Lost a Limb During an Attack on Someone Else's Property?

Amputation Injury From Assault on Property: Your Legal Options After Losing a Limb

An amputation injury from an assault often happens in an ordinary place. It might be the parking garage at your apartment. It could be the lot behind a bar. It could be a dark stairwell at a motel. Someone was shot, stabbed, or beaten. Doctors fought to save the arm or leg. In the end, they could not.

Now your family is learning new words. Words like “residual limb” (the part of the limb that remains) and “prosthetic socket.” And you’re wondering how you’ll pay for any of it.

Say a violent attack on someone else’s property cost you or a loved one a limb. The attacker is not the only one the law may hold responsible. The business or landlord who let the property stay dangerous can share the blame. And unlike the attacker, that owner or their insurer usually has the money to help pay for a lifetime of care.

CHG Personal Injury Lawyers is a Florida-based firm. We handle only catastrophic, permanent injuries. We take these cases nationwide. We work with families in English and Spanish.

Request a free, confidential case evaluation.

Why the Property Owner Can Be Responsible for an Amputation Injury From Assault on Property

Property owners and managers must take reasonable steps to protect the people they invite in. Think of an apartment complex, hotel, parking garage, bar, gas station, or store. An owner may know that violent crime is a real risk. Say they do nothing about broken gates, dead lighting, or missing cameras. Then a preventable attack can become their legal responsibility too.

The law calls this kind of claim negligent security. Most families have never heard the term. You don’t need to know it. What matters is the situation. A crime the owner could have made harder to commit. And a life changed forever because they didn’t.

Signs that security failed often include:

• Broken or propped-open gates and doors, or locks that never worked
• Burned-out or missing lighting in a lot, garage, or breezeway
• No cameras — or fake cameras, or cameras not recording — where crimes had happened before
• No guards or patrols, even with a known history of violence nearby
• Safety complaints from tenants or guests that management ignored

The criminal case will not pay for a prosthetic

If the attacker is arrested, the state may prosecute them. That criminal case is about punishment. Even a conviction and an order to pay you rarely produces the money a limb-loss survivor needs. Most individual attackers have nothing to collect.

A civil negligent-security claim is separate. It seeks money from the property owner and their insurer. This covers medical care, prosthetics, and lost pay. You can pursue it even if the attacker is never found, arrested, or convicted.

Who This Page Is For

• A person who lost a limb — from a gunshot, a crush wound, or a blade — during an attack on someone else’s property
• A person who needed a surgical amputation because of injuries from that attack. This means a doctor decided removing the limb was medically necessary.
• Families of a loved one who lost a limb, or who died from injuries in the attack
• People who aren’t sure they “have a case” and never planned to call a lawyer
• Spanish-speaking families who want to be understood in their own language

For related situations, see our amputation and limb-loss resource hub.

What This Kind of Claim Can Cover

A limb-loss claim looks at your whole life ahead, not just today’s hospital bills. No lawyer can promise a specific amount. The value depends on the facts and the evidence. A claim may seek money for:

• Medical care: emergency treatment, follow-up surgeries, and ongoing care
• Prosthetics over a lifetime: A peer-reviewed study in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Ziegler-Graham et al., 2008) projects that the number of Americans living with limb loss will roughly double to 3.6 million by 2050. A modern prosthetic limb can cost tens of thousands of dollars. It usually must be replaced every few years for the rest of a person’s life. Over time, that cost quietly adds up into the millions.
• Rehabilitation: physical and occupational therapy, plus mental-health support
• Lost income and lost earning ability: pay missed now, and the work a person can no longer do
• Accessibility needs: home changes (ramps, wider doorways, roll-in showers), an adapted vehicle, and in-home care
• Human losses: pain, disfigurement, and the loss of activities and independence

Sometimes an attack is fatal. Then Florida’s Wrongful Death Act (Fla. Stat. §§768.16–768.26) lets surviving family members bring a claim. It can cover losses like funeral costs, lost support, and lost companionship. A death is the most catastrophic outcome there is. The law gives families a path to accountability.

To understand the long-term math, read our guide on the lifetime cost of limb loss.

