Florida Negligent Security Lawyer

Florida’s communities should be safe places to live, work, and gather. Yet too often, people suffer life-changing injuries because a property owner or business failed to take basic security precautions. 

A Florida negligent security lawyer can help victims and families hold property owners accountable through premises liability claims. Whether you were hurt in an assault, a nightclub shooting, or another violent incident, our team understands how to help build a strong negligent security lawsuit and pursue the compensation you deserve.

What Is Negligent Security?

Negligent security is a type of premises liability claim where we hold an owner or operator liable for your injuries because they failed to keep their premises safe and secure from criminal acts. Unlike a typical premises liability claim, such as a trip on broken pavement or a slip and fall, negligent security claims allege that there was a foreseeable risk of harm from a criminal action, and that the owner or operator failed to mitigate that risk. 

Common Examples of Negligent Security in Florida

Negligent security is not just not having enough security guards. You can make a claim that a property owner failed in their duties to protect you if you are injured because of: 

• Poor lighting in parking lots 
• Broken or missing security cameras 
• Unlocked or malfunctioning gates at gated communities
• Lack of security patrols
• Insufficient guards or bag checks 
• An owner’s failure to respond to known crime risks 
• Inadequate door locks and hallway cameras
• Negligent screening of tenants or employees 
• Poorly monitored parking garages 
• Lack of visible security presence at large events 

Proving a Negligent Security Claim in Florida

There are four elements to any claim of negligence under Florida’s premises liability laws:

1. Duty: when an owner or operator owes you a duty of care 
2. Breach: the property owner breaches that duty of care by failing to take proper steps to secure adequate and appropriate security
3. Causation: because of the breach of duty, you sustain injuries
4. Damages: such injuries lead to damages, or losses 

Here’s how this might play out in a hypothetical negligent security claim:

You attend a concert at a local venue on a Saturday night. The concert ends at 1:00am. You leave the venue to walk to your car. The lights in the parking lot are not on, however, which means it is dark as you make your way to your parking row. In the darkness, someone commits an assault on you, stealing your wallet or purse, your phone, and anything else of value you had. The assault leaves you with a black eye, a concussion, and a fractured wrist.

1. The venue owed you, as a patron, a legal duty of care. The parking lot is part of their property, which means that the duty likely extends to the lot.
2. The owner neither fixed the broken lights nor supplied secure transport (by having a guard walk patrons out, providing a tram or bus, etc), creating a foreseeable risk of criminal activity.
3. Because of this, you were mugged in the dark and sustained injuries.
4. Those injuries led to medical treatment and bills, lost income and wages, and psychological damage. You also had to replace your phone, wallet/purse, and other items. 

Properties Most Often Involved in Florida Negligent Security Claims

Sadly, a physical or sexual assault can occur on any property in Florida. Most claims, however, involve:

• Nightclubs
• Bars and restaurants
• Hotels and motels
• Convenience stores
• Shopping centers 
• Stip malls
• Gas stations
• Train stations
• Airports
• Schools and universities
• Parking garages
• Apartment and multifamily complexes
• Concert venues
• Sports arenas and fields

What Victims Should Know About Suing Multifamily Complexes

Florida law has changed how negligent security claims work against apartment buildings and similar multifamily properties. Under a 2023 law, property owners and operators can claim a legal presumption against liability if they can show they have substantially implemented a list of security measures. Those measures include:

• Security cameras at entrances and exits
• Adequate lighting in parking lots and common areas
• Working locks on unit doors and windows
• Keyed gates for pools
• Regular crime-prevention assessments
• Security training for staff

For victims, this means you can still sue a multifamily complex after an assault, robbery, or other violent crime on the property, but a premises liability attorney will need to investigate whether the complex truly met these standards. If the complex failed to maintain lighting, left gates broken, skipped assessments, or neglected other requirements, the presumption of protection for the owner may not apply.

Who Can Be Held Liable for an Attack Leading to Injury?

After an assault, robbery, or other violent incident on someone else’s property, more than one party may share responsibility. In negligent security cases, liability usually depends on who had control over the property and the ability to reduce the risk of crime.

