Negligent security settlements should fairly compensate victims for losses sustained due to a property owner’s inadequate security measures. If you were assaulted or suffered injuries in any other incident or attack due to negligent security, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your physical, financial, and emotional losses. Bars, nightclubs, parking garages, and other businesses can be held liable for providing negligent security in Illinois; and, in many cases, filing a negligent security lawsuit leads to an out-of-court settlement.
How long does it take to obtain negligent security settlements? There are several factors that come into play; and, crucially, there are no guarantees. No matter what happened, to obtain a negligent security settlement, you will need to be proactive about protecting and asserting your legal rights—and this starts with hiring an experienced lawyer who can negotiate for a favorable settlement on your behalf.
With this in mind, here are seven factors that can affect the timeline of a negligent security settlement:
Any time you think you may have a lawsuit, it is important to hire a premises liability lawyer to investigate as soon as possible. This will allow your lawyer to collect and preserve as much evidence as possible. The more evidence you have, the easier it will be to prove your legal rights—and the greater chance you will have of efficiently securing a favorable negligent security settlement.
Negligent security settlements are unique in many respects, and this makes it extremely important to have an experienced lawyer on your side. While hiring an experienced negligent security lawyer does not guarantee that you will receive a settlement quickly, it is one of the most important steps you can take when it comes to protecting and asserting your legal rights.
In negligent security cases, evidence is the key to recovering just compensation. As a result, the evidence that is available will play a major role in determining whether you are able to efficiently obtain negligent security settlements. Again, this is one of the reasons why it is important to hire a lawyer as soon as possible.
Beyond collecting evidence from the location where you were injured, your lawyer may be able to collect evidence from other sources as well. This could include everything from security camera footage from a neighboring business to internal records showing that owners of the property where you were injured were aware of the security risk that led to your injuries.
The extent of your financial losses can impact the timeline of negligent security settlements as well. Generally speaking, the more you are entitled to recover, the more the property owner and its insurance company will fight to avoid paying the full amount they owe. But, while this can extend the timeline, this should not dissuade you from seeking the full compensation you deserve. Fighting will be worth it in the end, and you can rely on your lawyer to fight on your behalf while you focus on your physical and emotional recovery.
Along with financial losses, serious injuries can lead to significant non-financial losses as well. These include things like pain and suffering, emotional trauma, and loss of enjoyment of life. These losses can add significantly to the value of your claim—and, here too, the more you are entitled to recover, the longer it could take to secure a favorable settlement.
The property owner and insurance company involved in negligent security settlements play a role in determining the timeline as well. Simply put, some companies fight harder to avoid liability than others—and some are willing to use bad-faith tactics that others are not. This factor is completely beyond your control, and it is important to acknowledge that this is the case when seeking just compensation for your financial and non-financial losses.
Finally, sometimes, property owners and insurance companies will defend against negligent security claims by alleging comparative negligence. Basically, this means that they will accuse the victim of being partially responsible for his or her own injuries. Dealing with these types of allegations requires experienced legal representation as well, and this is yet another reason why it is important to promptly hire a lawyer to collect the evidence needed to prove who is really to blame.
Do you have questions about negligent security settlements in Illinois? If so, we encourage you to contact us right away. Our Chicago negligent security lawyers have substantial experience with the complex cases. We can help you pursue the maximum compensation to which you may be entitled under the law.
Contact Coplan + Crane today online or at 708-358-8080 to schedule a FREE case evaluation. We welcome clients from across Illinois, including Chicago, Oak Park, Rockford, and other areas. We handle these cases on a contingency basis, which means you don’t pay unless we win.
