When you suffer personal injuries due to the reckless and willful actions of others, the impacts can be long ranging and severe. In addition to your immediate costs for medical care, you could end up requiring additional testing, treatment, and therapy for months or even years to come. Lost wages are also an issue, both in early recovery and in the event of ongoing disabilities, which may prevent you from working or even engaging in activities you once enjoyed.
The losses you suffer can jeopardize your health and financial security for years into the future, which is why suing for negligence is often your best course of action. In addition to a lawsuit against the at-fault party directly responsible for your injuries, there may be others involved who could have warned you of the potential dangers or possibly prevented the situation in which your injuries occurred. Under the legal theory of premises liability, and more specifically, negligent or inadequate security, you may be entitled to hold these parties accountable through a personal injury lawsuit as well.
Suing for Negligence: Six Situations that May Apply in Your Case
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), close to 40 million people visit hospital emergency rooms each year as the result of accidents and personal injuries due to the reckless and negligent actions of others. While there may be insurance companies involved offering you compensation, the amount these companies provide is likely to be far less than what you would be entitled to in a personal injury lawsuit. This is why it is so vitally important to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney before settling your claim or signing any documents.
Your attorney can advise you on your rights in suing for negligence based on the actions of the person responsible for your injuries. In some situations, you may also be able to sue for negligence as a result of inadequate security. Apartment complexes, restaurants, retail establishments, hotels, schools, or other businesses may be held legally liable for failing in their duty to provide for your safety, or for failing to warn you that a danger existed. The following are six common situations in which this may occur:
- Failure to post warnings of significant risks or dangers.
- Failure to provide security guards or to install video monitoring systems and other security devices.
- Failure to provide protective devices as needed on the property, such as gates or fencing and door locks;
- Failure to provide for the safety of others via proper property maintenance.
- Failure to fix potentially dangerous problem areas which the property owner or manager knew or should have known existed
- Failure to document or report previous incidents in which tenants or visitors to the property suffered injuries or harm.
Case Example of Suing for Negligence as a Result of Inadequate Security
An example of this type of case involves a young man who was viciously beaten by another student at the school he attended. In the case of Bajjani v. Gwinnett County School District, the lawsuit stemmed from the actions of school officials after an incident which occurred during the school day and on school grounds. Timothy Bajani was a student attending classes when an altercation broke out with another student. The other student threatened Bajani, which was heard by the teacher and other students. When class ended, the student made good on his threats.
Bajani was brutally beaten by the other student, who kicked him repeatedly in the face and chest, stomping his head as he lay on the concrete hall floor. When the principal and assistant principal arrived on the scene, they found Bajani unconsciously and bleeding profusely. Instead of calling an ambulance, they took him to the nurse’s office and notified his parents, without mentioning the severity of the boy’s condition. When the parents arrived roughly 30 minutes later, they were horrified by what they found. They immediately called paramedics, who rushed Bajani to the local hospital, where he was diagnosed with severe head trauma, a subdural hematoma, a temporal skull fracture, and three facial fractures. He required immediate surgery and has since undergone extensive dental work to repair the facial damage done, while continuing to suffer from seizures, sleep disorders, and difficulty eating.
It was only later and after extensive investigation by police, state school officials, and the parent’s attorney that certain disturbing facts about the case where uncovered:
- The student who beat Bajani had a past history of violence that the school was aware of. Officials failed to warn teachers of the boy’s explosive temper, which is why Bajani’s own teacher never acted on the threat he made in class.
- The Georgia Department of Education has a policy in place to identify schools that are considered “persistently dangerous”, allowing for parents to make other arrangements for their child. Incidents of violent crime that occurred on school property or at school sanctioned events were required to be reported. Gwinnett County Public Schools failed to follow this policy. Of the more than 70,000 violent altercations that occurred there, fewer than 5,000 were reported.
- School staff at Gwinnett were specifically instructed not to call 911 for any injuries that occurred at school. This was in the hopes of avoiding the “persistently dangerous” designation, which would have resulted in a drop in enrollment and funding cuts.
As a result of these facts, Bajani’s parents filed a lawsuit suing for negligence and inadequate security against the school’s administration, seeking medical costs as well as punitive damages.
Contact Us for Help Today
If you or someone you love has suffered injuries due to the reckless and negligent actions of another person or group of people, reach out and contact Apolinsky & Associates, LLC for help. We can arrange a consultation with our experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney, who can advise you on how to hold responsible parties accountable so you can get the compensation you deserve.
The foregoing answers are not legal advice and are merely a general overview. You are advised to consult a lawyer to address your specific situation regarding your situation. Feel free to send comments or questions to: steve@aa-legal.com of Apolinsky & Associates, LLC, or call (404) 377-9191.
