Most people don’t know much about premises liability, which is the legal and financial responsibility a property owner or business owner has for people who get hurt while visiting. The average property owner carries homeowner’s insurance to protect themselves, and businesses often carry premises liability policies to protect them from the same risks.
Beyond that, you may not think about premises liability at all until you get hurt somewhere. You may find yourself wondering if your situation, which involved an assault or a mugging, falls under the umbrella of a premises liability claim.
It probably does. Sometimes, victims of crimes that occur at a business may have grounds for a personal injury claim based on the idea that the business owner or property owner could have done more to prevent their assault. Here’s what you need to know:
Could the business have predicted and prevented the crime?
Premises liability claims often depend on negligence. When it comes to criminal activity, negligence involves ignoring easily identifiable risk factors. An unlit parking lot that sees a lot of traffic from restaurant or bar patrons late at night is an obvious target for opportunistic criminals. The same might be true of a dark alley between one business and another or a business where the parking lot has already been the site of previous muggings.
If the average person would recognize that there is an elevated risk for crime at the property and that preventative measures, like security cameras or lights, would have helped protect you, then you may have grounds for a premises liability insurance claim or even a civil lawsuit.
Learning more about the rules that govern liability at private properties for negligent security can help you determine if you can pursue a premises liability claim. If you’ve been injured, take the time to learn more about your legal options.