Negligent security cases begin with a crime: a robbery in an apartment parking lot, an assault in a hotel hallway, a shooting outside a nightclub, an attack in a poorly lit garage. The person who committed the crime is responsible, but often cannot be found or has nothing to pay a judgment. The question in a civil case is different: whether the owner or operator of the property failed to take reasonable steps that would have made the attack less likely, such as working gates, adequate lighting, functioning cameras, or trained staff.
These cases are emotional and difficult. The steps below focus on what you can do to protect the claim while you recover.
1. Get medical care and report the crime
Your health and safety come first. Get treated, and make sure the police have taken a report. Write down the agency, the case number, and the name of the detective assigned. Ask about victim services; many law enforcement agencies and prosecutors' offices have advocates who can help with immediate needs.
Cooperate with the criminal investigation, and tell us about it. The criminal case and the civil case run on separate tracks, but the police file often contains the clearest record of how the attacker got onto the property.
2. Move quickly on video, before it is overwritten
Video is often the single most important evidence in these cases, and it is also the most fragile. For multifamily residential properties, Florida's 2023 security statute uses a 30-day footage retention period as one of the measures for its liability presumption, which tells you how quickly footage may be deleted in the ordinary course. Other properties may keep footage for even less time.
A written preservation demand should go to the owner, the management company, and any security contractor as soon as possible. It should cover all cameras on the property, gate and fob access logs, guard logs, visitor logs, and incident reports.
3. Document the physical conditions, especially at night
If you or someone you trust can safely return, photograph the property at the same time of day as the attack:
- broken or propped gates, fences, and doors;
- burned-out or missing lights in parking areas, walkways, stairwells, and laundry rooms;
- cameras that are missing, pointed away, or disconnected;
- broken locks, missing deadbolts, and windows that do not latch; and
- overgrown landscaping or other places where someone could hide.
Conditions are often repaired after an incident. Photographs taken soon afterward show what the property looked like when it mattered.
4. Gather your own records about the property
If you live or stay there, collect your lease or reservation, any prior complaints you made about security or broken equipment, maintenance requests, emails or texts with management, and notices sent to residents about crime. If neighbors or other guests had similar complaints, write down their names. Prior incidents on or near the property are central to these cases, and police calls-for-service records can show a history the owner knew or should have known about.
5. Understand the 2023 multifamily presumption
In 2023, Florida created a presumption against liability for owners and operators of multifamily residential property, defined as a building or group of buildings with at least five dwelling units on one parcel (§ 768.0706(1)). An owner that substantially implements the listed security measures gets a presumption against liability for crimes committed on the property by third parties who are not its employees or agents (§ 768.0706(2)). The listed measures include:
- security cameras at entry and exit points that retain footage for at least 30 days;
- parking lot lighting at a measured minimum level from dusk until dawn;
- lighting in walkways, laundry rooms, common areas, and porches from dusk until dawn;
- a deadbolt on each dwelling unit door, locks on windows and sliding doors, locked gates with key or fob access along pool fence areas, and a peephole or door viewer on unit doors without a window;
- a crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) assessment no more than three years old, performed by law enforcement or a designated CPTED practitioner; and
- crime deterrence and safety training for employees, with new employees trained within 60 days of hire.
The owner bears the burden of proving it substantially implemented these measures (§ 768.0706(3)). The statute does not create a separate right to sue (§ 768.0706(5)). In practice, this means we request the CPTED assessment, the training records, the lighting and camera specifications, and the maintenance records at the start, because each gap in compliance matters.
6. Do not speak with the property's insurer on your own
The owner's insurer will want to know why you were there, who you were with, whether you knew the attacker, and what you were doing beforehand. Those questions are aimed at fault. Decline a recorded statement and refer the adjuster to your lawyer.
The Florida rules that matter
- Fault of the attacker. In a case against the owner, lessor, operator, or manager of commercial or real property brought by a person "lawfully on the property who was injured by the criminal act of a third party," the jury "must consider the fault of all persons who contributed to the injury" (§ 768.0701). Expect the defense to place much of the fault on the criminal.
- Nonparty fault. A defendant that wants fault allocated to someone who is not a party must plead it and prove it at trial (§ 768.81(3)(a)).
- Comparative fault. Damages are reduced by your share of fault (§ 768.81(2)), and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault for your own harm, you "may not recover any damages" (§ 768.81(6)).
- Multifamily presumption. The security measures and the owner's burden are in § 768.0706.
- Deadline to sue. An action founded on negligence generally must be filed within two years (§ 95.11(5)(a)).
“lawfully on the property who was injured by the criminal act of a third party,”
§ 768.0701
Your checklist
- Get medical care and get the police case number and detective's name.
- Have a preservation demand sent for all video, access logs, guard logs, and incident reports right away.
- Photograph lighting, gates, locks, and cameras at the same time of day as the attack.
- Collect your lease or reservation, prior complaints, and messages with management.
- Write down names of neighbors or guests with similar complaints.
- Decline recorded statements to the property's insurer.
- Call a lawyer well before the two-year deadline.
How we handle these cases
We investigate what security existed, what the owner knew about prior crime, and what the statute required. We send preservation demands immediately, obtain police calls-for-service history, and request the CPTED assessment, training records, and maintenance files that decide whether the presumption applies. Josef Timlichman Law, PLLC is a Florida trial firm handling cases throughout the state, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. Meetings are by appointment only. Call 305-748-3789.
This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.