Atlanta Hotel Attack Attorney
Many people don’t put a lot of thought toward criminal activity during a hotel stay, assuming the property must be safe for guests. At The Dixon Firm, P.C., our Atlanta hotel attack attorneys believe hotel guests should feel secure in their lodgings, not afraid for their lives. Unfortunately, criminal activity can affect anyone, anywhere. Many criminals target hotel guests because they know vacationers are likely to carry more cash than others. Victims of hotel attacks in Atlanta may not realize they could have legal remedies other than criminal indictments – premises liability cases.
Georgia Property Owner Responsibilities
In Atlanta, hotel property owners and managers have a legal duty to provide for the reasonable safety of guests. This includes maintaining the property and repairing hazards such as faulty railings and loose carpeting, but it also means protecting against any foreseeable risk of criminal activity. Hotels have a duty to protect guests from trespassing criminals, violent crime, and sexual assault. Inadequate or nonexistent hotel security can be a major offense if it contributes to the attack and injury of a guest.
An injured party may be able to bring a negligent security claim against a hotel if the property owner or possessor fails to take reasonable security measures to protect guests from foreseeable criminal attacks. Cases involving negligent security assume that adequate security would have prevented or at least reduced the odds of an attack. If this is true in your case, yet a hotel owner did nothing to improve security, you may have grounds for a lawsuit against the at-fault party and should speak with an Atlanta injury lawyer experienced in hotel attacks and negligent security.
What Is Adequate Security?
What qualifies as “adequate security” depends on the foreseeability of crime in the hotel and its surrounding area. If a hotel is in an excellent neighborhood with a low crime rate and no history of criminal activity on the property, an owner may get by with low-security measures or none at all without being negligent. If an attack were to happen under these circumstances, the Georgia courts would likely rule that the hotel owner could not have reasonably foreseen the attack and therefore is not liable for a lack of security measures.
However, if a hotel owner knew or reasonably should have known about crime in the building, parking lot, neighboring hotels, or surrounding area, he or she needs to implement security measures accordingly. Areas of heavy crime require more stringent security measures than others. Here are some examples of methods a hotel owner can use to increase security:
- Keypad lock system on building doors.
- Multiple locks on guest room doors.
- Security guard(s).
- Trained security patrols.
- Attentive hotel clerks who can recognize trespassers.
- Gated entryway.
- Fenced-in parking lot with bright lights.
- Cameras inside and outside the hotel.
A judge or jury will decide what constitutes adequate security by looking at the crime record in the area and deciding whether a reasonably prudent hotel owner would have done more to ensure the security of guests. A victim may be able to receive compensation for his/her damages, including payment for medical bills, pain, and suffering, emotional distress, lost wages from a disability, and lost property with a hotel attack negligent security lawsuit.
Contact an Atlanta Hotel Attack Attorney If You Were a Victim of Crime
If you or a loved one suffered an injury or died in a hotel attack, contact a skilled personal injury attorney in Atlanta. The attorneys at The Dixon Firm, P.C. can discuss your odds of securing compensation from a hotel owner for negligent security practices contributing to your injuries. We’ll investigate your attack, gain an understanding of what the hotel owner reasonably should have done, and present your case to an insurance company, judge, or jury as necessary. When you need confidants in a time of need after a hotel attack, call our Atlanta office at 404-733-1166 or contact us online.