Miami Accident Lawyer Blog
Skill and experience mark a good law firm. But the best firms – the ones that take, and win, the cases that seem impossible – have something else, too: creativity and determination. With the insurance industry eliminating coverage for assault-and-battery incidents at commercial establishments, too many crime victims are finding that lawyers won’t take their case. It’s easy to understand why: Without insurance coverage, recovery may be non-existent. And for crime victims, this seems to further the injustice.
It’s a trend we don’t like – and we’re fighting back. We’re doing so by taking these cases. And through creativity and determination, we’re winning them. In numerous uninsured cases, we’ve recovered substantial damages from business and property owners – vindicating the rights of our clients and helping them obtain the recovery, and accountability, they deserve.
We’ve been successful because we’ve changed the game. By looking to the owner of the property – rather than the lessee or operator of the business on the premises – we’ve been able to establish their duty to our clients, and their failure to meet it. In some cases, we’ve shown that the owner knew, or should have known, that violence that began inside an establishment – such as a bar fight – would spill out into common areas, like a parking lot, and reasonable measures, including adequate security, should have been taken.
We’ve found that there’s often a history of violence, and owners have, wrongly, averted their eyes.We’ve also won cases by showing that property owners were negligent by failing to evict problem tenants – for example, a nightclub was well known for violence and drug dealing. By closing their eyes to what was going on – and what was bound to happen down the road – owners are liable for the harm our clients suffered. And juries have agreed.
These cases are just one way we’re using the civil courts to fight for the rights of crime victims. We’ve brought actions against sexual offenders, too. Most people are surprised to learn that many predators are affluent and well educated, often holding good jobs. This makes it easier for them to hide their criminal acts. But it also makes it easier for us to recover monetary damages for the harm they have caused.
Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2 on ‘impossible’ from the personal injury attorneys at Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. 305-371-6000. You may email us at info@gslawusa.com or visit us at: 1980 Coral Way Miami, Florida 33145