Miami’s Trusted Crime Victim Attorneys
PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS SINCE 1983
If you have been the victim of a crime, the injury attorneys at Bernstein & Maryanoff Injury Attorneys have the knowledge and experience necessary to get the maximum compensation for your injuries.
reviewed for Accuracy
The content on this page has been produced and reviewed in accordance with our editorial guidelines. This content has been reviewed and approved by founding Personal Injury Attorney Jack G. Bernstein who has over 40 years of legal practice experience.
Injury from a Violent Crime or Criminal Attack
Miami business owners have a duty to provide reasonable security to prevent criminal attacks on their customers. If you or a family member has been injured as a result of a shooting, sexual assault, or any criminal attack on a Miami business property (hotels, shopping centers, gas stations, apartment complexes, etc) you may be entitled to recover money damages from the business that owned the property or that owned the business where the attack occurred. Jack Bernstein has been a Miami personal injury lawyer for 36 years handling Miami personal injury cases. The experienced personal injury lawyers at his office handle Miami criminal attack cases for crime victims and file lawsuits in the Miami Circuit Court against negligent businesses.
Property owners and businesses (there may be several companies with separate responsibilities with a duty to provide you safety) have a legal responsibility to be aware of prior crime on their property and on surrounding neighborhood properties. They have a duty to be aware of criminal activity occurring on their property that can lead to criminal attacks on their visitors. If there are prior robberies, burglaries, armed hold-ups, purse snatchings, sexual assaults, criminal loitering, and shootings on their property, they must provide security measures to protect against these crimes since they often lead to criminal attacks on their customers. The security measures required depend on the physical makeup of the property, the type of business, and the level of crime previously on the property and in the Miami, North Miami, Homestead, or whichever neighborhood the criminal attack occurred in.
Miami’s Trusted Crime Injury Attorneys
Shooting Victims
I worked on many cases where customers were shot on business premises and money was recovered for the shooting victim. I worked on a case against a hotel where a customer was shot in the parking lot, and the hotel failed to have a security guard posted to help prevent this type of random criminal attack calculated towards robbery of visitors to hotels. In another case against a hotel company, my client was shot in a room when the armed robbers barged in as he was entering. A review of the prior crime on the property revealed significant prior crimes. The hotel failed to have sufficient security to prevent this attack
In another shooting case we handled, a gas station failed to provide security such as video cameras, warning notices, or security guards, where prior criminal activity was extensive. The gas station was further aware of loitering on the property and failed to take steps to remove the person waiting to rob customers resulting in our client getting shot. There are many different stories involved in criminal attack cases. The experienced Miami personal injury lawyers working with Jack Bernstein analyze the criminal data for the property where a criminal shooting, sexual assault or murder occurred anywhere in Miami to “protect your rights.”
Victims of Crime by Fellow Employees
Employers are responsible for criminal acts of their employees in the course and scope of their employment. Careful legal analysis by an experienced Miami Personal Injury attorney is needed to determine if a criminal attack occurred in the course and scope of the employment which would allow a personal injury case to proceed in the Miami Circuit Court. The insurance company for the business will always argue that the criminal act was outside the employment job duties and therefore they are not responsible to the Miami personal injury crime victim. There is a fine line here. It requires an experienced personal injury attorney such as Jack Bernstein and the experienced personal injury lawyers at his firm to determine the laws apply to the facts of your case. If the criminal attack arose out of something that initially was in furtherance of the business interests, it is probably within the scope of employment and you are entitled to money damages. This Florida law as applied to Miami Personal Injury Cases is best understood by examples. I will give examples from additional personal injury cases I have worked on. If an argument arose out of the use of a credit card with a cashier, as occurred in a case I settled, the employer was responsible for the assault causing personal injury to the customer by the cashier.
In another case, a security guard was allowed to take his gun home each night. The company was aware he had a violent past, and a history of drug use, and allowed him to keep his gun with that knowledge. We recovered money damages for the shooting victim girlfriend who was shot by her boyfriend in a rage with the employer’s gun. An experienced Miami Personal Injury lawyer will know the importance of checking the prior arrest records and prior employment records of the employee.
I worked on another case where a maintenance man employee sexually assaulted a tenant when he was called to make repairs in her apartment.
Victims of Bank Robbery
Because it is common knowledge that people go to banks with cash to deposit or withdraw, criminals will often attempt to rob them on the bank premises. Banks have a duty to provide reasonable security based on prior knowledge of criminal activity on their property and in the neighborhood. I worked on a case where a bank failed to have two security guards on duty, after the security company recommended two guards. My client was stabbed to death in the parking lot by a criminal who stole his money. Through my experience as a Miami Personal Injury attorney for over 27 years, I knew to get records from the security company to determine the security requirements for the bank.
Hotel Security and Crime Victims
An experienced Miami Personal Injury lawyer will be aware in particular that hotels have a very high responsibility to provide reasonable security measures to protect their guests from criminal attack, especially in Miami where crime is very high in certain areas. The personal injury laws in Miami require proper locking devices that are in working order. If criminal activity has occurred previously additional security measures can be required. I worked on a case where a woman was sexually assaulted when a criminal entered her room where the locks were not up to code. Miami personal injury law requires that hotel locks comply with the safety code. In another personal injury case I handled, the hotel gave out keys that were capable of being copied, allowing a planned robbery of the hotel guests.
Common Law Duty of Businesses to Customers Safety
Businesses make money when they rent hotel rooms, sell gas, or sell items from their stores. They need to be aware of the crime occurring in the area and to take security steps to help prevent further criminal attacks. To hold a business responsible for a criminal attack in Miami, the law requires that the criminal attack have been preventable by taking reasonable steps such as adding video cameras; posting signs that there are video cameras; posting security guards; installing fences; and adding other measures to deter criminal acts on you. The duty includes investigating the background of persons they employ to determine if they have criminal pasts where violence on people might be likely.
A husband or wife (and in some cases where the injuries to a child are catastrophic or where death is involved parents and brother or sisters) of a Miami personal injury shooting victim or other criminal attack victim can recover money for loss of the care, services and consortium caused by the physical injuries to the husband or wife. This can be a large claim if the personal injury was severe or if someone died. Our Miami Personal Injury Lawyers will recover for all of the money damages the law entitles you to, resulting from a criminal attack due to a business being careless about your safety.
