Landowners in Houston have an obligation to protect lawful visitors and tenants on their property from reasonably foreseeable harm—including harm caused by another person’s criminal activity. When you are injured because a property owner failed to live up to their legal duty to keep you safe, you could have grounds to demand compensation for your economic and non-economic losses.
However, knowing you could recover damages and obtaining those payments are two different things, as any experienced negligent security attorney will explain. Therefore, to ensure the best chances of recovering comprehensively for damages in Houston negligent security cases, call a lawyer at Roberts Markland LLP today.
It is worth emphasizing that—as with other forms of premises liability litigation—you can only file suit against a landowner for inadequate security if you can prove you sustained a physical injury requiring professional medical care as a result of the landowner’s negligence. Accordingly, your potential financial recovery will likely revolve around medical expenses for treatment you have already received and treatment you might require in the future.
Once the injury threshold is met in Houston, you can also demand restitution for property damage or other losses you sustained during the crime that occurred because of negligent security. Furthermore, when your injury leaves you unable to work for any period, you can incorporate lost income—and potentially permanent loss of earning capacity—into your settlement demand or lawsuit.
Being the target of a criminal act on property in Houston that you thought was safe and secure can be a traumatic experience, especially when you sustain a physical injury. For this reason, it is vital to account for “non-economic” losses when seeking compensation for damages in your faulty security claim—including those that might impact your life well into the future.
While physical pain and suffering damages will likely take precedence, it is also possible and often vital to recover payments for emotional and psychological trauma, including the effects—and costs—of post-traumatic stress disorder. Additionally, it may be essential to account for future loss of enjoyment of life or loss of consortium.
When a landowner in Houston demonstrates egregious negligence or overt malice for failing to provide adequate security on their property, the court may impose punitive damages against them in addition to any compensatory losses. However, under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §41.008, the maximum amount of “exemplary” damages a civil defendant might be required to pay is the greater of two times economic damages plus an amount equal to non-economic damages awarded by the jury up to $750,000; or $200,000.
Negligent security by a property owner is the basis for civil litigation when the owner allows a criminal act to occur that causes physical injury to a lawful property visitor. However, recovering fairly and comprehensively through a case like this can be more complicated than expected, particularly when you suffer severe and long-lasting injuries.
Getting paid what you should for damages in Houston negligent security cases could be much easier with a seasoned premises liability attorney’s support. Learn more by calling Roberts Markland LLP today.