How These Cases Actually Get Built

A strong negligent-security limb-loss claim rests on three things. First, evidence gathered before it disappears. Second, proof the attack was foreseeable — meaning it could have been expected. Third, a clear picture of the losses across your whole life ahead. Here is what that work looks like.

Step 1 — Free case evaluation. We listen to what happened at no cost and no obligation. Call us or use the online form.

Step 2 — Racing to preserve evidence. Security video is often erased in 30 to 90 days, sometimes sooner. Early on, we send legal preservation letters (called “spoliation” letters). These demand that the owner keep the video, incident reports, guard logs, and maintenance records. We photograph the real condition of the lights, gates, locks, and cameras. We do this before anything is repaired or “cleaned up.”

Step 3 — Proving the attack was foreseeable. This is the heart of a negligent-security case. We pull the property’s own history and public data. That includes past police calls, crime reports at and near the address, and past complaints from tenants or guests. The question is simple. Should a reasonable owner have known violence was likely? And could cheap, obvious steps — a working gate, a light, a camera — have changed the outcome?

Step 4 — Documenting a lifetime of loss. We work with your doctors, prosthetists, vocational experts, and economists to build a “life-care plan.” This is a detailed, year-by-year plan. It lays out the care, prosthetic replacements, therapy, equipment, and support the injury will require. It turns a limb loss into a fully documented claim rather than a guess.

Step 5 — Demand, negotiation, and trial if needed. Many claims settle through negotiation once the evidence and life-care plan are on the table. Say the owner or insurer refuses to offer fair value. Then we prepare to file suit and try the case.

A note on shared fault. Owners often argue the victim was partly to blame. Under Florida’s comparative-fault law, Fla. Stat. §768.81, your recovery can be reduced by your share of fault. That is exactly why the foreseeability evidence in Step 3 matters so much.

Fees. We handle these cases on a contingency fee. Our fee is a percentage of any recovery. There is generally no fee unless we recover money for you.

Talk to us today about your case.

Why Families Choose CHG Personal Injury Lawyers

We focus on catastrophic, permanent injuries — not routine claims. These include spinal cord injuries and paralysis, traumatic brain injury, amputation and limb loss, severe burns, and catastrophic back and neck injuries.

• Licensed attorneys admitted to the Florida Bar
• A Florida-based firm that takes cases nationwide
• Bilingual service in English and Spanish, so you understand every step
• Experience coordinating the doctors, prosthetists, vocational experts, and economists a limb-loss case needs
• An empathetic, plain-language approach during a medical and emotional crisis

Every case is different, and we never promise a specific outcome.

Your Questions Answered

Can I sue a property owner if I was attacked by someone else?

Potentially, yes. Say the owner failed to provide reasonable security against a foreseeable crime, and you were hurt. Then you may have a negligent-security claim against the owner. This is separate from any case against the attacker.

How is the value of losing a leg or arm decided?

There is no fixed figure. The value depends on several things. Medical costs. Lifetime prosthetic and care needs. Lost pay and earning ability. And the injury’s impact on your life. We build these numbers with medical and economic experts in a life-care plan.

The attacker was never caught. Do I still have a claim?

Often, yes. A civil claim against the property owner does not require the attacker to be found, arrested, or convicted.

Do I have to go to court?

Not always. Many claims settle through negotiation. A case goes to court when the owner or insurer refuses to offer fair pay.

How long do I have to file in Florida?

Deadlines vary by state and situation. In Florida, many negligence claims must generally be filed within two years under Fla. Stat. §95.11. Contact us promptly. Waiting can cost you both evidence and your rights.

What if my loved one died from the attack?

Surviving family may be able to bring a wrongful-death claim against the property owner. This falls under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act. We can explain your options with care.

Talk to Us — Free, Confidential Case Evaluation

Did a preventable attack on unsafe property cost your family a limb? We are here to help. Reach out early. Surveillance video is often erased within weeks, and legal deadlines apply.

Your case evaluation is free and confidential. It is available in English and Spanish.

Contact CHG Personal Injury Lawyers for your free case evaluation.

Related reading: Amputation & limb-loss claims · Negligent security · Catastrophic injury claims · Lifetime cost of limb loss

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