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Are You Owed Compensation if You Were the Victim of a Crime While on Another Person’s Property?

Being the victim of a crime is bad enough but when you were injured due to the property owner acting negligently or recklessly, you can add a feeling of betrayal to the list of difficulties. While we cannot go back in time and prevent the accident from happening, a personal injury attorney may be able to hold the property owner accountable for their role in the incident via a premises liability lawsuit.

If you have been the victim of a crime then we encourage you to read on to learn more about this process. We also invite you to contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation with a personal injury attorney.

The Complications of These Cases

First of all, it is important to know that a business owner is, legally speaking, not required to ensure that anyone on their property is safe. At the same time, they are required to exercise what is considered reasonable care to keep their guests and clients safe. If they are found in breach of this duty, then they can be held liable for resulting injuries.

What does this mean for cases like this? It means that it all comes down to whether or not the actions that the criminal took were foreseeable. A business is not responsible for foreseeing every possible danger and preventing it. However, they are responsible for keeping their property free from known dangers.

Was There a Reasons the Owner Should Have Foreseen the Danger?

In order to win this type of case, you will need to show that the owner should have foreseen a danger, that they could have worked to prevent said danger, and that they did not. For example, if a business is run in an area of town with a high crime rate and the owner does not properly light the parking lot, then it could potentially be argued that the owner was negligent in keeping the property safe.

Likewise, if there were past occurrences of crimes at the site of your injury and the property owner did nothing, or did not do enough, to prevent a future crime. Was there security at the location? Did the owner have a reason to believe that there was a high chance that a crime would be committed on their property? These are just a few of the questions we will ask when assessing whether or not you have a case.

Call us Now to Find Out What Your Options Are

In most cases, a property owner is not legally or financially responsible for crimes that occur on their property. However, there are exceptions. If you were injured during the commission of a crime and you believe that the property owner’s negligence played a part, then we welcome your call to Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation.