Florida Insurance Claims Lawyer Blog

As a resident of Florida, our Boynton Beach injury lawyer knows that people often come to the beaches of this state for vacations and to have a good time. Often, this includes trips to one of the many night clubs that our cities have to offer. Most of the time, the night club experience is a good one, and patrons leave after a fun night filled with music and dancing. However, there have been a growing number of troubling night club incidents such as fist fights, stabbings, and even shootings. These incidents have brought night club security measures into the legal spotlight and forced club owners to take a more exacting look at what they are doing to keep their patrons safe.

In November of last year, a jury awarded over $1 million to a night club patron after one of these serious altercations. The man was attacked while at a popular club that frequently hosts celebrities and VIPs. The attack took place near the restrooms in the front of the club, and the man was severely beaten, with another patron at one point hitting him in the face with a glass. He suffered deep cuts to his face, which doctors were only partially able to repair with reconstructive surgery.

In his lawsuit, the man argued that the night club had provided inadequate security for its patrons and that the club's failure to meet its responsibilities were a cause of the assault and battery that led to his injuries. Florida inadequate security law does not require that the owner of a night club protect its patrons against any conceivable harm from third parties. The law recognizes that it would be unfair to hold business owners liable for all criminal acts committed on their property. However, our Palm Beach inadequate security lawyer knows there are certain legal requirements which mandate that these facilities take measures to protect patrons from reasonably foreseeable harm.

What is reasonably foreseeable depends on a lot of different factors, including the nature of the business, the location of the business, and whether there have been similar incidents in the past. For example, a shopping mall located in a safe neighborhood where there have been few or no incidents of car theft would probably not be found liable for injuries sustained by a patron during a car theft in its parking lot. However, if the shopping mall was located in a dangerous area and several cars had been stolen from it in the recent past, o if the facility knew that there was inadequate lighting in the parking lot then the mall would be much more likely to be held liable for a patron's injuries. In the case of a night club, even one as elite as the one involved with this case, there is alcohol flowing all evening. Night club owners - and indeed, most people - know that the more alcohol that patrons consume, the more likely the chance of violence becomes. Therefore, night club owners should be on constant alert for any signs of impending violence and have enough guards and other security measures in place to ensure that fights are stopped before they get started or at least before someone gets injured.

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Our Palm Beach injury lawyer has worked with many individuals who have been harmed because of poor property maintenance. Visitors have a reasonable expectation that their surroundings are safe when they are shopping at the grocery store, walking through a public building, or even visiting another's home. Owners and operators of spaces generally have a duty to warn visitors of certain dangers that exist in the area and makes changes to eliminate those dangers. They can reasonably be held responsible for the harm caused when they fail in this duty.

Maintaining a safe environment is particular important in public places where many people may be exposed to the risks. That is why a recent story in the Sun Sentinel regarding repeated safety violations at Palm Beach County schools is particularly alarming. The schools have come under intense scrutiny after a report noted that a staggering 2,837 violations had been found by a fire marshal.

Many of those problems were substantial structural and maintenance deficiencies--placing students at an unacceptable risk of injury. For example, one school, Lake Worth High, had 85 individual violations. Some rooms at the school were inaccessible to the fire department and had inoperable alarm systems. The school had been cited eight previous times for failure to fix the alarms system, yet the problem remains unresolved. Upon hearing the report one school board member explained, "I was hoping it would be little things, like a tear in the carpet, a loose doorknob, but some of the things that I found were pretty serious."

Some of the problems are easily fixed while other will require detailed action plans. However, even some of the more simple changes have been cited year after year without correction. One school has safety doors that swing in the wrong direction--they have been cited for the problem for 14 straight years without change. Other problems include blocked exits, improperly illuminated exit signs, and barbs on fences.

A Palm beach lawsuit filed after one is hurt because property was not reasonably maintained is known as a "premise liability" case. These cases are a specific type of negligence claim where property owners fail to exercise the reasonable care required by law. They often arise when someone slips and falls, when inadequate security measures are taken, if individuals are exposed to dangerous mold, and many similar situations. Our Florida premise liability attorney is capable of helping victims of these incidents receive compensation for their losses.

The medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering caused by these accidents can add up quickly--often putting families in dire financial straits. The law was crafted and refined over the years specifically to provide relief in these situations to those injured through no fault of their own. If you find yourself in this situation, it is important to at least visit a Palm Beach injury attorney, share your story, and learn how the rules apply in your particular case.

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