Washington Negligent Security Attorney
When a person is assaulted, robbed, or shot in a parking garage, apartment complex, or nightclub, the question that decides the civil case is whether the property owner knew, or should have known, that violence was foreseeable and did too little about it. Injury Law Group NW represents victims and families who need a Washington negligent security attorney to answer that question with evidence, and we serve injured people across King County, the Eastside, Seattle, and the greater Puget Sound region.
A negligent security claim is not a case against the attacker. The attacker may be unknown, jailed, or without assets. The claim is against the business or landlord that controlled the premises and chose not to repair a broken gate, staff a door, light a stairwell, or respond to a pattern of prior incidents. Proving that choice requires records the owner would rather not produce: incident logs, 911 call histories, camera retention policies, guard contracts, and complaints from tenants or customers.
What Makes a Property Owner Responsible for a Criminal Act
Washington law generally does not make a landowner the insurer of every visitor’s safety, and it does not hold owners responsible for random, unforeseeable crime. The claim turns on foreseeability. If the owner had notice of prior assaults, break-ins, or threats on or near the property, or if the setting itself invited trouble, the duty to take reasonable protective steps becomes much harder for the owner to dispute. The relationship between the injured person and the property also matters, because a paying customer, a tenant, and a trespasser are not treated alike.
The defense usually argues that the crime was a sudden act no one could have prevented, and that the criminal, not the owner, caused the harm. Our job is to show the harm was the predictable result of known conditions: complaints that went unanswered, security staffing cut to save money, locks that sat broken for weeks, or cameras that were never monitored. Two of our attorneys spent decades on the other side of these disputes, so we know how an insurer’s lawyers build that defense and which documents tend to defeat it.
Why Choose Injury Law Group NW for a Negligent Security Claim
Injury Law Group NW is a personal injury firm that represents people hurt by someone else’s negligence throughout Washington, including King County and the Eastside. Our attorneys defended insurance companies for decades before representing injury victims, and that history shapes how we work. Troy Hunter, our Founding Partner, spent 16 years in insurance defense litigation, mostly as a partner at Floyd, Pflueger & Ringer. David D. Mordekhov spent two decades at Gardner Trabolsi & Mordekhov trying wrongful death, catastrophic injury, and product liability cases. Warren Barreiro and Hannah Shergold are associate attorneys on the team.
Both Troy and David are rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. David has been selected to the Super Lawyers list and teaches trial and deposition skills as faculty at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, and Troy also serves as a dispute mediator. Our attorneys have argued at every level of the Washington court system, from district court to the Washington Supreme Court, and the firm is a member of the Washington State Association for Justice. We prepare every claim as though it will go to trial, because property owners and their insurers tend to value a case more fairly when they know the lawyer across the table will try it.
Our results reflect that approach. We recovered a mid-six-figure settlement for a family of five whose minivan was forced into the I-5 center barrier by a semi-truck, a mid-six-figure settlement for an elderly woman struck by a transit bus in a downtown Seattle crosswalk, and more than $1 million for parents whose newborn died after a hospital failed to adequately test for Group B Strep, a case that also led the hospital to change its procedures. Those outcomes involved different facts, but each required proving that an entity with control over a dangerous situation did not act as it should have. Clients also tell us our case managers return calls and texts promptly. David is fluent in Russian and Warren speaks Spanish. We handle injury cases on a contingency fee basis, so you owe no attorney fee unless we recover money for you, and the first consultation is free and confidential. If injuries make travel hard, we will meet you at home or at the hospital.
Where Negligent Security Claims Arise in King County
- Apartment and Condominium Complexes: Broken entry gates, inoperable door locks, dark stairwells, and unlit parking areas are common allegations when tenants or guests are assaulted or robbed. Prior police calls to the address and unanswered tenant complaints are often the strongest evidence of notice.
- Parking Garages and Surface Lots: Structured parking near downtown Seattle, Bellevue, and mall and office developments across the Eastside can become sites of robbery, carjacking, and assault when lighting, cameras, and patrols are inadequate.
