Myrtle Beach Negligent Security Lawyer
When you visit a business, hotel, or property, you have a reasonable expectation of safety and security. Property owners have a legal duty to provide a safe environment for their visitors. If an owner’s negligent security lapses lead to a crime occurring on the premises, the victim may be able to hold the owner accountable through a premises liability claim.
From inadequate lighting to lack of surveillance cameras or security guards, negligent security can enable assaults, robberies, and other violent crimes. Discuss your case with our skilled Myrtle Beach negligent security lawyer to understand your rights.
Steps Property Owners Can Take to Protect Visitors in Myrtle Beach
Property owners in Myrtle Beach have a legal obligation to implement reasonable security measures to protect lawful visitors from foreseeable criminal acts. Some key steps they should take include:
- Ensuring exterior lighting is functional and sufficient to illuminate parking areas, entrances, and walkways.
- Repairing any broken doors, windows, locks or other access points that could allow unauthorized entry.
- Installing security cameras to monitor blind spots, stairwells, and other vulnerable areas of the property.
- Contracting trained security guards to patrol the premises, especially during peak hours.
- Utilizing functional alarm systems and alert protocols to deter and respond to criminal activity swiftly.
- Controlling access to restricted areas through key card systems, codes, or physical security checks.
- Trimming hedges/vegetation that could provide hiding spots for potential assailants.
This duty applies to all property types that allow public visitors – hotels, restaurants, retail stores, apartment complexes, entertainment venues, and more. Failing to take such reasonable precautions can enable crimes like assault, robbery, or worse to occur on the premises. Any recent Myrtle Beach crime victims should consult a negligent security lawyer to evaluate if the property owner’s lack of security enabled the incident.
Proving Negligence in Negligent Security Cases
To prevail in a negligent security claim against a property owner in Myrtle Beach, the victim must prove several key elements:
- The property owner owed a duty of care to ensure the building was secure and safe for visitors lawfully on the property.
- The owner breached this duty through negligent security measures like lack of lighting, broken locks, no guards, etc.
- This breach of duty was the direct cause of the criminal incident and injuries suffered by the victim.
Courts will closely examine whether the specific crime was a reasonably foreseeable risk that the owner should have taken steps to prevent. If similar violent crimes had occurred on or near the property before, that greatly strengthens foreseeability. However, even with no direct prior incidents, factors like the crime rates of the surrounding area, the type of property, time of day, etc., can establish foreseeability in some cases.
Contact a Myrtle Beach Negligent Security Lawyer Today
If you or a loved one was the victim of a violent crime at a business, hotel, or other property in Myrtle Beach due to negligent security, you may have grounds to pursue compensation. Don’t try to take on the property owner alone. Contact The Stanley Law Group’s skilled negligent security lawyer right away for a free case evaluation.
