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.

A patron of a Norcross, Georgia Days Inn Hotel located on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard was attacked while in the parking lot of the hotel this past Saturday night. The 46-year-old victim was approached by two men who demanded that the victim give them his valuables. One man aimed a handgun at the victim, while the other man beat him. The two men subsequently took his money and other personal items before fleeing in a light-colored four door car. The hotel's video surveillance system apparently captured one of the suspects on tape.

Our law firm regularly represents victims of assaults while on the premises of hotels, and the victim in this case would appear to have a claim against Days Inn for failure to adequately secure the hotel's parking lot. Under Georgia law, a property owner's duty extends to protecting visitors from third-party criminal acts under certain circumstances. Doe v. Prudential-Bache/A.G. Spanos Realty Partners, L.P., 268 Ga. 604, 492 S.E.2d 865 (1997). Specifically, a property owner has a duty to exercise ordinary care to prevent foreseeable third-party criminal attacks. Sturbridge Partners v. Walker, 267 Ga. 785, 786 (1997). It would appear that Days Inn failed to carry out this duty in this circumstance, and the victim would be entitled to monetary damages as a result.

We have recovered millions of dollars for victims of crime in premises liability cases. It is imperative that the victim retain a lawyer to assist him to ensure that all evidence is preserved as video tape surveillance is often destroyed. We wish the victim of this unfortunate incident a speedy recovery, and offer our assistance if needed.

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.