Negligent Security Lawyers and
Premise Liability Attorneys

     Negligent Security occurs whenever an unsafe situation or an unsafe scenario is left untended.  Common occurrence of negligent securities cases include:

• Residential Accidents
• Uncovered Swimming Pools
• An estimated 350 children under five years of age drown each year in swimming pools, many in residential pools.
• Failure to Fence Off Sea Walls and Dock Access
• Another 2,600 children under age five are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year following submersion incidents. Some of these submersions result in permanent brain damage.
• Un-shoveled Walk Ways
• Numerous Massachusetts cities have laws requiring home and business owners to clear sidewalks within three hours after the end of a snowstorm.  If the storm strikes at night, people are expected to clear their walks as soon as they can in the morning. Violators can be fined.
• Obstructed Walk Ways
• Including trash receptacles, parked cars, and private mailboxes
• Exposed Wiring
• Exposed wiring in the home provides a potential fire hazard as well as creating a potentially dangerous situation when dealing with electric shock as well.  Any exposed wires must be taken care of and properly handled.
• Failure to Post Dog Warnings
• Commercial Accidents
• Slip Trip and Fall Accidents caused by:
• Standing Water
• Can cause a person to slip on a tiled or linoleum floor
• Sidewalk panels with depressions, reverse cross-slopes, or other indentations that cause the sidewalk path to be lower than the curb; these depressions cause silt and water to settle on the walkway path
• Obstructed Walk Ways
• Objects located on the sidewalk, in setbacks, or on properties adjacent to the sidewalk that obstruct passage space. Obstacles commonly include trash receptacles, parked cars, and private mailboxes; in stores it can be cleaning products, misplaced stock and personal employee items not properly stored.
• Unmarked Raises In Walk Ways
• A vertical displacement of 13 mm (0.5 in) or greater at any point on the walkway that could cause pedestrians to trip, lock up the wheels of a wheelchair, or prevent the wheels of a wheelchair from rolling smoothly
• Uneven Pedestrian Paths
• Holes and rough spots ranging from hairline cracks to indentations wider than 25 mm (1 in) or roots from trees growing in adjacent landscaping that cause the walkway surface to buckle and crack, impeding access
• Exposed Wiring
• Exposed wiring in commercial settings provides a potential fire hazard as well as creating a potentially dangerous situation when dealing with electric shock.  This problem is compounded due to high customer traffic and the amount of area that many stores and industry encompass.  Any exposed wires must be taken care of and properly handled.
• Failure to Fence off Hazardous Areas
• It is essential that ground level, solid, continuous barriers be constructed to prevent pedestrians from entering the construction site either intentionally or unintentionally. Pedestrian safety is compromised because of the obstacles and hazards that will be present if access to the construction site is permitted. The use of flagging tape, ribbon, or signs to identify a site without a solid barrier is inappropriate.
• Failure to Post Warnings Around Hazardous Areas
• This can be as simple as putting up a wet floor sign or as complex as announcing prolonged changes to the establishment with set dates and times of potentially hazardous conditions existing.
• Un-shoveled Walk Ways
• Falls for an older person are actually a substantial problem.  When an older person falls, it frequently results in an injury that immobilizes the person and lands them in bed for an extended period of time. It often leads to related health problems like pneumonia.  Older people have other health problems like osteoporosis and other kinds of degenerative bone problems that can make them even more prone to fractures when they do fall on the icy roads and sidewalks.
• Industrial Accidents
• Fall from Higher Elevation
• Use 100% fall protection when working on towers at heights above 25 feet.
• Participate in all training programs offered by your employer.
• Follow safe work practices identified by worker training programs.
• Comply with OSHA Compliance Directive 2-1.29.
• Ensure that hoisting equipment used to lift workers is designed to prevent uncontrolled descent and is properly rated for the intended use
• Failure to Post Safety Precaution Notices
• Signs on many large arterials are hung in the center of the intersection. This location is essentially invisible to pedestrians traveling along the sidewalk. Pedestrians might even be put in danger because important safety information, such as yield signage, is not easily visible
• Failure to post Falling Object Notices
• Construction sites contain a variety of hazardous conditions such as work areas, workers, tools, equipment, machines, and stockpiles of materials that are potential obstacles and dangers to pedestrians when not correctly cordoned off from public use
• Failure to Provide Access and Notice of Hazard to Pedestrians
• Failing to ensure that people with vision impairments can easily detect and avoid the construction site; Restricting the use of crosswalks by blocking access to available curb ramps; not providing a safe and accessible alternative route around the construction site to adjacent businesses and destinations; and Using ineffective or unusable barriers such as plastic tape around the site.

     As one can see the potential for premise liability is an everyday danger that must be taken care of in the home, the work place and in the commercial centers that we frequent.  However, if proper precautions are taken and all the proper safety steps are taken with homeowner, worker and consumer safety in mind, then potential negligent security cases can be avoided. 

     In the aftermath of a tragic injury, hiring a personal injury lawyer may not be your top priority.  Your health and families well being should be your main concern. However, while the injured party is receiving initial medical treatment, chances are, the negligent parties have notified their lawyers or insurance company of the accident. Every insurance company has a team of adjusters, investigators and attorneys whose primary responsibility is to limit the liability of the insurance company and minimize the amount of money to be paid to injured parties.