- Bars, Nightclubs, and Event Venues: Overserving, understaffed door and floor security, and failure to separate known aggressors from other patrons lead to serious beatings and shootings. The venue’s training records and staffing levels matter as much as what happened that night.
- Retail Stores and Shopping Centers: Stores that ignore repeated thefts, threats, or violent incidents in their lots and entrances may be responsible when customers or employees are later hurt. This overlaps with our retail liability work.
- Hotels and Motels: Weak key-card controls, unmonitored exterior corridors, and lax front desk practices can expose guests to attacks in rooms and walkways.
- Bus Stops, Transit Facilities, and Public Property: When a government entity controls the location, a separate claim process applies, with a formal claim that must be filed and a waiting period before suit.
- Hospitals, Care Facilities, and Schools: Institutions that fail to screen visitors, supervise patients, or respond to known threats can face liability when someone is attacked on their grounds.
- Workplaces and Job Sites: Employees injured by a third party, such as a customer or intruder, may have a claim against a property owner or security contractor in addition to any industrial insurance benefits.
What to Do After a Violent Incident on Someone Else’s Property
Get medical care first, and tell providers exactly what happened and where every injury is. Emergency departments, urgent care, and follow-up records become the foundation for damages, and gaps in treatment are routinely used against injured people. If the attack involved a head blow, ask specifically about concussion and brain injury evaluation, since symptoms can emerge days later and insurers dispute injuries that do not show up on a scan.
Report the incident to the police department with jurisdiction where it occurred and get the report number. Report it to the property owner or manager in writing as well, because that creates a dated record. Photograph the scene before anything is repaired: the lighting, the broken lock, the missing camera, the unstaffed entrance. Write down names of witnesses, security guards, and staff. Then send, or have a lawyer send, a preservation request promptly. Surveillance footage is frequently overwritten on a short cycle, and once it is gone the owner can claim nothing useful was captured.
Do not give a recorded statement to the property’s insurer, and avoid posting about the incident or your injuries online. Washington gives most injury claims a three-year filing window under RCW 4.16.080, and that clock applies to a wrongful death claim as well, running from the date of death. A claim against a city, county, school district, or other local government body requires a formal claim to be presented first, followed by a 60-day waiting period before a lawsuit can be filed; claims against the state follow a similar sixty-day rule through the state’s risk management office. The limitations period is paused during that waiting period, but the claim itself must still be presented on time. If the attacker’s act was intentional, claims directly against that person can carry a shorter two-year limit, which is one more reason not to wait.
Cases in this area are heard in King County Superior Court, which sits in Seattle and in Kent depending on where the matter arises, or in the federal court in Seattle when the parties and claims allow. Smaller claims can go to King County District Court, whose civil jurisdiction is capped at a dollar limit that is adjusted periodically. Most negligent security cases involving serious injury belong in Superior Court.
Proving Notice, Foreseeability, and Causation
The evidence in these cases is largely held by the defendant, so the early investigation matters. We look for the history of crime at and around the property: police call logs, prior incident reports, tenant or customer complaints, social media warnings, and insurer or consultant security audits the owner received and did not act on. We compare the security the property actually had against what was in place at comparable properties and what the owner’s own policies promised.
Causation is the second battleground. The defense will say a determined attacker would have gotten in regardless of a working lock or a posted guard. We answer with how the specific failure made this specific attack possible: the door that did not latch, the lot that was dark, the guard who was not on duty. Security experts, former law enforcement, and medical and vocational experts help tie the failure to the injury and to its long-term cost.
Fault can be shared among several parties, and Washington’s pure comparative fault rule keeps your claim alive even if some responsibility is placed on you. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, not barred. The property owner, a management company, a security contractor, and the attacker can all be assigned shares, and a case that looks like it has no one to sue often has several responsible parties once the contracts are examined. We also evaluate your own insurance, including medical payments and underinsured coverage where it applies, so that treatment bills are addressed while the claim proceeds.
Questions About Negligent Security Claims in Washington
What is a negligent security claim?
It is a premises liability claim against a property owner, landlord, or business that failed to take reasonable steps to protect lawful visitors from foreseeable criminal acts. The claim rests on the owner’s own carelessness, such as ignoring prior incidents or neglecting basic safeguards, rather than on the attacker’s conduct alone.
