Providence Negligent Security Lawyer

Injured in a Violent Attack at a Providence Property? Our Attorneys Can Help

A violent assault or other violent crime at an apartment building, hotel, nightclub, or parking garage can leave crime victims with severe injuries, lost wages, and questions about who was responsible for their safety.

A Providence negligent security lawyer can investigate whether an owner or business ignored known safety risks and failed to provide adequate security.

A successful negligent security claim requires more than proof that an attack occurred; the evidence must connect a property owner’s failure to take reasonable precautions with the harm suffered.

At Marasco & Nesselbush, our Providence negligent security attorneys investigate prior warnings, security failures, and the actions of property owners and staff to determine whether negligence contributed to an assault.

Marasco & Nesselbush: Representing Injured Rhode Islanders Since 1999

Our law firm has represented injured Rhode Islanders since 1999 and recovered more than $500 million across its practice areas.

Our attorneys bring more than 350 years of combined legal experience to personal injury claims.

From our office at 685 Westminster Street, Providence, we offer free consultations and English- and Spanish-language assistance.

Contact Marasco & Nesselbush if you or a loved one was injured during an assault that may have involved inadequate security.

We handle qualifying negligent security claims on a contingency fee basis, with no attorney fees unless compensation is recovered. Case expenses are addressed in the written agreement.

Why Negligent Security Victims in Providence Choose Marasco & Nesselbush

After a violent attack, the property owner and its insurer may deny that anyone had warned them about the danger or argue that no reasonable security measure could have prevented it.

We examine incident histories, security records, and witness accounts.

Our relevant experience includes:

• $275,000 nightclub assault recovery: We recovered $275,000 for a client who suffered a traumatic brain injury during an assault and fall at a nightclub.
• $6.6 million dram shop recovery: We recovered $6.6 million for a client who suffered serious orthopedic injuries caused by negligent alcohol service.
• Premises liability litigation: Our Providence premises liability lawyers investigate property conditions, disputed responsibility, and failures to address known hazards. We prepare negligence claims for settlement negotiations and trial when necessary.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome; liability, available insurance, injuries, and recoverable damages differ in every case.

How a Providence Negligent Security Lawyer Can Help

Surveillance footage may be overwritten, and witnesses can become harder to locate as time passes.

Our attorneys work to preserve this evidence while investigating which property owners, businesses, or security companies controlled the area where the attack occurred.

We can assist with:

• Investigating the attack: Obtaining prior police reports, incident records, witness accounts, available video, and information about earlier threats.
• Examining security measures: Reviewing broken or missing locks, damaged gates, lighting, surveillance systems, security staffing, and previous complaints about dangerous conditions.
• Identifying responsible parties: Examining leases, management agreements, and security contracts to establish who controlled the location and what duties applied.
• Documenting injuries and losses: Gathering medical records, proof of lost wages, and evidence of future treatment or lasting physical and psychological harm.
• Negotiating or litigating the claim: Challenging insurance disputes and preparing a civil lawsuit when necessary to pursue compensation.

What Security Failures May Support a Negligent Security Claim?

A property owner is not automatically liable whenever someone commits a crime on the premises.

A negligent security claim may arise when a property owner or other responsible party fails to provide adequate security against a foreseeable risk of violence and that failure contributes to an injury.

Security problems that may be relevant include:

• Poor lighting: Inadequate lighting near entrances, stairwells, or parking areas, particularly after warnings of a danger.
• Broken locks or gates: Missing or damaged access hardware that permits entry into restricted areas.
• Inadequate security personnel: Security guards may be absent where known dangers warrant coverage, or assigned personnel may fail to respond to threats.
• Nonfunctioning cameras: Broken systems or failures to respond to alerts when management relied on surveillance to detect threats.
• Ignored complaints: Reports of threats, break-ins, or repeated disturbances that management received without taking appropriate action.

Types of Properties Involved in Negligent Security Claims

Negligent security claims can involve commercial or residential properties. Responsibilities depend on the property, its known risks, and who controlled security.

Our attorneys investigate incidents involving:

• Apartment complexes: Assaults in shared hallways, entrances, stairwells, elevators, and parking areas where landlords or managers control access or maintenance.
• Bars and nightclubs: Attacks following confrontations between patrons, threats reported to employees, or failures to intervene when violence becomes foreseeable.
• Hotels: Assaults in lobbies, guest corridors, or parking areas where staff allegedly failed to provide proper security after warnings of violence.
• Parking garages and lots: Robberies or attacks near poorly secured entries, stairwells, and isolated parking levels.
• Stores, shopping centers, and gas stations: Violence in customer areas or parking lots where earlier incidents or immediate threats may have called for safety measures.

