Why do you need an Apartment Negligence Attorney in Georgia? When an apartment complex fails to provide sufficient safety and security for its tenants, catastrophic accidents and acts of crime are bound to happen. Unfortunately, few victims consult with an apartment negligence attorney to establish claims against apartment complexes of question.
When individuals have been injured as a result of apartment negligence, the specialized legal services of Apolinsky & Associates, LLC, can give you the greatest changes of getting compensated. Spanning from cases involving slip and fall injuries to improper security in apartment parking lots, Stephen Apolinsky is here to help.
Apartment owners have certain obligations under local, state and federal laws. While these laws may vary depending on the area, the basic underlying fact is consistent regardless of where an incident takes places.
When individuals experience injurious legal matters involving apartment negligence in Atlanta, GA, Stephen Apolinsky has a history of success helping clients get fair compensation for their case.
This means that businesses and property owners have a duty to mitigate against all types of safety hazards , including potential criminal attacks.
Through a premises liability claims, severely injured victims can seek full compensation for their damages. Under Georgia law, negligent property owners can be held legally liable for a victim’s direct monetary losses and for certain non-economic damages. The ultimate value of a premises liability claim depends entirely on the specific circumstances of the case. Injured victims and their families members should always be represented by an experienced Atlanta premises liability lawyer. Our legal team is committed to helping seriously injured victims maximize their financial recovery. You may be entitled to compensation for: 1 Theft of money or property; 2 Emergency medical bills; 3 Ongoing medical care; 4 Rehabilitative treatment; 5 Long-term disability; 6 Lost wages; 7 Diminished earning capacity; 8 Other related economic losses; 9 Pain and suffering; 10 Emotional distress; 11 Disfigurement; 12 Loss of life enjoyment; and 13 The wrongful death of a family member.
Mike helps crime victims win their cases by preparing every case for trial. Lawyers who assume they will settle cases are forced to play catch-up once settlement negotiations fail – this puts the lawyer, and in turn, the client’s chance at winning at a severe damage.
Mike Rafi has helped crime victims recover more than $15 million in negligent security cases. These are cases where a person is injured because a business, like an apartment complex, shopping center, gas station, or restaurant failed to provide adequate security to protect their customers and guests.
A peephole is a simple thing that can protect you while you are inside your apartment. If there is a peephole, make sure you can look from inside to outside and clearly see a person on the other side. If the door does not have a peephole, then ask for one.
According to some estimates, up to 30% of criminals enter through windows. When you are inside the apartment, make sure all of the window locks are properly working. If they are broken ask for them to be replaced.
When you first get to the apartment complex, take notice of the entrances to the complex itself and individual buildings. When you leave, do the same thing with the exits. Gates at the entrances to the complex will help deter criminals from committing crimes on the property.
The information Mike Rafi learns from witnesses and the crime grid will help him determine if there were any other previous victims. If there are, the next step is to find and speak with those victims, and if necessary, ask them to testify.
If you were injured while a crime was committed on someone else’s property, you can obtain justice and equitable compensation by suing the property owner. Too often, property and business owners know of an imminent or existing danger, but do nothing to protect the people on their property.
Much as they might like you to believe otherwise, landlords are responsible for protecting tenants from foreseeable dangers. Documenting that a problem exists before a criminal can take advantage of it can make all the difference in forcing a landlord to care about negligent security.
If you or a loved one have already become the victim of a crime because of inadequate or negligent security at your apartment complex, first take care of your physical safety and health. Whether you called 911 during the incident or not, seek medical attention for any injuries and file a police report as soon as you can.
If one of your neighbors has already been victimized on the property, take note of how the perpetrator gained access. Your landlord can be held liable for failing to prevent the same kind of breach from happening again. It can also be helpful to pool your efforts with other residents who share your concerns.
The week of Thanksgiving in 2018, she was struck in the head and killed by a bullet fired from the apartment above her.
Never advertising when you will be away from home, such as by posting plans on social media, leaving messages on your door, or allowing mail to pile up . Retreating and calling 911 if you ever come home to find your door or window broken.
High crime rates in low-cost apartment complexes are so commonplace that many people have come to consider them inseparable. There’s a bias that remotely affordable rent is itself a draw for crime, and that potentially becoming a victim of crime is an inherent risk that tenants accept when moving into an affordable apartment. People living both in and out of high crime complexes assume that the only way anyone can escape those risks is by making enough money to live somewhere else.
Georgia law allows victims of domestic violence to break leases, without penalties, in order to escape that violence. Your landlord cannot use your lease to force you to stay in an abusive situation, and any landlord who tries is liable for willfully putting your safety at risk.
The Georgia Crime Victims Bill of Rights provides individuals who are victims of certain crimes specific rights. These rights include: 1 The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any scheduled court proceedings or any changes to such proceedings 2 The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of the arrest, release, or escape of the accused 3 The right not to be excluded from any scheduled court proceedings, except as provided by law 4 The right to be heard at any scheduled court proceedings involving the release, plea, or sentencing of the accused 5 The right to file a written objection in any parole proceedings involving the accused 6 The right to confer with the prosecuting attorney in any criminal prosecution related to the victim 7 The right to restitution as provided by law 8 The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay 9 The right to be treated fairly and with dignity by all criminal justice agencies involved in the case
Gates at the entrances to the complex will help deter criminals from committing crimes on the property. At entrance points, gates prevent unwanted people from entering, and at exit points, gates prevent criminals from getting away quickly committing a crime.
Kate’s Club is an Atlanta non-profit dedicated to providing support for children and teens (ages 5-18) grieving the death of a parent or sibling. All programs are offered at no cost to families and are a unique mix of social, recreational, and therapeutic activities. You can learn more about Kate’s club on their website or by calling 404-347-7619.
The Crime Victims Advocacy Council (CVAC) is dedicated to preventing crime and assisting crime victims and their families and communicates in Georgia through quality education, advocacy, counseling, and legislative initiatives. CVAC was founded in 1989 and has helped close to 10,000 crime victims. Click here to view CVAC’s brochure.
Even if you had the complex change exterior locks, consider installing a deadbolt and door-chain. A deadbolt is more secure than a standard lock to pick, because the deadbolt will only open by rotating the lock cylinder, while a standard lock is controlled by a spring bolt that can be opened by applying force to it. A door-chain, like a deadbolt, is an added security measure that lets you identify and talk to visitors without completely unlocking and opening your door.
Blinds prevent would-be criminals from window shopping into your apartment. Install blinds that will completely block people outside of your apartment from seeing inside, and make sure you close your blinds when you leave your apartment.
For a shooting victim to win a negligent security case, the victim must show it was “foreseeable” to the owner that a shooting could occur. When something is “foreseeable,” it just means that there was a reasonable chance it could happen. Generally, foreseeability is proven by showing the landlord knew about prior crimes that were substantially similar to the shooting that injured the victim.