Atlanta Negligent Security Lawyer

If you were hurt by a violent crime on someone else’s property, you may be able to hold the property owner accountable, and an experienced negligent security lawyer can help you do it. When a business or landlord ignores a known danger and a foreseeable attack follows, the law can treat that failure as negligence. The criminal who hurt you is responsible for the crime. The property owner may also be responsible for making the crime possible.

At Prieto, DelCampo, Lopez, & Marigliano LLC, our premises liability lawyers include former defense lawyers and two former DeKalb County judges. We have spent years on the other side of these cases, so we know how insurance companies and property owners build their defense, and we use that insight to build a stronger case for you.

If you or someone you love was attacked, robbed, or assaulted because a property owner failed to provide reasonable security, contact us to talk through your options.

What Is Negligent Security?

Negligent security is a type of premises liability claim. It can arise when a property owner fails to take reasonable steps to address a foreseeable security risk, and someone is injured by a third party’s criminal conduct.

Most premises liability cases involve a physical hazard, like a wet floor or a broken stair. A negligent security case is different. The danger is a third party who commits a violent crime, and the question is whether the property owner should have seen the risk and done something about it.

Owners are not responsible for every crime that happens on their property. Depending on when the incident occurred and the injured person’s legal status on the property, an owner may be liable when the specific requirements of Georgia’s negligent security law are met.

Where Negligent Security Incidents Happen

Negligent security claims can arise anywhere the public is invited and the owner controls the property. Common locations include:

Apartment Complexes: Broken gates, burned-out lighting, and failed entry locks can leave tenants and their guests exposed.
Parking Lots and Decks: Poor lighting and no patrols make garages and lots a frequent setting for robberies and assaults.
Malls and Shopping Centers: Large properties with many entry points need real security planning, not just cameras nobody monitors.
Hotels and Motels: Guests expect safe hallways, working door locks, and staff who respond to threats.
Gas Stations and ATMs: Isolated, cash-heavy locations draw crime, and owners often know it.
Bars and Nightclubs: Late hours and alcohol raise the risk, which raises the security a reasonable owner should provide.

The crimes behind these claims are serious, and they include assault and battery, armed robbery, shootings, sexual assault, and homicide. If you are a survivor of a sexual assault, a civil claim may still be available even if the attacker is never criminally charged or convicted.

How Is a Negligent Security Claim Proven?

How a negligent security claim is proven depends partly on when the incident occurred and why the injured person was on the property. Georgia established a new framework for negligent security claims arising on or after April 21, 2025, and the law applies different standards to invitees and licensees.

For an invitee, such as a customer, the claim generally must establish that:

The Crime Was Foreseeable: This may require evidence that the owner had a particularized warning of an imminent threat or actual knowledge of prior substantially similar conduct on the property, adjoining property, or within 500 yards of the property.
The Injury Was Foreseeable: The injury must have been a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the third party’s conduct.
A Known Property Condition Contributed to the Risk: The third party must have exploited a specific physical condition of the property that the owner knew about and that created a risk greater than the general risk in the surrounding area.
The Owner Failed to Use Ordinary Care: The owner failed to take reasonable steps to correct or reduce that specific security risk.
That Failure Contributed to the Injury: The failure to use ordinary care must have been a proximate cause of the injury.

Different requirements apply to licensees, such as certain social guests, and claims arising before April 21, 2025, are governed by the law that existed before the reform. Georgia law also allows fault to be divided among the responsible parties, including the person who committed the crime.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Negligent Security?

More than one party may share responsibility for an attack. Depending on the facts, a negligent security claim can be brought against:

Property Owners: The people or companies that own the land or building where the attack happened.
Landlords: Owners of apartment complexes and rental properties who control the common areas.
Property Management Companies: Firms hired to run the property day to day, including its security.
Security Contractors: Companies hired to provide guards or monitoring that failed to do the job they took on.

It is important to understand the difference between the criminal case and your civil claim. The criminal case focuses on prosecuting and punishing the attacker. A separate civil claim may allow you to pursue compensation for losses such as medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. A civil negligent security claim may allow you to seek compensation from a property owner or another party whose failure to provide reasonable security contributed to the attack.

What Evidence Supports a Negligent Security Case?

These cases are won by showing what the property owner knew and when. The evidence that builds that record includes:

Prior Crime Reports: Police records and call logs may document prior substantially similar incidents on the property, adjoining property, or within 500 yards of the property.
Incident Reports: The owner’s own internal records, which often reveal earlier attacks the owner never disclosed.
Security and Maintenance Records: Documents showing broken cameras, dead lighting, failed locks, or guards who were cut to save money.
Witness Accounts: Statements from tenants, employees, and other guests about earlier problems and warnings.

