Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

A Columbus, Georgia woman has reported to police that she was raped on Sunday night, May 23, 2010 while in her apartment on Flat Rock Road. According to reports, at approximately 9:30 p.m., a man hooded with a plastic grocery bag entered her apartment against her will. The assailant threatened the victim with a kitchen knife, and forced her into her bedroom where he proceeded to rape her.

Although little is known about the facts of this incident, the victim may be entitled to pursue a civil action against her landlord for failure to properly secure the apartment complex. Our law firm represents victims of rape throughout the State of Georgia. Under Georgia law, an apartment owner has a duty to keep the apartment complex safe. Where an apartment owner has reason to anticipate criminal activity on its property through prior crime at the apartment or in the surrounding area, the apartment owner must take reasonable steps to provide adequate security. If the apartment owner fails to undertake these steps, he or she is liable for any injuries that occur to its invitees as a consequence.

Once retained by a Client who has been the victim of a violent crime at a Georgia apartment complex, we immediately conduct an investigation to determine what level of criminal activity occurred at the property and in the surrounding area, and what measures could have been undertaken to prevent the crime from occurring. We regularly interview current and former residents of the apartment complex, as well as current and former employees of the management company. We will also request from the local police department a criminal activity report to identify what crimes took place on the property and in the surrounding area in the preceding 5 years. In many instances, we learn that the owners of the apartment complex and its management company were aware of violent criminal activity, but did little if nothing to protect its residents.

We express our sympathy to the victim of this horrific incident, and we offer our legal assistance if desired.

Two women who were shot after they were followed to their car in the parking lot of a night club in Gwinnett County near Atlanta were recently awarded $1,101,589.00 each for their injuries. This premise liability shooting case demonstrates that the public has little tolerance for proprietors of malls, hotels, and apartment complexes who do little or nothing to protect the security of their patrons. As an Atlanta premise liability law firm, we continue to vigorously represent our Clients throughout Georgia against these negligent property owners.

Rapes, sexual assaults, and violent attacks regularly occur in shopping malls, hotels, apartments, and parking lots in Atlanta and other major cities in Georgia. In Georgia, a property owner may be responsible for protecting those legally on his or her property from such criminal acts under certain circumstances. For example, if the owner of a mall, hotel, apartment, or parking lot has reason to anticipate a criminal act based upon the occurrence of prior similar acts, there is then a duty to exercise ordinary care to guard against any further criminal acts. If the owner fails in this duty by failing to control access to his or her premise, by failing to have adequate security, or by failing to have proper lighting on the property, the property owner is liable to anyone suffers injuries as a consequence.

Premise liability cases are difficult and expensive to litigate. Individuals who have been the victim of a rape, shooting, or attack while at a hotel, shopping mall, or apartment complex should be certain that the attorney whom the elect to represent them is qualified and capable of doing so.

Rapes, shootings, and violent crimes are a common occurence in hotels, shopping malls, parking lots, and apartment complexes throughout Atlanta and the state of Georgia. As an Atlanta law firm that represents Clients in these premise liability cases, we are intimately aware of the dangers that patrons face while staying or shopping in these venues. The verdicts awarded by juries throughout Georgia for such incidents can be significant, as is evidenced by a recent $550,000.00 verdict obtained in Cobb County, Georgia.

A Cobb County jury recently awared $550,000.00 to a Plaintiff who was sexually assaulted while staying at a Super 8 Motel. A hotel employee entered her room with a master key and began to touch and lick her while she was asleep. The hotel was sued for failure to conduct a criminal background check on the employee and for entrusting the employee with a master key. The jury heard evidence that, if a criminal background check had been performed, the hotel would have learned that the employee was arrested on multiple occasions prior to and during his employment. The jury was convinced, and held Super 8 liable.

As a premise liability law firm, it is important that we become involved in a hotel/apartment/shopping mall rape, shooting, or attack as soon after the incident as possible. This is critical as premise owners tend to destroy evidence such as video tapes which would evidence liability.

As an Atlanta apartment shooting law firm, we are troubled at the recent slew of apartment complex crimes. Another such shooting occurred this past Tuesday night in Newton County, Georgia. Unfortunately, in addition to the apartment shooting, there was a related car accident which led to the wrongful death of Shirley Akin.

The robbery/shooting happened at approximately 7:30 p.m. on February 23, 2010 at an apartment complex in Newton County. The victim was taken by ambulance to Atlanta Medical Center for treatment of a bullet wound. Following the shooting, the suspects fled the scene in a black Nissan Maxima.

Later in the evening, the two men, while apparently on the run from authorities, struck Ms. Akin's vehicle after running a red light. Ms. Akin was taken to Rockdale Medical Center where she perished as a result of her injuries.

As an Atlanta law firm that represents Clients in apartment shooting cases, we were pleased to learn of the quick arrests of arrested of two individuals suspected of having association with the recent murder of a young woman in an Atlanta apartment complex. Our law firm understands that it is sometimes difficult to locate and apprehend suspects in these types of cases, and the Atlanta Police Department deserves accolades for their swift work.

The young woman was shot in early February at the Atlanta Garden Apartments. She was transported form the scene and died a short time later a Grady Memorial Hospital. All accounts indicate that the woman an innocent bystander to a violent confrontation at the apartment complex.

It remains to be seen whether the owners of the apartment complex will be liable for failing to provide adequate security. An Atlanta premises liability attorney will need to establish that the owners or managers of the apartment complex were aware of criminal activity on the premise in the surrounding area and, despite knowledge of this prior crime, failed to take adequate measures to protect those on its premise.

A woman who was raped at an Atlanta-area apartment complex was awarded over $8 million dollars by a DeKalb County jury. From an Atlanta premises liability attorney's perspective, this was an excellent verdict for the victim. Hotel and apartment rapes and shootings continue to occur at too regular a frequency in Atlanta and surrounding counties such as DeKalb, Fulton, and Cobb, and the victims of these crimes deserve to be rewarded for the failure of the premises owner to secure his or her property.

The victim in this case was raped when her assailant entered through a window in the apartment. Lawyers for the apartment complex argued that the victim had created the circumstances that allowed her to be raped by giving extra apartment keys to friends and family. The victim's lawyers defeated these defenses, asserting that the lack of security in the apartment complex is what ultimately precipitated the rape. We are proud of our colleagues for obtaining justice for the victim, and we continue efforts at our firm to achieve justice for victims of similar crimes.

Under Georgia law, an apartment owner has a duty to keep the apartment complex safe. Where an apartment owner has reason to anticipate criminal activity on its property through prior crime at the apartment or in the surrounding area, the apartment owner must take reasonable steps to provide adequate security. If the apartment owner fails to undertake these steps, he or she is liable for any injuries that occur to its invitees as a consequence.