Marlton Negligent Security Lawyers

Marlton, New Jersey, and the surrounding region struggle with high crime rates. This crime risk necessitates the use of state-of-the-art security systems and well trained and staffed teams of security personnel. Unfortunately, not every establishment in Marlton has the necessary security.

In many public places, including hotels, stores, and businesses, customers should have a reasonable expectation of safety and security. Not every facility ensures your security, and consequently, you may suffer serious injuries.

What comes next after a negligent security incident in Marlton? Working with an experienced attorney can help you understand your right to compensation and how to pursue it when an organization, business, or private property owner fails to provide adequate security. Contact Console & Associates, P.C., today at (862) 229-1137 to learn more.

The Basic Security Responsibilities of Marlton Businesses

The level of security that a business needs depends on a variety of factors, including:

• The location of the business;
• What type of business that location conducts;
• The type of patrons who most often come to the business; and
• The expectations of customers who use that business or property.

A bank, for example, may need more security than a corner market. Likewise—and unfairly—in an affluent part of town, customers may expect more security than in a more run-down area.

In general, however, companies should ensure that their patrons can expect a reasonable degree of safety while carrying out their business. Organizations should set security protocols to protect visitors against serious injury. In some cases, providing adequate security may mean staffing security guards; in others, it may mean having security cameras that record both inside and outside the facility or having strong locks on hotel room doors.

Negligent Security in Marlton: The Aftermath

Businesses that provide inadequate security for visitors may leave them at risk for severe injuries.

Negligent security may have caused you to suffer an attack that resulted in:

• Rape. Sexual violence, including both rape and attempted rape, can have long-lasting physical, mental, and emotional impacts on victims. Unwanted pregnancies, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and ongoing emotional trauma can all result from an unwanted sexual encounter. Many victims of rape not only need time and treatment to physically recover but may also need ongoing therapy to process the emotional trauma from the event.
• PTSD. Many types of attacks, including both physical and sexual attacks, can result in PTSD for the victim. Victims with PTSD may suffer flashbacks, nightmares, and increasing anxiety. Often, PTSD interferes with an individual’s daily activities, work, and personal life. Victims with PTSD may struggle to go near the accident scene, to go into areas that remind them of the place the attack occurred, or to interact with other people.
• Physical injuries. Numerous physical injuries may result from attacks that stem from negligent security. Some victims may suffer from broken bones. In extreme cases, attacks can result in traumatic brain injury (TBI), broken hips, or spinal cord damage, which can have a lifelong impact on the victim. Severe physical injuries can cause immense physical pain and ongoing limitations for the victim. In many cases, victims find that severe physical injuries impact their enjoyment of life or prevent them from engaging in their usual leisure activities. Some victims may also lose the ability to work their normal schedule or hours or to take care of their usual work responsibilities, at least while recovering.
• Financial losses. In addition to your injuries, including both physical and psychological, you may also have to contend with significant financial losses. Suppose, for example, that you store jewelry in your hotel room. You may assume that the hotel will provide adequate security. You may even go as far as making sure that you put your jewelry in the hotel safe when you leave. Unfortunately, due to negligent security practices on the part of the hotel, your jewelry gets stolen, which may result in substantial financial losses on your part.

Likewise, if your negligent security incident involved a robbery, you may have lost possessions: your wallet, phone, and jewelry, for example. The thieves may have time to run up charges on your card before you have a chance to cancel it, especially if you must first deal with severe injuries. Often, you may find yourself facing long-term financial challenges from the theft, all stemming from the business or organization’s lack of security.

Recovering Compensation After a Marlton Negligent Security Incident

After a negligent security incident, what can you recover? How should you pursue compensation?

To protect yourself, you should:

• Report the incident. If you suffered an attack in a public place, you may have a police report, or you may have reported the attack directly to the property owner or employees. The business’s employees may even have called an ambulance or the police for you. On the other hand, in some cases, you may not have staff on hand to report the accident to, or you may need to leave the scene to seek medical attention before you file any report. Report the incident as soon as possible. Let the organization know about your attack and any injuries you suffered. A record of the attack will make it easier for you to seek compensation later.
• Seek medical attention. Some people try to avoid seeing a doctor following a severe attack. Unfortunately, a lack of medical treatment could cause you to inadvertently aggravate your injuries. You may not immediately notice the full extent of your injuries, especially with adrenaline running high. Following a rape, you should make sure you receive a full medical evaluation, including semen collection to use as evidence down the road.
• Get in touch with an experienced premises liability attorney. As soon as possible after your attack, get in touch with an experienced premises liability attorney. You will benefit from having someone represent your best legal interests and pursue compensation for the injuries you suffered while you recover from the attack and move forward with your life. An experienced premises liability attorney can handle your claim for you.