Common Injuries in Negligent Security Cases

Violent assaults can cause injuries that require emergency treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, or long-term care.

Injuries may include:

• Traumatic brain injuries: Concussions and more serious brain damage affecting memory, concentration, balance, or independence.
• Gunshot and stab wounds: Penetrating injuries that may damage organs, blood vessels, nerves, or the spinal cord.
• Facial and orthopedic fractures: Broken bones, dental injuries, and damage caused by punches, weapons, or forceful falls.
• Spinal and nerve injuries: Neck, back, and neurological damage that may limit mobility or require ongoing treatment.
• Psychological injuries: Anxiety, trauma-related symptoms, and other documented effects that interfere with work, relationships, or daily activities.

Our Providence brain injury lawyers can also evaluate claims involving lasting cognitive or neurological impairments after an attack.

Who May Be Responsible for an Attack Caused by Inadequate Security?

The person who committed the assault may face criminal and civil liability, but a separate negligence claim may arise against a party responsible for protecting people on the property.

Depending on the evidence, potentially responsible parties include:

• Businesses and operators: Hotels, nightclubs, restaurants, and stores that failed to respond reasonably to known threats or escalating confrontations.
• Residential landlords and property managers: Parties responsible for access, maintenance, or safety complaints involving shared areas they control.
• Commercial property owners: Owners who retained responsibility for security or maintenance in areas where the assault occurred.
• Security contractors: Security companies whose employees failed to perform assigned patrols or respond to threats, contributing to an injury.
• Event operators: Venues or organizers whose crowd management or response to known violent behavior may have fallen below reasonable care.

Owners, tenants, and security contractors may have different responsibilities.

In Konar v. PFL Life Insurance Company, a man was attacked outside a Newport shopping mall where separate companies handled property management and security. The Rhode Island Supreme Court rejected his claim against the owner under the negligence theory presented. When several companies are involved, determining which parties had responsibility for security is an important part of investigating the attack.

Bars, Nightclubs, and Negligent Service of Alcohol

An assault involving an intoxicated patron may support a separate claim against a licensed establishment if negligent alcohol service contributed to the injuries.

Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-14-6, a licensed seller may be liable for injuries caused by negligently serving alcohol to a minor or visibly intoxicated person.

Evidence of excessive drinking alone is not enough; the claim must address what the establishment knew or reasonably should have known when it served alcohol and how that service contributed to the harm.

Compensation Available After a Negligent Security Incident

The effects of an assault may extend beyond initial treatment when injuries interrupt employment or require ongoing care.

Potential damages in a negligent security lawsuit include:

• Medical expenses: Emergency services, hospitalization, diagnostic testing, surgery, prescriptions, and rehabilitation.
• Future treatment: Additional operations, specialist visits, physical therapy, psychological treatment, and other medically supported care needs.
• Lost wages and earning capacity: Income missed during recovery and reduced future earnings caused by permanent injuries.
• Pain and suffering: Physical pain, limitations on daily activities, and other nonfinancial effects of the injury.
• Emotional distress: Qualifying anxiety, trauma-related symptoms, sleep disturbance, and psychological harm caused by the assault.
• Wrongful death damages: Qualifying financial and family losses when a fatal attack supports a wrongful death action, generally brought by the deceased person’s executor or administrator.

When an attack is fatal, our Providence wrongful death attorneys can evaluate the available claims under the state’s separate wrongful death rules.

Punitive damages are limited to exceptional cases involving sufficiently egregious misconduct.

Rhode Island Laws Affecting Negligent Security Claims

Rhode Island premises liability law considers whether an owner or operator knew or should have known about a threat and failed to take reasonable precautions.

A claim must establish a duty, a breach, and a connection to the injuries.

When Does a Property Owner Have to Protect Visitors From Violence?

An important 2018 case involving the Omni Providence Hotel arose after a condominium resident was assaulted by a group of people in the hotel’s lobby.

Before the attack, employees had encountered the group, observed aggressive behavior, and received requests for help. Those warnings could have allowed staff to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm.

The hotel argued that it was not legally responsible for the attackers’ actions, but a federal appeals court concluded there was enough evidence about the warnings and staff response for the resident’s negligence case to continue.

The ruling allowed the resident’s negligence lawsuit to continue because there was sufficient evidence of a foreseeable danger and the hotel’s response. It did not establish that Omni was ultimately responsible for the assault.

Are Landlords Responsible for Every Criminal Attack?

