Some Deaths Happen Because A Property Owner Looked The Other Way
When a violent crime on someone else’s property ends in death, the property owner is not automatically responsible simply because the crime happened there. Georgia law creates liability in these cases only when the property owner knew, or reasonably should have known, about a risk of criminal activity and failed to take reasonable steps to address it. Proving that knowledge, and the failure to act on it, is where these cases are won or lost.
Foreseeability Is The Central Legal Question
Georgia premises liability law, grounded in O.C.G.A. Section 51-3-1, requires property owners and occupiers to exercise ordinary care to keep their premises safe for people lawfully present. In a negligent security wrongful death case, courts look closely at whether the property had a documented history of similar crimes, since prior incidents are often what establishes that the danger was foreseeable rather than a random, unpreventable event that no amount of preparation could have caught.
What Security Failures Typically Look Like
A Marietta wrongful death lawyer looks for a handful of recurring conditions that show up again and again in these cases, since the same warning signs tend to repeat from one property to the next.
- Broken or missing security cameras that were never repaired
- Non-functioning gates, locks, or access control systems
- Inadequate lighting in parking areas or common walkways
- A documented history of crime the property owner failed to act on
Case Results Show How These Claims Get Proven
Deitch + Rogers has obtained a $46 million verdict in a wrongful death premises liability case and a $5.1 million verdict against a motel following a fatal shooting on the property, among other recoveries for families who lost a loved one to violence that a property owner should have prevented. These results reflect the kind of evidence, prior crime records, security audits, and outside testimony on industry standards, that a strong negligent security case requires to succeed at trial.
Wrongful Death Claims Involve More Than One Type Of Loss
A Marietta family pursuing a wrongful death claim can generally seek compensation for the financial value of the life lost, funeral and burial expenses, and, in some circumstances, the pain and suffering the victim experienced before death. Georgia law allows these claims to proceed even when a criminal prosecution against the actual perpetrator is separate, delayed, or never results in a conviction at all, since the civil case exists independently of the criminal justice system’s outcome.
Who Can Be Held Responsible In These Cases
Investigating the property owner, the property management company, and, in some cases, a separate security contractor hired to protect the premises, is often necessary in these cases, since responsibility can be shared across more than one entity depending on how the property was managed and secured. A management company that ignored repeated maintenance requests for broken cameras or lighting can face liability separately from the property owner itself.
Building The Strongest Possible Case
Proving foreseeability requires digging into records the property owner may not volunteer easily, including police call logs for the property, prior incident reports, and internal security budgets or staffing decisions. A Marietta wrongful death lawyer knows which records to request and how to use them to establish that a property owner had real notice of danger before the fatal incident occurred, and these records often reveal a pattern the property owner would rather keep hidden.
Talk Through What Happened To Your Family
Losing a family member to violence that could have been prevented is devastating, and pursuing accountability afterward is not something any family should have to work through alone. Reach out so we can review what happened and help determine whether the property owner’s security failures contributed to your loss, so your family can start moving toward some measure of accountability.
