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.
When a place you trusted becomes part of the injury
Fort Lauderdale Negligent Security Lawyer
An assault at a hotel, apartment, parking garage, or business may raise a civil claim if a preventable security failure helped it happen. Miller & Jacobs helps people injured in Fort Lauderdale examine the property's responsibility while they focus on treatment and getting through the day.
You can contact our South Florida team even if your visit has ended. No attorney fee unless compensation is recovered for you.
$150M+
Reported Recoveries for Injured Clients
50+ Years
Combined Legal Experience
230+
Combined Jury Trials Across Their Careers
Former Prosecutors
Experienced Trial Attorneys
After the immediate emergency
A hotel refund does not answer an injury claim.
A room credit, apology, or internal report may address a service problem without addressing the harm you suffered. We can review what management is offering and whether a release would affect a separate claim.
Keep what places you on the property
Save the booking, room number, parking receipt, and messages with staff. At a bar or event venue, keep tickets and purchase records. The business name on a receipt may differ from the company that operated the premises.
Describe the failure, even if you cannot name it
A door that did not latch, a dark stairwell, an ignored threat, or a guard's response gives us a place to begin. A crime occurring there does not automatically prove that the property was negligent.
Bring the document before signing
If an insurer or manager requests a statement or offers payment, keep the full document and any attached conditions. We can explain what it covers before you decide. The first consultation is free.
Life after the injury
The room is quiet again. Feeling safe may take longer.
A visitor may leave the hotel while a resident still has to walk through the same entrance. Tell us about sleep, work, treatment, and the places you now avoid. Those changes deserve attention alongside the incident itself.
A free consultation
You can ask what the property should have done.
Tell us where you were, what staff knew, and what happened next. You do not need to complete the investigation before contacting us.
The civil case
We connect the warning, the response, and the injury.
Reasonable precautions depend on the setting and the danger that could be anticipated. We look for facts connecting a specific security lapse to the attack, rather than treating every crime as a premises claim.
01
The person or business with control
Hotel management, a property owner, a tenant business, and a security contractor may have different duties. Agreements and actual day-to-day control help explain who could correct the problem.
02
The information available before the attack
Prior incidents, maintenance requests, complaints, or a threat reported to staff may matter. Nearby crime statistics alone do not explain what happened inside this particular property.
03
The precaution that might have changed the event
Working access controls, a response to a known threat, lighting, or appropriate staffing may be relevant. We assess whether the proposed precaution would have addressed the danger you faced.
Our Fort Lauderdale personal injury guide explains how we approach responsibility and documented losses across different injury claims.
Fort Lauderdale residents and visitors
Keep the property record separate from the police record.
A beachfront hotel, Las Olas business, or downtown garage may maintain its own cameras and incident files. The responding police agency maintains a different set of records. Having one does not mean you have the other.
Identify the responding agency
Use the agency name and incident number on your paperwork. If Fort Lauderdale Police responded, its Police Records page provides the request process. BSO and neighboring city agencies hold their own records.
Locate the scene within the premises
Keep the floor, entrance, garage level, or walkway location, not just the street address. Camera coverage and who controlled access can change from one part of a property to another.
Share records after returning home
Keep original photographs and messages with their dates. Tell us where treatment continued after your trip. We can begin by phone from our Pompano Beach office and discuss any later travel the case may require.
The harm beyond the scene
What has the attack changed in your life?
A supported claim may include physical injuries and their financial and personal effects. We gather the records needed to explain those effects without assigning a settlement value from the kind of attack alone.
Treatment and support
Keep hospital, follow-up, rehabilitation, and counseling records. Future care needs should be supported by appropriate medical evidence.
Income and obligations
Save missed-shift records and work restrictions. If family members are helping with daily tasks, make a dated note of what help you need.
Lasting disruption
Explain changes in sleep, movement, confidence, and ordinary activities. If a head injury is part of the harm, our brain injury page addresses a separate set of care questions.
Florida generally gives negligence suits two years under section 95.11. Have the applicable deadline checked early.
Miller & Jacobs
Talk with the partners behind Miller & Jacobs.
Mark J. Miller and Rick S. Jacobs are Partners and former Assistant State Attorneys. Their backgrounds are relevant when a civil injury claim and a criminal investigation arise from the same event. The two processes serve different purposes.
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.
Our South Florida office is at 1600 S Federal Highway, Suite 1101, Pompano Beach, FL 33062. Call 954-465-8733 before visiting.
Before your next decision
Questions after an attack away from home
Can I pursue the hotel even if the attacker was never identified?
Possibly. The civil claim focuses on whether the property breached a duty and contributed to your injury. Identifying the attacker may help, but the property records and the facts of the attack also matter.
Does the presence of a security guard defeat the claim?
No automatic conclusion follows from having a guard. We examine the assignment, training, information given to the guard, and response to the event. We also assess whether a different response could have prevented the harm.
The hotel says the attack happened just outside its property. What then?
The precise boundary and control of the location matter. A driveway, shared garage, sidewalk, or adjoining business may involve different parties and duties. Keep photographs and the exact place rather than relying only on management's description.
Will the criminal case pay my treatment bills?
A criminal prosecution does not resolve every civil insurance or compensation question. We can explain the separate injury claim and how the criminal investigation may affect access to records.
Can the property blame the attacker for everything?
Florida's criminal-act premises law requires consideration of everyone's contributing fault in covered cases. That makes a careful explanation of the property's own conduct important.
What should I have ready for a free consultation?
Start with the address, date, police incident number if available, injuries, and any request to sign something. You can send additional records later. No attorney fee is owed unless compensation is recovered for you.
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