Partner
Mark J. Miller
Mark's career includes prosecution and insurance defense. His biography explains the experience he brings to disputed accounts and insurance issues.
A civil review of the property's choices, not a promise that crime was preventable
Miami Negligent Security Lawyer
Miller & Jacobs reviews potential Miami negligent-security claims after an assault or other criminal attack on property. The inquiry is whether a legally responsible party failed to take reasonable precautions and that failure contributed to the injury. We examine the specific warning, access problem, or response at issue rather than assume every crime creates a case against the property.
Free consultation. The written contingency agreement explains attorney fees and costs. No attorney fee unless compensation is recovered.
$300M+
Reported Recoveries for Injured Clients
50+ Years
Combined Legal Experience
230+
Combined Jury Trials Across Their Careers
Former Prosecutors
Experienced Trial Attorneys
Your immediate safety comes first
A complaint to management is not the same as resolving your injury rights.
Seek emergency help when there is an immediate threat and obtain appropriate care. Later, keep management's messages, incident information, and any proposed payment or release. A service refund and a civil injury settlement can have different purposes and terms.
Your relationship to the property
A lease, booking, ticket, receipt, or parking record can help identify why you were there and which business was involved. The name displayed at the entrance may differ from the owner, operator, or security contractor.
The particular concern
Describe a failed lock, reported threat, lighting issue, or response you personally observed. Do not investigate an attacker or return to an unsafe place for evidence. We can assess the legal significance of available facts without requiring you to name a cause of action.
A requested agreement
Bring every page of a proposed statement or release. A manager's offer may carry conditions beyond the expense discussed. We can explain what it would resolve before you decide whether to accept it.
The effect after the incident
Returning to the same entrance can feel different after an attack.
Tell treating professionals about the effects on sleep, movement, work, and daily activities. Keep specific observations and care records. The legal review should address supported harm without demanding that you repeatedly recount the event in unnecessary detail.
A free consultation
Ask whether the property's conduct needs a separate review.
Start with the date, precise place, available incident references, and the concern you reported or observed. A free consultation can identify the next evidence questions while care and safety remain priorities.
Our South Florida office is at 1600 S Federal Highway, Suite 1101, Pompano Beach, FL 33062. Call 954-465-8733 before visiting.
View Pompano Beach office directionsA property-specific inquiry
Connect the alleged failure to the danger that caused the injury.
A security measure must be evaluated in context. The question is not whether more equipment can be imagined afterward, but what duty applied, what risk was reasonably foreseeable, and whether a failure contributed to the harm. Applicable statutory defenses also require review.
01
Who could act on the problem
Ownership, leases, management duties, and security agreements may identify different responsibilities. Actual control and conduct matter alongside the paperwork. The company with the most visible name is not automatically the correct defendant.
02
What was known before the event
Prior relevant incidents, complaints, reported threats, or access-maintenance records may help establish notice. General Miami crime data cannot substitute for evidence about the specific property and danger.
03
Whether the proposed precaution mattered
We examine how the asserted problem relates to the attack. A broken access control, delayed response, or other omission must have a supported causal role; identifying an imperfect condition is not enough by itself.
The Miami personal injury overview explains how responsibility, evidence, and documented loss fit together across claims.
Two records of one event
A police investigation and a property investigation may preserve different material.
A Miami apartment building, hotel, garage, or business may hold access records, camera footage, complaints, or staff reports. The responding law-enforcement agency may hold a separate incident file. Obtaining one does not mean the other has been preserved or reviewed.
The correct official file
Keep the responding agency and incident number rather than assume all Miami-area records come from one department. Access can depend on investigation status and applicable rules. Use the actual reference to identify the event.
The exact area within the address
A lobby, garage level, stairwell, and adjoining sidewalk may involve different access arrangements and control. Identify the location precisely from information you already have; do not return to an unsafe area to document it.
Original messages and dates
Preserve communications about a reported concern, incident, or repair with their original dates. A screenshot may help, but keep the underlying message when possible. Ask how to share private records securely.
The harm that needs support
Document the effects without assuming an automatic value.
Physical injury, treatment, lost earnings, and other legally recoverable consequences need factual support. The type of attack alone does not establish a settlement amount. We evaluate those losses together with liability and available coverage.
Clinical care and support
Keep treatment, rehabilitation, and counseling records that relate to the injury. Future care needs require appropriate clinical evidence. A legal consultation does not replace a medical or mental-health assessment.
Work and practical assistance
Save work restrictions, missed-shift information, and records of necessary assistance. Explain what changed and when. A dated, specific account is more useful than a broad estimate unsupported by documents.
Changes that persist
Discuss ongoing symptoms with treating professionals and retain follow-up records. When the event involved a traumatic brain injury, cognitive and work changes may need a separate medical and evidentiary review.
Many negligence claims accruing after March 24, 2023 have a two-year lawsuit period under section 95.11. Claim type, dates, and exceptions matter. Check timing independently of an open criminal investigation.
Miller & Jacobs
Know the partners handling the civil review.
Partners Mark J. Miller and Rick S. Jacobs lead Miller & Jacobs. Their biographies describe their prosecution and litigation backgrounds. The firm serves Miami from its Pompano Beach office; the civil review remains separate from any prosecution and no outcome is promised.
Partner
Rick S. Jacobs
Rick served as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County before private practice. Read his biography for his professional background and trial experience.
Before your next decision
Miami negligent-security questions
Does the attacker have to be identified before a property review begins?
Not necessarily. Identifying the attacker can help, but the property's duty, conduct, and causal role still require their own evidence. A review can begin with the location and records available without guaranteeing a viable claim.
Does having guards or cameras automatically defeat a claim?
No single feature automatically answers every case. Its function, the relevant duty, response, and connection to the incident need review. Certain qualifying multifamily properties may have a statutory presumption when required measures are substantially implemented, which also must be assessed.
What if management says the attack was outside its boundary?
The precise location and control matter. A shared garage, driveway, sidewalk, or adjoining business may involve different duties. Preserve the location information you have rather than rely solely on either party's description.
Do qualifying apartment properties have a special statutory defense?
Section 768.0706 provides a presumption against liability for qualifying multifamily owners or principal operators that substantially implement specified measures. Whether the statute and its requirements apply is a factual and legal question, not something proved by one camera or lock.
Is the attacker's fault considered in the property case?
In covered premises cases, section 768.0701 requires consideration of all persons who contributed to the injury. The claim therefore needs a clear explanation of the property's own alleged conduct and causal role.
What can I provide without revisiting the scene?
Start with the address, precise area, date, agency reference, existing messages, and care information. You do not need to return somewhere unsafe to begin a consultation. We can explain which additional records may be relevant.
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