An Attorney Can Calculate the Full Value of Your Marlton Negligent Security Claim

Do you know how much compensation you should seek after suffering serious injuries, rape, or financial losses due to negligent security? While an attorney cannot promise a favorable result, he or she can help you understand your legal rights and how much compensation you should really expect. This prevents many survivors from accepting a low settlement offer, which may not reflect the full costs of their injuries.

Keep in mind that the insurance company that covers the liable party, such as the security company or the premises owner, may try to limit the compensation you receive after your attack rather than providing you with the assistance you really need.

An attorney can help you go over your actual financial, emotional, and medical losses related to the attack and get a better idea of the financial compensation you should seek, including:

• Compensation for your medical expenses. Depending on the extent of your injuries, you may have substantial medical bills related to the attack. Not only do you have to consider the cost of emergency medical treatment, but you may also need to evaluate the cost of ongoing medical treatment. Victims with PTSD following an attack, for example, may require ongoing psychological therapy, which may last for years. You may need to go through substantial physical therapy to help you restore strength after severe injuries, or you may need multiple treatments and procedures to aid in your recovery. As the victim of an attack due to negligent security, you should not have to bear that burden on your own. You can pursue compensation through a claim against the liable party for your medical expenses.
• Compensation for income lost because of the attack. Sometimes, you may have physical injuries from your attack that prevent you from taking care of your usual job duties. If, for example, you suffered severely broken bones or traumatic brain injury, it could prevent you from working for some time. In other cases, ongoing trauma related to the accident may prevent you from going back to work until you progress further in your recovery. You can claim compensation for the wages lost due to your inability to work as part of a negligent security claim. If you cannot work due to trauma, you may need to talk to your doctor about documenting those difficulties.
• Compensation for your financial losses. The financial losses from an attack can grow immensely, especially if you lost your wallet or suffered identity theft from the attack. Discuss your financial losses with your attorney to learn more about how to include those tangible losses as part of your claim.
• Compensation for suffering and trauma. The aftermath of an attack can leave you with immense emotional trauma that interferes with your everyday life. You may lose your overall enjoyment of life or have trouble dealing with certain scenarios, including scenarios that involve activities you usually enjoy. An attorney can help you determine how to include those intangible losses, such as emotional and psychological trauma, as part of a claim against the party that failed to provide adequate security.

A Marlton Negligent Security Attorney Can Help Seek Evidence Regarding Your Claim.

You may not know how the organization or business handled security or, in many cases, whose actions caused the gap in security that led to your accident. An attorney can help pursue evidence regarding your claim, including who may have contributed to the incident. Did a security guard abandon the post and fail to complete all responsibilities? Did the building owner fail to properly secure the building, including using adequate doors and locks for the premises?

Marlton Negligent Security Lawyer, Richard P. Console Jr.

Liable parties in a negligent security claim may include:

• The premises owner. In general, the premises owner, or the business operating out of a specific property, bears a high duty of care to maintain the security of customers and visitors. If the owner knows about a potential security problem but fails to provide adequate security to handle the threat, the owner may share liability for any accident that stems from that negligence.
• The security company. Sometimes, a business will hire its own security. Those security guards should take action to protect any employees and visitors to that property. In some cases, however, the security guards may prove negligent. A security guard might, for example, fall asleep or ignore a potential security threat. In this situation, the company that provides the security guards will typically share liability for the actions of its employees.
• The manufacturer of security equipment used around the property. Many businesses rely on security equipment provided by an outside manufacturer: alarm systems, including silent alarms, or security cameras, for example. If that equipment malfunctions, the security it was intended to provide is no longer adequate. The security alarm might fail to go off or develop a habit of going off unexpectedly, which causes the security guards to ignore it. The locks on a door might fail despite having a high rating. Security cameras might stop working, which could lead to gaps in footage and security failing to warn about a potential intruder or arriving too late to stop an attack. If the equipment fails, in many cases, the manufacturer or installer may share liability for that event.

To determine who may share liability in your attack, talk to a Marlton personal injury attorney. Your attorney can look into the specific conditions that contributed to your attack and go over any past incidents involving the liable company. For example, if a security company knows that its alarms often malfunction but takes no steps to prevent those errors, the security company may share liability for any incident that occurs due to a failing alarm system.

Do You Need a Negligent Security Attorney in Marlton?

If you suffered serious injuries due to negligent security on the part of another party, you may need an attorney to help you understand your rights. Contact Console & Associates, P.C., today at (856) 778-5500 for your free consultation.

Marlton, NJ Law Office

Console and Associates, P.C.
1 Holtec Drive, #100
Marlton, NJ 08053

Client Testimonial

“I would highly recommend Console and Associates, PC for their expertise and quality of work for personal injury claims.” A. Corrado / Client