Our attorneys work with security-industry consultants and former law-enforcement personnel to evaluate prior incidents, the property’s security measures, and what the owner knew before the attack. Much of this evidence can disappear quickly, so the sooner you involve a lawyer, the better your chances of preserving footage, records, and reports before they are lost.

What Damages Can You Claim in a Negligent Security Case?

A negligent security claim can seek compensation for the full range of harm a violent attack causes, including:

Medical Expenses: Emergency care, hospital stays, surgery, and future treatment.
Lost Income: Wages you missed during recovery and reduced earning ability if your injuries are lasting.
Pain and Suffering: The physical pain and emotional trauma that often follow a violent crime.
Wrongful Death Damages: When an attack is fatal, eligible family members and the estate may be able to pursue damages through wrongful death and estate claims.

One recent change is worth understanding. Under Georgia’s 2025 tort reform, for incidents on or after April 21, 2025, a jury may consider not only the amounts your providers billed but also the amounts paid to satisfy those bills. This can affect how medical damages are calculated, which is one more reason to have an experienced attorney value your claim correctly from the start.

Georgia Negligent Security Law and the 2025 Tort Reform

In Georgia, you generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit under OCGA § 9-3-33. Claims involving government property may have much shorter notice deadlines, sometimes just a few months, so it is important to confirm the deadline that applies to your situation right away.

Georgia established a more specific framework for negligent security claims arising on or after April 21, 2025. Among other requirements, an invitee generally must connect the attack to a particularized warning or prior substantially similar conduct the owner knew about. The attack must also involve a specific physical condition of the property known to the owner that created a security risk greater than the general risk in the surrounding area. Different standards apply to certain licensees, and earlier incidents are governed by the prior law.

These changes make negligent security cases harder to prove, and they make experienced, well-prepared representation more important than before. This is exactly the kind of case where our background on the defense side helps, because we know what property owners and their insurers will argue and how to answer it.

Why Choose Our Atlanta Negligent Security Attorneys

Our firm serves people throughout metro Atlanta and the surrounding counties, including Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton. Negligent security cases in this area are tried in venues like the State and Superior Courts of Fulton and DeKalb counties, and our office sits right on the Fulton-DeKalb line.

Two of our partners served as judges of the State Court of DeKalb County, and several of our attorneys built their early careers defending insurance companies and property owners. That experience shapes how we prepare every negligent security claim. We can build your case to withstand the defenses we once raised ourselves. If you are ready to talk, contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Negligent Security?

Negligent security is a premises liability claim that arises when a property owner fails to provide reasonable protection against foreseeable crime, and someone is hurt as a result. It focuses on the owner’s failure to act on a known danger, not on the crime alone. The injured person seeks compensation from the property owner, separate from any criminal case against the attacker.

How Do You Prove a Negligent Security Claim in Georgia?

The requirements depend on when the incident occurred and your legal status on the property. For claims arising on or after April 21, 2025, an invitee generally must establish that the crime and resulting injury were foreseeable, that the attacker exploited a specific property condition known to the owner, that the condition created an elevated security risk, and that the owner’s failure to address it contributed to the injury. A particularized warning or prior substantially similar conduct known to the owner may be needed to establish foreseeability.

Who Can Be Held Liable in a Negligent Security Case?

Property owners, landlords, property management companies, and security contractors can all potentially be held liable. More than one party may share responsibility depending on who controlled the property and its security. A lawyer can review the facts to identify every party who may be accountable.

What Evidence Is Needed for a Negligent Security Claim?

Key evidence may include reports documenting prior substantially similar incidents on the property, adjoining property, or within 500 yards of the property, along with the owner’s internal incident reports and records concerning lighting, cameras, locks, and security staffing. Witness accounts of earlier problems also help. Much of this evidence can be lost quickly, so acting fast to preserve it is critical.

How Long Do I Have to File a Negligent Security Claim in Georgia?

You generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit in Georgia. Claims involving government property can have much shorter notice deadlines. Because missing a deadline can end your claim, it is best to confirm the deadline that applies to your case as soon as possible.

What Damages Can I Claim in a Negligent Security Case?

You may be able to recover medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning ability, and pain and suffering. Families who lost a loved one may pursue compensation for that loss through a wrongful death claim. The right damages depend on the specific facts of your case, which an attorney can help you assess.

Talk With an Atlanta Negligent Security Lawyer Today

A violent crime can leave you facing medical bills, lost income, and trauma that did not have to happen. If a property owner’s failure to provide reasonable security played a part, you have the right to ask whether they should answer for it. The 2025 changes to Georgia law make early, experienced help more valuable than ever.

Prieto, DelCampo, Lopez, & Marigliano LLC offers free consultations, and you pay no attorney fees unless we recover money for you. Contact a premises liability lawyers today to schedule a free consultation. We can review your situation and explain your options, at no cost and no pressure.