Negligent security claims arise when property owners do not take reasonable steps to secure their premises against criminal acts, such as violent assaults. The question is, what evidence proves a negligent security claim in Louisiana?
Evidence of the Assault
You’ll first need to show that the assault happened. You can do this by gathering evidence such as medical records, witness statements, and surveillance video that shows the attack occurring. We can help you obtain copies of surveillance videos from the site of the assault or nearby businesses.
Evidence of the Property Owner’s Liability
To show that the property owner should be held liable for the attack, you must prove four things:
- Duty of care. Property owners owe a duty of care to visitors to keep their premises safe from hazards. That includes conditions conducive to criminal activities.
- Breach of duty. Property owners breach their duty to visitors by failing to address known issues, such as broken locks or lights, or by failing to take reasonable steps to prevent attacks in crime-prone areas.
- Causation. For a claim to be actionable, the property owner’s breach of duty must have led directly to your assault.
- Damages. You must have suffered actual damages as a result of the attack, such as medical bills and lost wages. Your hospital bills and pay stubs from your employer can be used as evidence of damages.
To prove that the property owner was liable, we may also need to obtain police reports and internal incident reports from the business or nearby businesses.
The overall assault rate in Louisiana is 436 per 100,000 residents, but crime rates vary significantly across different areas of the Pelican State.
We may need to show that the crime rate in the area where your attack occurred was exceptionally high by showing that similar incidents occurred in the past. This can help to establish that the incident was foreseeable under negligent security laws.
Statute of Limitations and the Importance of Gathering Evidence Quickly
The statute of limitations for negligent security claims, known in Louisiana as the prescriptive period, is two years for assaults that occurred on or after July 1, 2024. For incidents that occurred before this cutoff, the prior four-year prescriptive period continues to apply.
You shouldn’t wait until you’re reaching the end of the time allowed to file a claim. Reach out to a Louisiana negligent security attorney as soon as possible after your attack so that the incident is still fresh in your mind and it’s possible to gather as much evidence as possible.
Security videos can be overwritten, and witnesses can be less reliable after a lot of time has passed. We can send spoliation letters requiring businesses to preserve evidence and interview witnesses quickly to help your case.
Hire a Negligent Security Lawyer
If you need help gathering evidence to support your claim, you can hire a negligent security lawyer to provide you with assistance. The team here at Ron Austin Law has tackled countless negligent security cases in our many years in practice.
We know how to conduct a thorough investigation and leverage both evidence and negligent security laws to get you results. Contact us to schedule a consultation regarding your case today.
