Negligent Security in OC Apartment Complexes: Who’s Liable After an Assault?

Living in an apartment should mean feeling safe and secure in your own home. But sadly, sometimes that feeling of safety is shattered by something terrible happening right where you live, like an assault. When that happens in an Orange County apartment complex, you’re left wondering how it could have been prevented and who should be held accountable.

When you’re the victim of an assault in an OC apartment complex, please know that you have options. California law requires property owners, including landlords, to take reasonable steps to keep their properties safe for tenants and visitors. When they fail to do this, and that failure leads to a crime like an assault, they may be held responsible.

If you are dealing with the aftermath of an assault in your apartment complex, connect with someone who can help you figure things out. Call Hicks Law Firm, PC at 866-HICKS-LAW or (949) 541-9944 for a free conversation about your situation. Our Orange County premises liability lawyer can help.

What Does “Negligent Security” Even Mean?

Negligent security is part of a bigger area of law called premises liability, which deals with injuries that happen because a property owner didn’t keep their property reasonably safe.

California law, specifically California Civil Code Section 1714, says that landlords have a duty to use reasonable care to protect tenants from foreseeable dangers, including the criminal acts of others.

So, when we talk about negligent security, it means the landlord failed to take reasonable steps to protect residents from predictable crime, like assault. This failure could involve various things, from broken gates to not having enough lighting.

What Kind of Security Should an Apartment Complex Have?

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all list of security measures every apartment complex must have. What’s considered “reasonable” security often depends on the specific situation and location. However, there are common-sense measures that many complexes should have in place, especially if there’s a history of crime in the area or on the property itself.

Examples of security measures that, if missing or not working, could point to negligent security include:

• Broken or inadequate locks on doors and windows in individual units or common areas.
• Fences or gates around the complex that are broken or easy to bypass.
• Poor lighting in parking lots, walkways, stairwells, and other common areas.
• Broken or missing security cameras.
• Not having security patrols in a complex where there have been previous incidents.
• Failing to fix known security problems after tenants have reported them.

The key idea is whether the landlord acted reasonably, given the circumstances, to make the property safe.

Proving Your Landlord Was Responsible

Just because a crime happened on the property doesn’t automatically mean the landlord is responsible. To hold a landlord liable for an assault based on negligent security in Orange County, you generally need to show a few things:

• The landlord had a duty to you: As a tenant or a legal visitor, the landlord owed you a duty to provide a reasonably safe property.
• The landlord failed in that duty: The landlord did not take reasonable steps to provide adequate security. This is where showing the lack of working locks, poor lighting, or other issues comes in.
• The landlord’s failure was a cause of the assault: Your attorney will need to connect the dots between the landlord’s lack of reasonable security and the assault. For example, if an attacker easily entered the complex through a broken gate that the landlord knew about and failed to fix, and the assault happened because of that easy entry, that could show a connection.
• The crime was foreseeable: This is a really important part. Your legal team must show that the landlord knew or should have known that crimes like the one that happened were likely to occur on the property. This can be shown by looking at the history of crime at the complex or in the surrounding neighborhood. If there were previous assaults, break-ins, or other criminal activity, it makes a future crime more predictable.

Showing foreseeability often involves looking at police reports, the landlord’s own records of incidents, and the crime rate in the area around the apartment complex.

After the Unthinkable: What Comes Next?

Going home after an assault is incredibly difficult. Once you are in a safe place and have dealt with immediate needs, you might start thinking about what happened and why.

This is when understanding your legal rights becomes important. A negligent security claim is not about the criminal case against the person who committed the assault. That happens in a different court, with the government bringing the charges. A negligent security claim is a California civil case against the property owner for their failure to provide adequate security, which may have allowed the crime to happen.

Pursuing a civil claim can potentially help you recover money for:

• Medical expenses, including hospital stays, doctor visits, therapy, and medication.
• Lost wages if you couldn’t work because of your injuries or the trauma.
• Pain and suffering, such as the physical pain and emotional distress you’ve experienced.

Thinking about all of this can feel overwhelming when you’re already hurting. It’s okay to feel that way. Taking things one step at a time is the best approach.

Contact Our Orange County Premises Liability Attorneys

No one should have to fear for their safety in their own home, especially in a place where a landlord is supposed to provide a secure environment. If an assault happened to you or someone you care about in an Orange County apartment complex due to what you believe was inadequate security, you have the right to explore your options.

Aaron Hicks is a premises liability lawyer in Orange who handles these kinds of cases and knows how much this can affect you. He helps people get back on their feet and move forward after such a difficult time.

Reach out for help today. Call Hicks Law Firm, PC at 866-HICKS-LAW or (949) 541-9944 to discuss your case and learn how we can help you fight for the compensation you deserve.