A Brain Injury From an Attack on Someone Else's Property Can Change Everything

Attacked on Someone Else’s Property? Serious Brain Injury Claims Explained

You went to your apartment parking garage, a hotel hallway, a gas station, or a nightclub — a place you had every reason to feel safe. Then someone assaulted, shot, robbed, or beat you, and now you or someone you love is living with a serious brain injury. Or a family member did not survive.

The person who attacked you is responsible for the crime. But here is what many people are never told: the business or property owner may also be legally responsible — separately — if they failed to keep the place reasonably safe. If a working gate, a repaired lock, decent lighting, or a security guard could have stopped what happened, the owner may owe you.

Lawyers have a name for this kind of case: a negligent security claim (a type of premises-liability case). You do not need to know that term to have a claim. You just need to have been hurt because a property owner ignored a danger they should have addressed.

This page focuses on serious, permanent brain injuries — moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) — and on fatal head injuries handled as wrongful-death claims by the family.

Request a free, confidential case evaluation. We listen, in English or Spanish, and tell you honestly where you stand.

Who this page is for

• The injured person recovering from a moderate or severe TBI after an assault.
• A spouse or family member acting for someone who cannot yet advocate for themselves.
• A family that lost a loved one to a fatal head injury and is weighing a wrongful-death claim.
• Anyone unsure whether the property owner did something wrong — we explain how to tell.

CHG Personal Injury Lawyers represents clients across Florida — Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville — and takes cases nationwide.

What counts as a serious brain injury

A traumatic brain injury is damage to the brain from a blow, blunt force, gunshot, hard fall, or being struck during an attack. The Mayo Clinic explains that TBI can produce lasting or permanent changes in thinking, movement, sensation, and behavior, with severity ranging from mild concussion to profound, life-altering injury.

Our focus is on moderate and severe TBI — injuries that change a person’s life for good. According to the CDC’s TBI data, TBI contributes to tens of thousands of deaths in the United States each year, and survivors of serious TBI can face effects that never fully resolve. Common lasting effects include:

• Memory, focus, and reasoning problems
• Personality and mood changes
• Seizures
• Loss of speech or muscle control
• Inability to return to work
• The need for lifelong, often 24-hour, care

A brain injury does not always come from a direct blow. Strangulation or heavy blood loss can cut off oxygen to the brain, causing an anoxic or hypoxic brain injury — a real risk in violent assaults. Learn more in our guides to anoxic and hypoxic brain injuries and the long-term effects of severe brain injury.

When a head injury is fatal

When an attack causes a fatal brain injury, a death is the most catastrophic outcome there is. Florida’s Wrongful Death Act (Fla. Stat. §768.16–768.26) allows a personal representative of the estate to bring a claim on behalf of surviving family members. We handle these cases with dignity and privacy — the focus stays on your family and what you can do next, never on graphic detail. See our guide to fatal brain injury and wrongful-death claims.

When is a property owner legally responsible?

Owners of apartments, hotels, stores, garages, bars, and other places open to residents, guests, or customers have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to keep those places safe. When they ignore that duty and an attack follows, they may share the blame.

Signs an owner may have failed to provide reasonable security:

• Broken or missing locks and entry gates
• Burned-out, dim, or absent lighting in lots, garages, and stairwells
• Cameras that do not work — or no cameras at all
• No security guards or patrols where they were clearly needed
• Propped-open doors or a broken buzzer/access system

The legal turning point is foreseeability — whether the danger was predictable. Prior crimes on or near the property, earlier complaints from tenants or customers, and the crime pattern of the surrounding area can all make an attack foreseeable. If danger was foreseeable and the owner did nothing, they may be liable.

In plain terms, a negligent-security claim generally must show four things:

1. The owner owed you a duty to act reasonably.
2. The owner failed to provide reasonable security.
3. That failure allowed you to be harmed.
4. You suffered real damages.