How long do I have to file in Washington?
Most injury claims, including this type, must be filed within three years under RCW 4.16.080. A wrongful death claim also generally has a three-year deadline running from the date of death. Claims against government entities require a formal claim first and a 60-day waiting period before suit, and a claim based on an intentional act can carry a shorter two-year limit.
Can I bring a claim if the attacker was never caught?
Yes. The claim is against the party that controlled the property and failed to provide reasonable protection. The attacker does not need to be identified or convicted for the owner’s negligence to be proven, though police reports often help establish what happened.
Does it matter whether I was a tenant, customer, or guest?
It does. Your status on the property affects the duty the owner owed you. Tenants, paying customers, and invited guests generally stand in a stronger position than someone with no right to be there. We look at how and why you were on the premises when evaluating the claim.
What if I was partly to blame for what happened?
Washington follows pure comparative fault, so partial responsibility reduces your recovery proportionally but does not bar it. If you were found 20 percent at fault, you could still recover the remaining 80 percent of your damages. Insurers often overstate an injured person’s share, so the facts deserve careful review.
What compensation is available?
Damages can include past and future medical care, lost wages and reduced earning capacity, and compensation for pain, emotional distress, and the loss of ordinary life. In a wrongful death case, qualifying family members and the estate may recover for lost financial support, funeral and medical expenses, and the loss of the relationship.
Who can bring a wrongful death claim after a fatal attack?
The personal representative of the estate brings the action for the benefit of the surviving spouse or domestic partner and children, including stepchildren. If there are none, parents or siblings may be the beneficiaries. The estate can also pursue the decedent’s own losses, and in some circumstances their pain and suffering before death.
The apartment complex says it has no duty because the crime was committed by a stranger. Is that a valid defense?
Not by itself. A stranger’s act can still be a foreseeable risk if the property had a history of similar incidents or obvious conditions that invited crime. The defense is common, but it does not end the claim when the owner had notice and failed to respond.
What if the incident happened while I was working?
Industrial insurance generally covers on-the-job injuries, but it does not necessarily prevent a claim against a third party who is not your employer, such as a property owner or security contractor. A third-party claim can recover damages beyond what the workers’ compensation system pays, and the Department of Labor and Industries or a self-insured employer must be notified when the suit is filed and may assert an interest in the recovery.
How can I preserve evidence the property owner might destroy?
Act quickly. Photograph the scene, save messages and receipts, and have a lawyer send a written preservation demand covering surveillance video, incident logs, guard schedules, and maintenance records. Camera systems often overwrite footage on a short cycle, and an early demand also helps if evidence later disappears.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while the claim is pending?
Often yes, and using it is usually wise rather than letting care lapse. Your insurer may seek reimbursement from any recovery, so we coordinate bills and liens as the claim moves forward and work to keep medical costs under control.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
The first consultation is free and confidential. We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, which means no attorney fee is owed unless we recover compensation for you.
Serving Negligent Security Clients Across King County and the Eastside
Negligent security cases arise wherever people gather, live, park, and shop, and our work reaches across King County. We represent clients from Issaquah, Sammamish, Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland on the Eastside, and from Seattle, Kent, and Renton to the south and west. We also serve injured people in Mercer Island, Snoqualmie, Carnation, Auburn, Burien, Federal Way, SeaTac, Tukwila, and Shoreline, as well as unincorporated parts of the county and the broader Puget Sound region.
Whether the incident happened in a downtown Seattle garage, an apartment community near I-90 or I-405, a Kent or Renton retail center, or a venue on the Eastside, the same questions apply: who controlled the property, what did they know, and what did they fail to do. If you cannot travel because of your injuries, we will come to you at home or at the hospital.
Speak With a Washington Negligent Security Attorney Today
If you were hurt, or you lost a family member, because a property owner ignored foreseeable danger, talk with a Washington negligent security attorney before evidence disappears and deadlines run. The consultation is free and confidential, and you pay nothing unless we recover money for you. Call or text Injury Law Group NW to tell us what happened. We will explain your options and pursue the care and compensation you need. We give hope. We get results.
