Negligent Security Lawyer in Gettysburg
When a property owner fails to provide reasonable security and a preventable violent crime leaves you with personal injuries, you may have grounds for a negligent security claim, a form of premises liability. Owners of stores, bars, apartments, and parking areas in Gettysburg owe lawful visitors a duty to guard against foreseeable harm, including assaults that could have been prevented with better safety measures.
What Counts as Negligent Security?
Negligent security occurs when a property owner ignores known safety risks, and a person is injured as a result. Warning signs of inadequate security often include the following dangers:
- Broken or missing exterior lighting
- Malfunctioning gates, locks, or entry doors
- No working cameras or alarm systems
- Absent or undertrained security staff
- Ignored reports about earlier incidents
These gaps matter most in places that draw crowds, like the shops near Lincoln Square or hotels serving visitors to Gettysburg National Military Park. When a business has reason to expect danger and does nothing, the people harmed there pay the price.
What Do You Have to Prove in a Negligent Security Case?
Holding a property owner accountable for a violent crime means connecting several facts into one clear picture, and the burden falls on you to show each one. Your negligent security claim generally rests on four core elements:
- Duty of Care: The owner owed you a responsibility to keep the property reasonably safe based on your status as a lawful guest or customer.
- Breach of Duty: The owner failed to take reasonable steps, such as repairing broken locks or responding to repeated security complaints.
- Foreseeability: Circumstances, including past crimes, neighborhood conditions, or prior warnings, made the violent act a predictable risk that the property owner should have addressed.
- Causation and Damages: The owner’s failure directly led to your injuries, and you carry real losses like medical bills, lost income, or lasting trauma.
Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence rule. That means that an owner can argue that you share blame to reduce what they have to pay. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102, you can still recover compensation as long as your fault stays at or below 50%, though your award drops by your percentage of responsibility.
You file a Gettysburg negligent security case in the Adams County Court of Common Pleas. Local jurors often weigh how predictable an attack was at a given property, so early evidence about prior incidents and security gaps can shape your result.
How Our Gettysburg Negligent Security Lawyers Protect Our Community
At DiLoreto, Cosentino & Bolinger P.C., our Gettysburg negligent security lawyers handle violent crime injury cases for people throughout Adams County, building each claim on security records, incident histories, and the evidence that holds negligent owners answerable.
As trial lawyers with the resources to handle your case, our firm brings more than 40 years of experience to your recovery. Call (717) 496-0070 or contact us online for a free consultation. We Advance All Costs. No Fee Unless We Win!