Your apartment is supposed to be the one place you can let your guard down. You pay rent in part for the gate, the locks, the lighting in the parking lot, and the promise that management will keep the property reasonably safe. When those protections fail and someone is shot or assaulted, the harm reaches far beyond the person who was hurt. It shakes an entire community of residents.
The law recognizes that. If an apartment complex failed to provide reasonable security and a resident or guest was attacked as a result, the complex and its management may be held financially responsible.
The basic idea behind these lawsuits
Apartment complexes invite people onto their property: tenants, their families, delivery drivers, friends who come over for dinner. In exchange, the owner takes on a duty to use reasonable measures to keep those people safe.
That duty has limits. A landlord is not automatically to blame for every crime that happens on its grounds. Responsibility usually turns on two questions. First, was the attack foreseeable, typically because of crime that had happened there before? Second, did the complex ignore obvious, fixable security problems that a reasonable owner would have addressed?
When the answer to both is yes, victims have grounds for what is known as a negligent-security claim.
What failed security often looks like
The security failures behind these cases tend to be ordinary and visible. Residents often noticed them long before anyone was hurt:
- Entry gates and perimeter fencing that were broken or routinely propped open
- Locks on units, mailrooms, stairwells, or shared doors that did not work
- Parking lots, breezeways, and walkways left dark or poorly lit
- Security guards or patrols that were advertised but never actually present
- Cameras and call boxes that were broken or not being monitored
- A history of shootings or break-ins that management chose to ignore
Any one of these can matter. Several together, at a property with a track record of violence, can form the backbone of a strong case.
Why apartment cases come up so often
Apartment complexes are among the most common settings for negligent-security litigation. They house large numbers of people, they see constant foot traffic, and owners make daily decisions about how much to spend on security. When those decisions put cost ahead of safety at a property with known crime, tenants are the ones who suffer.
Who you may be able to hold responsible
More than one party can share the blame. Depending on the facts, a claim may name the property owner, the company that manages the complex, and any security contractor hired to protect it. Each had its own role in keeping the property safe, and each may be accountable for its own failures.
It does not matter who the attacker was
People sometimes assume they have no case because the person who shot them was another tenant, or a stranger who was never caught. The identity of the attacker is not the focus. The claim asks whether the complex failed to provide reasonable security against a risk it should have anticipated. If it did, the owner and management may be liable either way.
What compensation can cover
Gunshot wounds and violent assaults frequently cause catastrophic, life-altering injuries. A claim can seek the cost of medical treatment and lifetime care, income the victim lost or will lose, and pain and suffering. When an attack is fatal, the victim's family may pursue a wrongful-death recovery.
The Haggard Law Firm has recovered millions of dollars in apartment-shooting cases. Results include a $16 million settlement in a Jacksonville apartment-complex shooting and an $8 million settlement for the family of a young man who was killed. The firm also won a $102.7 million verdict, the largest negligent-security verdict in U.S. history. These are gross amounts before fees and costs.
Time is not on your side
The evidence that proves these cases is fragile. Apartment surveillance video and records of police calls to the property can disappear within days. The sooner a lawyer steps in to secure that material, the stronger the case is likely to be.
What a case review looks like
The first conversation is mostly listening. The firm will want to know where the complex is, what happened, what injuries resulted, and whether you or other residents noticed problems with the gates, locks, lighting, or guards beforehand. You do not need documents in hand to start. If you have photos, a police report number, or emails to management, those help, but the firm can track down much of the rest. At the end, you should come away with a straight answer about whether the facts point toward a claim and what the next steps would be.
Get a free case review
The firm handles apartment-complex cases on a contingency fee, so you pay no attorney's fees unless it wins. To talk about what happened, call (305) 446-5700. The review is free and confidential.
Attorney advertising. This post offers general information and is not legal advice. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
