Getting Compensation for Your Injuries When You’ve Been Attacked

Most people will never experience the horror of being attacked, so it’s hard for them to imagine the impact it can have on their lives. In addition to the physical injuries, the emotional and mental trauma can become unbearable. Fear can haunt you day and night, making it impossible to maintain your routine or even sleep in peace.

When your life has been ripped apart by a violent attack, there is no easy way to restore the physical and mental health that has been taken away from you. Courts and lawyers cannot reset the clock and return you to the life you enjoyed before. But a personal injury attorney can help you obtain compensation to provide for your needs, and justice that can help you find closure and move forward to better days in the future.

Who Can Be Held Responsible?

If you were attacked by a person or a group of people, it makes sense that the person who attacked you should be held accountable in some way. But that is often not possible. Your attacker may never be located, or they may not have the resources to provide compensation. If you were attacked by a dog or other animal, the dog is not going to have insurance to cover your losses.

But the dog’s owner probably does have insurance. And the owner of the property where you were attacked should also have insurance. When an attack occurs because a property owner did not take adequate steps to provide for your safety, that owner can be held liable for harm that occurs due to their negligent security. Similarly, if an animal attack occurs because an animal was not properly restrained, the animal’s owner can be held liable. When you are able to locate your attacker, an attorney may be able to obtain judgment and accountability from the attacker as well. Seeking legal relief is one of the most crucial steps you can take to promote physical and emotional healing.

Property Owners

Owning property in the state of Georgia comes with certain responsibilities. Those responsibilities increase when you use that property to make money. If you are renting property to others, whether on a short-term basis, such as a hotel, or on a longer-term basis, like an apartment, you have an obligation to keep the premises reasonably safe for the people renting and their guests. 

You have a similar responsibility if you’re using your property to operate a business such as a store, gas station, storage facility, or any other operation that makes a profit. 

Safety Obligations

The people who come onto your property as customers or who serve as employees or enter the property to deliver supplies are all providing you with a benefit. In turn, you, as the property owner, are required to take certain steps to secure their safety. You have an obligation to periodically inspect the premises (or hire an employee to do so) to look out for any features that could cause a problem. 

For instance, if you see loose treads on the stairs, that indicates that someone could slip, fall, and get hurt. You have an obligation to identify problems like that, and then, as soon as possible, either fix the problem or take steps to warn people about the danger and protect them from harm. In the case of loose stair treads, you might be obligated to put up a sign and rope off the stairs until you get them repaired.

Risk of Foreseeable Harm for Negligent Security

What do loose stairs have to do with an attack? They are both risks that a property owner should be aware of. When property is located in an area where similar attacks have been reported to the police, the property owner should foresee that people on the property could be injured by such attacks. The owner has an obligation to put measures in place to protect people on the property from the type of attacks that have occurred nearby. 

The level of security required depends on the circumstances. If there have been numerous attacks on or immediately adjacent to the premises, the owner may need to consider hiring security guards. If attacks in the area are not as frequent, the owner may not be obligated to do much more than ensure that the area is brightly lit.

If a landlord is renting property to others, that property needs appropriate security, such as doors and windows that lock properly. When property owners are aware that people on the premises could be at risk of attack and fail to take sufficient measures to protect them, a premises liability attorney may hold the property owner liable for negligent security and require them to pay compensation for the physical and emotional pain that results.

Dog Bites and Other Animal Attacks

Georgia laws hold the owner or keeper of a vicious or dangerous animal liable when they haven’t taken proper steps to control the animal, and that animal causes injuries. While people often refer to dog bite laws and think of attacks involving dangerous dogs, the law can also apply to attacks involving other animals. However, there are exceptions for injuries caused by domesticated livestock and chickens.

It is not always necessary to show that an animal has previously harmed someone for it to be considered vicious or dangerous. If a state or local law requires the animal to be on a leash or under similar tight disciplinary control and the animal was not controlled in this way, then there is a presumption that the animal is dangerous or vicious.

Michael M. Day Law Firm Holds Owners Responsible When They Fail to Protect You from an Attack

Property owners and animal owners are not always legally liable for attacks that occur on their property. For instance, if someone pokes a dog with a stick and provokes the dog, the owner may not be held liable if the dog snaps back. Or if someone is assaulted on the sidewalk in front of a store at night while the store is closed, it may not be likely that the property owner would be expected to provide extra security measures during non-operating hours. 

However, details of the circumstances can significantly impact the obligations of owners. In the example above, if the store had an ATM on the front that attracted customers at night, then the owner might be required to have extra lighting and security cameras. The bottom line is that it often takes an intense analysis of the facts to understand liability when someone has been injured in an attack. If you or a loved one were hurt in this type of situation, it is a good idea to talk to an attorney at Michael M. Day Law Firm to find out about your options for recovery. For a free consultation, call us at 404-480-4284 or contact us online now.