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Were you hurt by a crime at an apartment, hotel, or parking lot?

If you were attacked, robbed, or shot at an apartment complex, hotel, parking lot, or garage, we are sorry this happened to you.

Are you in danger right now?

  • Get to a safe place.
  • Call 911 if anyone is hurt or in danger.
  • Report the crime to property staff or security.
  • Get medical care even if you feel fine.
  • This page is for after you are safe.

This page covers negligent security claims and what to do right now. We are the injured person's advocate. We connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves. Always free. Talk to an advocate. We usually reply within minutes, at most one business day.

When someone else's crime hurts you on a property that a landlord, hotel, or business controls, that is not just a police matter. It can also raise a separate question: did the property owner know about the danger and fail to take reasonable steps to protect people there? This is often called a negligent security claim.

Why these cases are tricky

Negligent security cases depend on foreseeability, meaning whether the property owner knew or should have known that a crime like this could happen. Courts and insurers look at prior crimes on the property, broken gates, missing locks, dead cameras, unlit walkways, and whether the owner cut back on security to save money.

This evidence usually lives in records the property owner controls, like incident logs and camera footage, and it can be lost, overwritten, or "misplaced" if no one asks for it quickly. Property owners and their insurers often argue the crime was random and unforeseeable, even with a long history of prior incidents. Ask for the incident report in writing and note anything unsafe about the property before evidence disappears.

What real negligent security cases have paid

These are publicly reported settlements and verdicts. They are examples only, not a promise of what any case is worth. Every situation is different, and many cases resolve for far less.

We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. These examples show that outcomes vary enormously based on the specific facts, especially whether the property had a known history of crime.

When it goes wrong: a true story

Dimithry Remarais was murdered in the parking lot of the Windward Vista apartment community in Lauderhill, Florida, in August 2022. Nearly two years later, the property owner, management company, and security company settled with his grieving family for $21 million (Local10/WPLG, July 2024).

Records about a property's security history can be hard to piece together long after the fact. Ask the property to preserve the incident report and camera footage early, and talk to an advocate from day one.

Protect your case

  1. Ask the property owner or manager for a copy of the incident report, in writing if possible.
  2. Note anything about the scene: broken gates, missing lights, no working cameras, unlocked doors.
  3. Ask that the police report, complaint history, or prior incident data be preserved before it is lost or purged.
  4. Get names and contact information for any witnesses.
  5. Warning: don't wait! Your filing deadline is a trap. Deadlines vary by state, and waiting too long can end your claim. Check our state pages now.
  6. Talk to an advocate at WeHelpInjured. It is free.

Never do these

What we can help with

We help you understand what happened and what evidence about the property's security history matters. We make sense of your state's filing deadline, and we connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours. All of it is free to you.

Talk to an advocate. Start the form or open the chat.

Sources