When death or injury occur and could have been prevented by adequate security measures, it can constitute negligent security and entitle you to compensation from those responsible.

Negligent security involves a business owner's failure to provide ordinary and reasonable security measures for customers. Negligent security can occur at retail stores, apartments and residential housing, hotels, restaurants, schools, and any other type of location that invites the general public onto its property. The general rule holds that a business owner cannot be held liable for crimes occurring on his property. However, if there has been a pattern of crime, if the business is one that is susceptible to danger, or if it is located in a dangerous neighborhood, the owner may have a duty to install proper security measures. Violators of this duty can be held accountable and made to compensate innocent victims.

Negligent security takes many forms, from poor lighting to broken locks. Any lapse in security can leave innocent people in serious danger. Criminals look for opportunities to strike and poorly secured areas present just that chance.

Negligent security can also include unprotected swimming pools, lack of adequate fencing or perimeters, and ignored reports of violence. Whatever the cause, you should not have to bear the financial burden of any harm you experience due to another person's negligence. A skilled personal injury attorney can advise you on how to hold business owners accountable for their safety and security failures.

Businesses and landowners are responsible for maintaining safe environments for their visitors, including employees and residents. For example, parking lots should have adequate lighting to allow consumers to get to their vehicles safely. Bars and restaurants where late-night parties occur should have security cameras or security personnel to monitor and protect patrons. Furthermore, landlords or business owners should repair locks within reasonable time periods. Lastly, schools should heed reports of violence and take action to prevent harm. When proprietors fail in fulfilling their responsibilities and someone else is harmed, the business owner should be held financially accountable.

If the loss of a loved one may have been caused by conditions of inadequate security, your experienced wrongful death attorney can help you obtain compensation for your losses of family income and companionship and for the harm that your loved one experienced. If poor security measures may have led to serious injuries, your qualified personal injury lawyer can seek payment from those responsible to compensate you for your medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.

My niece is an adorable little girl. I love her so much. She has a little personality and I remember the day she was born. I always remark that she is growing up far too fast. I live pretty far away from her so when I come home to visit, we have a little "girl time" and do all sorts of fun things. We start with cooking. We bake cakes or cookies and decorate them as we talk about school. Then we move on to shopping. Inevitably we wind up at the mall and before we can leave, we go to Build-A-Bear Workshop. My niece and I spend hours there. She picks the bear, the clothes, and the accessories. As we go through the process she names the bear and gives it a personality. She and I create a new memory but when we get home she falls in love with her new friend.

In December 2011 my heart stopped as I read the article about Build-A-Bear recalling its Colorful Hearts Teddy Bear due to a choking hazard. I felt a slight sense of relief reading that there were no reported injuries. The article indicated that there is a danger that the eyes can loosen and fall out, posing a possible choking hazard to children. My niece is far from a toddler, but my heart stopped and I panicked. There are several toddlers and infants that are around my niece very frequently. I scoured the internet until I confirmed what teddy bear was the subject of the recall. After I was sure what I was looking for, I looked through pictures of my niece with her various new BFFs (that is what she calls the completed bears). I relaxed a little when I confirmed that she did not have one of the bears that were subject to recall.

The article said that if your child did have a bear you could bring it back and get a coupon for any in stock teddy bear. I am so glad I did not have to take a cherished toy away from my niece and attempt to replace it. I am mortified to think of the crying and screaming that would have accompanied that conversation. I can also imagine the cost to stop the tears from falling. I also know that as I breathe this sigh of relief, many parents and guardians have to have this difficult conversation.

As adults we trust certain companies and brands, and we share those brands with the children we love and care for. When those companies make mistakes it is a very scary experience. If you or a loved one has been injured by one of these companies, the first thing that needs to happen is to make sure the child is safe. Once you have done that, please contact an attorney that can explain your rights.

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Wheels squeal in disagreement as the brakes are applied suddenly, too late to prevent the crunch of metal on metal. A young man goes head over handlebars as a distracted driver fails to see a bicyclist and turns right at a controlled intersection. Incidents like these do not always lend themselves to documenting how the incident occurred and what the conditions were like at the time, yet these factors can make or break a personal injury case, impacting both liability and the quantum of damages.

In a motor vehicle accident case where a known injury occurs, it is very likely the Virginia State Police or local sheriff's office will conduct an investigation and create a report. The report is typically three to four pages long, longer if there are more than two parties involved, and includes bubble options for the conditions and circumstances of the incident. The bubbles correspond to different codes on the bottom key of each page, allowing for a quick decipher of the facts law enforcement needs to know: driver distractions, drugs or alcohol, driver error, conditions of the roadway, and many more. What it does not do is create a vivid picture of the accident scene for a fact-finder or claims adjuster to decipher. The final page of the report has a brief diagram, often stick figure cars and arrows representing the intended direction of travel, point of impact, and final resting spot of each vehicle. Again, not very descriptive.

Thus, it is important for the injured party to assist his own interests and document to the best of his abilities. This is not always possible, as the seriously injured will need immediate medical attention and should be more concerned with their own well-being than a potential claim. However, I encourage an injured person to communicate to a family member or friend as soon as possible after an injury and to send them to the scene to take pictures.

If the documentation cannot be done as soon as possible, every effort should be made to recreate the conditions at the time of the incident. That first heavy rain after a dry week, twilight where it's not quite dark enough for headlights to be helpful, that special darkness when there is no moon...all of these things are vivid and descriptive, and none will ever appear on a police report. I encourage all drivers to keep that blast from the past, a disposable camera, in their vehicles for just such an occasion. If the vehicle is going to be towed from the scene, contacting the towing company operator and requesting their assistance via pictures or a brief statement can be an invaluable resource as well.

For the slip and fall, trip and fall, and dangerous premises cases, documentation is not just helpful, it is practically required as a matter of law. In Virginia, the burden of proof is on the injured party, the plaintiff, to prove notice in premises liability cases. Notice can be established a number of ways, but businesses, building operators, and construction companies are also aware that the law favors them and thus they are less inclined to create reports when an injury occurs. Recent cases in both Virginia state courts and local United States District Courts applying Virginia law have consistently held that the plaintiff cannot survive a motion for summary judgment unless notice is properly plead and proven in their prima facie case.

Early recognition and documentation is the key to proving notice. Demanding that the party responsible for the premises creates an incident report, taking pictures, and getting contact information for reliable witness who saw the incident are all invaluable in assisting a Virginia personal injury attorney in proving notice. While a Virginia car accident attorney is trained to find evidence, dig through the information, and introduce it to the fact-finder, the injured person can greatly assist the attorney in documenting the scene. And that cooperative partnership at the very onset of the case will lead to a successful attorney-client relationship and, likely, a more positive outcome.