulted from an act of violence, but a successful claim relieves the associated financial consequences and brings a sense of justice. Call or contact Piasta Walker Hagenbush, LLC online to learn more about your rights and options for compensation in a negligent security case.