Inadequate Security and Crime Victim Cases

Every Pennsylvania crime victim has the right to file a civil lawsuit to recover damages from the perpetrator or other parties whose unreasonable conduct resulted in a crime.

Every year, the number of crime victims in America reaches nearly 30,000,000.

Often, the consequences of crime extend far beyond the criminal act. In many cases, crime victims are left with expenses for medical care, surgeries, physical rehabilitation, counseling, lost wages and property damage. In the United States, crime costs our society roughly $450 billion every year.

Fortunately, you may have several ways to recover money for your injuries and expenses, including:

Restitution

A Pennsylvania criminal court may order a perpetrator to reimburse certain expenses incurred by you, your survivors, or persons who have become responsible for your maintenance and support as a result of a crime. Unfortunately, even when a Pennsylvania court orders restitution, it is often not collected. This lack of enforcement, combined with limits on the type of damages that may be included in a restitution order, often result in restitution falling far short of meeting your needs.

Pennsylvania State Crime Victim Compensation

Compensation may be available from Pennsylvania’s crime victim compensation fund. These funds are designed to reimburse you for certain losses and expenses resulting from the crime, such as funeral expenses, medical bills, counseling fees, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket costs you incur. The amount of compensation may be reduced by amounts that you have received from insurance or other sources.

In addition, Pennsylvania state law provides limits on how much money can be given for an individual crime or a particular type of loss. There are also other restrictions on eligibility for crime victim compensation.

Civil Lawsuit

Often, restitution and crime-victim compensation do not cover your full economic losses, and neither source pays anything for hard-to-quantify damages such as pain and suffering. A civil lawsuit may provide you with more complete compensation.

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Library for Inadequate Security and Crime Victim Cases:

• One of the key factors in bringing a case against someone on behalf of a crime victim is the involvement, behavior and conduct of the victim himself   
  Description: the involvement, behavior and conduct of a crime victim is critical in determining whether a viable case exists against a potential defendant
• In every negligent premises security case, there are 7 keys factors to consider in order to prove negligence   
  Description: There are key factors that must be considered in determining a landowner or business owner's liability for negligence security which causes injury to crime victims, including security personnel, equipment, lighting, perimeter control, architecture, design, landscaping, and key control
• A list of 17 different types of premises where crime victims can be injured due to inadequate security   
  Description: There are many premises that give rise to inadequate security cases on behalf of crime victims but 17 are the most common
• Premises Security Experts Need to Investigate and Evaluate Key Elements in a Negligent Security Case   
  Description: Crime Victim Attorneys along with Premises Security Experts Need to Consider These Key Concepts in any Evaluation and Investigation of a Inadequate Security Case
• crime victim of rape sues assisted living complex where father lived and receives $1 Million Verdict   
  Description: An 11 year old girl who was visiting her ailing father at an assisted living facility was forcibly raped by an employee. She sued the apartment complex for failing to provide adequate security and the Judge awarded $1 Million for damages.
• There are 10 key questions every tenant should ask the landlord to make sure the premises are safe and secure from crime   
  Description: Landlords who have a duty to protect their tenants and provide a safe place to live have liability for the criminal acts of others under a number of circumstances. But before you entered into a lease, ask at least these simple 10 questions of your landlord to make sure that the premises are safe and you won't be attacked by criminals.
• Insurance Companies Cannot Deny Coverage on Basis of Intentional Act Exclusion in Every Circumstance   
  Description: insurance limitations in cases involving injuries to crime victims as a result of rape, sexual assault, murder or serious personal injury are often made under the "assault and battery exclusion". However, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court has recently upheld a Superior Court decision required insurance company's obligation to defend where allegations of negligence are involved.
• Gun dealers alledgedly "lost" an average of 82 firearms every day in 2007   
  Description: Using newly released federal data, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence revealed that gun dealers "lost" an average of at least 82 firearms every day last year, totaling more than 30,000 firearms unaccounted for in dealers inventory in the fiscal year 2007
• Some Businesses and Types of Premises Give Rise to Greater Number of Crime Victim Cases   
  Description: While it is impossible to list every type of premise that can give rise to an inadequate security case, there are certain types that give rise to a disproportionate amount of such cases
• Crime Victims Must Establish Foreseeability on the Part of Landowner in order to Establish Liability   
  Description: A landowner's duty to use reasonable care to protect invitees is limited by the element of foreseeability. As a general proposition, a landowner is not the insurer of its invitees safety
• Crime Victims Must Show Landowner's Negligence in Failing to Provide Security Caused Injuries   
  Description: Plaintiff must show that the landowner's negligence in failing to provide adequate security was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries
• Deterrability and Preventability Common Defenses for Landowners in Inadequate Security Cases   
  Description: Defendants have devised new tactics to defeat crime victims' claims by arguing that a third party criminal attack was an intervening independent cause of the injury or argues that no matter what security was provided, the criminal would have still attacked the crime victim

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Frequent Questions for Inadequate Security and Crime Victim Cases:

• Why Should You File a Civil Lawsuit

•  What's the difference between criminal and civil justice?

• Who are the Parties in a Pennsylvania Civil Suit?

• How Much Time Do You Have to Sue in Pennsylvania?

• What Types of Pennsylvania Civil Lawsuits May be Brought?

• Can the Criminal Perpetrator Raise Any Defenses in Pennsylvania?

• Does the Pennsylvania Crime Victim Have any Rights to Privacy?

• What’s Involved in Filing a Civil Lawsuit in Pennsylvania?

• What Happens After the Suit is Filed?

• What Kinds of Damages Can be Recovered from the Defendants in Pennsylvania?

• If I Win My Case Will I Be Able to Collect the Money: Judgment and Enforcement in Pennsylvania

• Are There Any Other Issues I Should be Aware Of?

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The Monahan Law Practice
300 North Pottstown Pike
Suite 210
Exton, PA 19341-2233

Phone: (610) 363-3888
Fax: (610) 363-2429