Commonly liable parties include:

• The perpetrator: Assuming you can find the person who attacked you, you can name that person in a civil claim or lawsuit.
• Property owners and landlords: They are generally responsible for keeping the premises reasonably safe and making sure basic security measures are in place.
• Property management companies: If a separate company is hired to run or maintain the property, they can be liable for ignoring safety issues such as broken gates or burned-out lights.
• Business tenants: In shopping centers, hotels, bars, or restaurants, the tenant that invites customers onto the property often shares the duty to provide a secure environment.
• Security contractors: A security firm hired to monitor cameras, patrol the property, or manage entry points may be liable if it failed to follow proper procedures.
• Event organizers: If an assault occurs at a concert, sporting event, or festival, the organizer may be responsible for failing to provide adequate security.

However, Florida’s 2023 reforms also added comparative fault for third-party criminal actors (§ 768.0701). This means a jury must consider the share of responsibility that belongs to the person who committed the crime when deciding damages. In some cases, it can reduce the amount the property owner or operator has to pay – which makes building strong evidence of negligent security even more important.

An experienced attorney can investigate lease agreements, maintenance contracts, and incident reports to identify every potentially responsible party. This helps ensure that you can pursue full compensation for medical costs, lost income, and other damages.

What About Mass Shootings?

A mass shooting forces the hardest questions about negligent security into the open. These aren’t routine premises cases: they involve extraordinary harm, often in places where people expected to feel safe. Florida knows this pain firsthand. The 2016 attack at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub and the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland are still present in the state’s memory.

Liability in a mass casualty event is not just a legal hurdle; it’s a search for where systems failed. Courts and investigators look at whether those responsible for the property, i.e. a nightclub, a school, an event venue, ignored credible warnings, left security gaps unaddressed, or lacked even the most basic measures to slow an attack. At the same time, these cases often confront the limits of what security alone can prevent.

For survivors and families, the focus of a civil claim is accountability: identifying which decisions or omissions allowed a known risk to become a tragedy. That process is demanding and often contested, but it’s a way to examine failures that should never be repeated.

There were 32 mass shootings in Florida in 2024, according to the Gun Violence Archive. 

Negligent Security Lawsuit: What Damages Can You Seek?

A violent assault or attack can leave lasting physical, emotional, and financial harm. Through a negligent security lawsuit, you may be able to recover compensation for losses such as:

• Medical expenses including hospital bills, follow-up care, rehabilitation, and counseling
• Lost income for time away from work and any reduction in future earning capacity, as well as lost retirement contributions and benefits
• Pain and suffering for the physical pain and psychological impact of the attack
• Property losses such as stolen personal belongings or the cost of replacing damaged items
• Long-term care and support if the injuries lead to ongoing disability or trauma
• Loss of financial support, companionship, funeral, and burial costs in the event the injury is fatal

In rare cases, when the property owner’s disregard for safety was especially reckless, you may be entitled to punitive damages. These are awarded as a way of punishing wrongdoing. 

Every case is different. The amount you can pursue in a premises liability lawsuit depends on the severity of your injuries, the financial impact on your life, and the strength of the evidence linking your losses to the security failures.

What If I Don’t Want to Sue My Local Hangout?

If you were injured at a venue or restaurant you frequent, it can be hard to file a claim against them. You might not wish to harm your favorite hangout. 

You should know that compensation often comes from the property’s premises liability coverage, not directly from an individual owner. The owner has insurance for reasons like this. So you can still make your claim and get your rightful compensation without directly harming someone you care about. 

How a Florida Negligent Security Attorney Can Help

Negligent security cases demand more than compassion; they require swift, skilled action to preserve evidence and build a case that will stand up in court. Many of the most important pieces of evidence in these cases are fragile. Surveillance footage can be overwritten in days, logs can disappear, and memories can fade. In negligent security claims, waiting even a few weeks can mean losing key evidence such as video footage, maintenance records, or witness statements.

If you or someone you care about has been harmed in a violent incident because of poor or negligent security, don’t wait. Evidence vanishes, memories fade, and defendants move quickly. Contact Levin Litigation’s Florida negligent security attorneys now for a free consultation. Let us fight to preserve evidence, hold parties accountable, and protect your rights.