When a landowner fails to keep their property reasonably safe and allows a lawful tenant or visitor to get hurt by someone else’s criminal activity, the landowner might be civilly liable for any losses sustained by the visitor. However, determining what counts as “reasonably secure” in this context can be a surprisingly subjective and complicated process.
That said, when determining what adequate security is in Houston and what legal options you might have against a negligent property owner, it is crucial to seek guidance from a seasoned negligent security lawyer at Roberts Markland LLP. It is also essential to be aware of several key facts pertaining to how state law addresses these matters and how state courts interpret them.
The core concept of premises liability law in Houston involves the notion that landowners have a “duty” to keep people who are lawfully on their property safe from preventable harm by providing guests with acceptable security measures. More specifically, landowners must identify potentially hazardous conditions on their property, address them proactively and promptly, and warn visitors about dangers they cannot address before the visitors arrive on their property.
However, property owners are not automatically liable for every injury that occurs on their property—just those that they reasonably could have prevented through routine upkeep and maintenance of their land. In the same vein, property owners are only liable for injuries that lawful visitors and tenants suffer from criminal acts if the owner had a reason to suspect illegal activity might occur on their property—in other words, if the crime was “foreseeable,” and they failed to respond to it appropriately.
There are multiple ways to establish whether a criminal act was “foreseeable” in a negligent security claim—it is often prudent to incorporate more than one strategy in doing so. Some of the most important pieces of evidence in successful cases of this nature include a history of similar or identical crimes occurring in the same area as or on the property in question, a high frequency of similar or identical crimes, and increased publicity for similar or identical crimes in the media.
Likewise, several pieces of evidence could help establish the foreseeability of a criminal act, including:
Support from a hardworking lawyer in Houston is vital to defining what constitutes adequate security in a particular situation and how a landowner might have failed to meet that expectation.
Negligent security can take various forms in Houston, from lack of security cameras, poor lighting in public spaces, and failure to provide security personnel. However, determining what a landowner should have done to protect you from criminal activity can be challenging to argue without capable and experienced legal counsel. Fortunately, our attorneys could help.
If you have questions about what adequate security is in Houston, a premises liability lawyer could answer them in detail during a confidential consultation. Call today to schedule a meeting with our skilled legal team members at Roberts Markland LLP and begin building your compensation claim as soon as possible.
