Negligent Security Lawyer in Miami

If you or a family member was shot, assaulted, robbed, or raped on property someone else owned — an apartment complex, a hotel, a nightclub, a parking garage, a shopping center, a gas station — the property owner may be legally responsible for failing to provide reasonable security. Florida law has recognized a property owner's duty to protect lawful visitors from foreseeable criminal acts of third parties for decades, and recent legislation has reshaped the framework. The Law Offices of Albert Goodwin represents Miami-area victims and surviving family members in negligent security cases.

The Legal Theory

A negligent security case is a premises liability case in which the dangerous condition on the property is a foreseeable risk of criminal attack — not a wet floor or a broken stair. The plaintiff must prove (1) the property owner owed a duty of reasonable care to the victim, (2) the criminal act was reasonably foreseeable, (3) the owner breached the duty by failing to take reasonable security measures, and (4) the breach caused the victim's injuries. The leading Florida cases include Czerwinski v. Sunrise Point Condominium and Holley v. Mt. Zion Terrace Apartments.

Florida's 2023 Negligent Security Statute

In 2023 the Florida Legislature enacted § 768.0706, which provides multifamily residential property owners a "presumption against liability" in negligent security claims if they implement and maintain a specific list of security measures: a properly functioning security camera system at points of entry and exit; a lighted parking lot from dusk to dawn; lighted walkways, laundry rooms, common areas, mailbox areas, and porches; at least 1-inch deadbolts in each dwelling-unit door; locking devices on every window, sliding door, and exterior front door; locked gates with key/fob/code access at pool, fitness center, and other common areas; a peephole or door viewer on each unit door without a window; and proper security training of employees. The statute also requires CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) assessment by January 1, 2025. The statute changes the landscape but does not eliminate liability — the presumption can be rebutted, and the statute does not protect non-residential properties such as hotels, bars, and shopping centers.

Foreseeability — The Heart of the Case

The single most contested issue in a negligent security case is whether the crime was foreseeable. Foreseeability is typically proven by:

• Prior crime history on the property — police calls for service, arrest reports, prior incident reports, particularly for violent crimes within the past three to five years
• Prior crime history in the surrounding area — crime statistics for the census tract or police reporting district
• The property's own knowledge — internal incident reports, tenant complaints about safety, security memos, prior lawsuits
• Industry standards — IAHSS, ASIS, and other industry guidelines for apartment complexes, hotels, and similar properties

A property with a documented pattern of armed robberies in the parking lot cannot reasonably claim that the next armed robbery in the parking lot was unforeseeable. We pull police records under Florida's public records law (Ch. 119) and CAD logs at the start of every case to establish the foreseeability record.

Reasonable Security Measures

Depending on the property type and the level of risk shown by the foreseeability evidence, reasonable security measures may include:

• Functional security cameras with proper coverage and adequate recording retention
• Adequate exterior and interior lighting maintained at consistent levels
• Secure perimeter — fencing, controlled-access gates, key-fob access to common areas
• Functional door locks and access control
• Uniformed security officers or off-duty police officers at appropriate hours
• Security guard training, supervision, and incident response protocols
• Trespass policies and "no trespass" enforcement against known troublemakers
• Coordination with local police, including off-duty contracted officers

Common Negligent Security Cases in Miami

• Apartment-complex shootings in the corridor, parking lot, or breezeway
• Nightclub and bar assaults involving fights, ejected patrons, and intoxicated aggressors
• Parking-garage attacks at office buildings, shopping centers, and entertainment venues
• Hotel-room invasions and sexual assaults on guests
• Gas-station and convenience-store robberies at the pump or inside the store
• Shopping mall and outlet center attacks
• School-bus stop and college-campus assaults — limited by sovereign immunity rules

Damages and Insurance

Apartment complexes, hotels, and commercial property owners almost always carry general liability insurance with policy limits ranging from $1 million per occurrence up to large excess and umbrella towers. Identifying every layer of coverage is part of the case work-up. Damages in a negligent security case include past and future medical bills, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and — in fatal cases — Florida Wrongful Death Act damages for survivors.

The criminal who committed the attack is rarely a meaningful defendant. The viable case is against the property owner, the management company, and any contracted security firm whose security failures created the conditions for the crime.

If you have been the victim of a violent crime on someone else's property anywhere in South Florida, contact the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin. Call 786-522-1411 or email [email protected]. All consultations are confidential, and there is no fee unless we recover for you.