No. In Thanadabouth v. Kongmany (1998), a tenant was seriously injured during an armed robbery outside a Providence home and alleged that the landlords should have provided stronger outdoor lighting.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court rejected the claim under those circumstances, noting the absence of earlier crimes at the property or other special circumstances requiring the proposed security precautions.

Neighborhood crime rates alone do not establish landlord liability. Known threats, broken entrances, and control over the area may matter when deciding whether an owner should provide reasonable security measures.

Rhode Island Rules on Landlord Maintenance and Insurance

Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-22, residential landlords must maintain common areas in a clean and safe condition and comply with applicable health and safety codes.

The statute requires at least $100,000 in general liability insurance for injuries caused by landlord negligence and disclosure of coverage to tenants at lease signing and renewal.

The insurance requirement does not make a landlord responsible for every assault. Evidence must still show that the landlord failed to take reasonable steps to keep the property safe and that the failure contributed to the injury.

Comparative Negligence

Rhode Island follows pure comparative negligence under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-20-4.

An insurer may argue that an injured person ignored a warning or entered an area where access was restricted, but sharing responsibility does not automatically eliminate recovery.

For example, a $100,000 award would be reduced to $80,000 if the injured person were found 20% at fault.

Filing Deadlines

Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-14(b), most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within three years after the claim accrues, ordinarily the date of the assault.

Wrongful death claims generally have a separate three-year period measured from death, subject to applicable statutory provisions; injuries involving minors or certain public entities may involve other rules.

An insurance claim or police investigation ordinarily does not stop the civil filing deadline.

Common Defenses in Negligent Security Cases

Property owners and insurers may acknowledge an assault while disputing whether anyone could have anticipated the violence or prevented it.

Common defenses include:

• The attack was unforeseeable: The property had no history of similar incidents or warning of a specific threat.
• Another party controlled security: The owner points to a tenant, manager, or outside contractor responsible for the area.
• The attacker acted independently: The defense argues that proper security measures would not have prevented the assault.
• The injured person shared fault: The defense claims the person ignored a warning or entered a restricted location.

Incident records, video, and witness accounts may help evaluate those defenses.

Steps to Take After an Attack at a Property With Inadequate Security

Medical care and immediate safety should come before collecting evidence.

After an attack, consider these steps:

1. Get to safety: Move away from the attacker and contact 911 when police or emergency medical assistance is needed.
2. Seek medical attention immediately: Obtain evaluation for head injuries, penetrating wounds, fractures, or symptoms that appear after the assault.
3. Report the incident: Explain where and how the incident occurred to police, and notify the business, landlord, or property manager in writing when safe.
4. Document conditions: If possible, photograph lighting, entrances, locks, cameras, and the area where the attack occurred.
5. Preserve witness information: Obtain contact details for employees or bystanders who saw the attack or preceding threats.
6. Keep records: Retain medical bills, wage documents, photographs of injuries, and communications about the incident.
7. Consult an attorney: A lawyer can seek preservation of surveillance and security records, investigate possible defendants, and identify filing deadlines.

Evidence That Can Support a Negligent Security Claim

An injured person may need evidence not only of the assault, but also of warnings received by the property and actions that could have reduced the danger.

Relevant evidence may include:

• Police reports and earlier calls for service: Records of threats, assaults, or disturbances that may establish prior warnings.
• Incident reports and written complaints: Safety complaints documenting what management or security personnel knew before the attack.
• Surveillance footage: Video showing the incident, events leading up to it, and how employees or guards responded.
• Security and access records: Patrol schedules, entrance logs, incident-response policies, and maintenance records for locks, gates, or cameras.
• Lease and service agreements: Contracts identifying who controlled the premises and who was responsible for security.
• Witness statements: Accounts from guests, tenants, customers, employees, and others who observed threats or the attack.
• Medical and financial records: Evidence of the injuries, treatment, lost earnings, and future care requirements.

An attorney may need to seek property-held records before they are lost.

Marasco & Nesselbush: Talk to a Providence Negligent Security Lawyer

An assault at a business or residential property can leave an injured person facing continuing medical needs while important security records remain under someone else’s control.

At Marasco & Nesselbush, we investigate earlier incidents, identify who controlled the property, and assess whether available precautions could have reduced the harm.

We handle communications with insurance companies, negotiate settlements, and prepare cases for trial when the responsible parties dispute liability or the extent of the injuries.

Contact Marasco & Nesselbush for a free consultation about an assault involving possible security negligence in Providence or elsewhere in Rhode Island, or use the chat feature on this page.

We handle qualifying claims on a contingency fee basis, with no attorney fees unless we recover compensation. Litigation expenses and other terms are explained in the written fee agreement.