Every case turns on its own facts. A lawyer reviews the property’s history and the physical evidence to tell you whether you have a claim.

Preserve the evidence — before it disappears

Inadequate-security cases are won or lost on records that vanish quickly. If you can, or if a family member can help:

• Security footage. Many systems overwrite recordings in 30 days or less. A written preservation demand sent early can stop that clip from being erased.
• Prior-crime records. Police calls-for-service and incident reports for the property’s address can show the owner knew of a pattern. In Florida these are public records under Chapter 119.
• Maintenance and repair logs. Records showing a lock, gate, or light was reported broken and left unfixed.
• Tenant/customer complaints. Emails or messages warning management about safety.
• Photos. Of the broken lock, dark lot, or missing camera, taken as soon as possible.
• Witnesses. Names and contact information before people move or forget.

You do not have to gather all of this yourself. Tell us early, and we move to preserve it.

What our representation covers

We handle the whole case so your family can focus on recovery:

• A free, confidential case evaluation on whether you likely have a claim.
• Investigation — incident and 911 reports, prior-crime data, lighting and maintenance records, past complaints, and rapid steps to preserve camera footage.
• Identifying every responsible party — the property owner, the management company, and any security contractor.
• Building the medical picture — working with treating physicians and vocational experts, often using the Glasgow Coma Scale and imaging to document the injury’s severity and lifelong impact.
• Calculating full damages (see below).
• Handling insurers and litigation — negotiating and, if no fair resolution comes, filing suit.

We take these cases on a contingency fee — no attorney’s fees unless there is a recovery. The Florida Bar publishes consumer guidance on legal fees and your rights as a client.

What damages can you recover?

You can seek money for the real costs and losses a brain injury creates. No lawyer can promise a specific amount — anyone who does is a red flag. Damages generally fall into two groups.

Economic damages — measurable costs:

• Past and future medical care and rehabilitation
• In-home and lifelong attendant care
• Lost wages and lost future earning ability
• Assistive equipment and home modifications

Non-economic damages — human losses:

• Pain and suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Emotional distress

For families who lost a loved one, wrongful-death damages may include loss of companionship, guidance, and support, and the survivors’ mental pain and suffering as set out in Florida’s statute.

What actually drives a claim’s value? The severity and permanence of the injury, the lifetime cost of care, and the insurance and assets available to pay. Because those facts differ in every case, no honest lawyer quotes a figure before reviewing them.

How long does a case take?

It depends on the facts, and we will not pretend otherwise. Straightforward claims can resolve in a matter of months. Serious-TBI cases often take a year or more — sometimes longer — because the injury needs time to stabilize before its true lifetime cost is known, and because a lawsuit may be necessary. Rushing to settle before a brain injury’s long-term picture is clear can cost a family dearly, so we build the case to reflect a lifetime of need, not just today’s bills.

The process, step by step

1. Free case evaluation. You tell us what happened; we explain your options.
2. Investigation. We move fast to preserve footage and records.
3. Building your case. Medical and vocational experts document the TBI and its cost.
4. Pursuing responsible parties. Owner, manager, and security company — and their insurers.
5. Negotiation. Many claims resolve through settlement.
6. Litigation. If the offer is not fair, we are prepared to try the case.

Why families choose CHG Personal Injury Lawyers

We concentrate on catastrophic, life-altering injuries — including traumatic brain injury and negligent-security cases. Our attorneys are admitted to the Florida Bar, and we take cases nationwide. We offer bilingual (English and Spanish) support so no family is shut out of their own case, and our contingency-fee model keeps the door open regardless of finances. We cannot promise a result — but we can promise care, honesty, and hard work.

Frequently asked questions

Talk to a lawyer about a brain injury from an attack

You are facing an injury you never asked for, and you do not have to sort it out alone. Because evidence like camera footage can vanish in weeks, it helps to act soon.

Request your free, confidential case evaluation today. We are available in English and Spanish. You can also learn more at our traumatic brain injury resource hub.