Pursuing an Insufficient Security Lawsuit in Illinois

 Posted on February 20, 2024 in Personal Injury

Many people know that if they are injured on someone’s property due to the owner’s negligence, Illinois law allows them to pursue a premises liability claim to recover damages for the losses their injuries have caused. These lawsuits typically involve injuries from slip and fall accidents, dog bites, and building code violations. However, people may not be aware that injured individuals can also pursue legal action if they were injured due to insufficient security by the property owner or business. An Illinois personal injury lawyer can help.

What Is an Insufficient Security Lawsuit?

An insufficient security lawsuit is a type of legal action brought against a property owner, business, or other entity responsible for premises where inadequate security measures have resulted in harm to individuals. These lawsuits typically arise when someone is injured or becomes a victim of criminal activity, such as assault, robbery, or vandalism, due to the property owner’s failure to provide adequate security.

Insufficient security lawsuits in Illinois are built on the legal concept of premises liability. Premises liability holds property owners responsible for maintaining safe conditions to prevent harm to visitors or tenants. When a property owner fails to provide adequate security measures, and someone is injured or harmed, they may be held legally liable for the losses the injured party sustains due to those injuries.

Duty of Care

Under Illinois law, the duty of care property owners owe to visitors or tenants is determined by the reason for the visitor’s presence on the property. Three categories of visitors are recognized under Illinois law: invitees, licensees, and trespassers.

An invitee is invited onto the property for the owner’s benefit. Property owners owe invitees a duty of care and must take reasonable steps to ensure their safety, including providing adequate security measures.

Licensees are those who enter the property with the property owner’s permission for their own purposes, such as social guests. Property owners also owe a duty of care to licensees. At one time, under Illinois law, invitees were afforded a higher duty of care than licensees; however, the state amended the law to guarantee equal duty of care to both invitees and licensees.

Trespassers are those who enter the property without permission. Property owners generally owe a lower duty of care to trespassers, but they still cannot intentionally harm them and may have some duty to warn them of known dangers on the property.

Proving Insufficient Security

As mentioned above, insufficient security lawsuits typically arise when a property owner fails to implement reasonable security measures, such as adequate lighting, security guards, surveillance cameras, or secure locks, and someone is harmed as a result of a criminal act, such as assault, robbery, or rape, that could have been prevented with proper security measures.

To succeed in an insufficient security claim, the injured party must prove that:

• The property owner owed them a duty of care.
• The property owner breached that duty of care by failing to provide adequate security measures.
• That breach of duty resulted in the injured party’s injuries.
• Those injured parties suffered economic and non-economic losses due to those injuries.

Contact a DuPage County, IL Personal Injury Lawyer for a Free Case Evaluation

If you or a loved one suffered injuries because of insufficient security, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your losses. Call Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices at 630-932-9100 to speak with one of our dedicated Bloomingdale, IL premises liability attorneys and find out what legal options you may have.