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Miami Attorney Robbing Banks
Sensationalist news headlines appear daily, both online and in print publications. None of the news headlines that we see anymore should surprise us, but a headline appearing in South Florida print and digital media truly turned heads in the fall of 2020.
“Miami Attorney Robbing Bank”
The headline led into a story describing how former Miami lawyer, Aaron Honaker, pulled off two heists in South Florida, while failing in an attempt to rob three other banks. The background of Honaker is not as important as the fact that the banks involved failed to provide adequate security not only for their customers, but also for their employees. As opposed to some types of bank robberies, Honaker’s foray into the criminal world did not result in violence.
Like other types of businesses, banks owe everyone that sets foot on their properties protection against criminals that commit a wide variety of crimes. Banks have the legal responsibility to protect customers and employees from sustaining injuries and financial losses as the result of negligent security. Negligent security at banks can lead to several types of crimes, from violent robberies by armed assailants to hackers that gain access to sensitive customer financial data.
If you sustained injuries and/or financial losses as the result of the negligence committed by a bank, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney who specializes in handling negligent security cases. A lawyer conducts a thorough investigation to determine the cause of your injuries and/or financial losses, which consists of gathering physical evidence and interviewing witnesses. You also receive legal support when it comes to filing an insurance claim, and if warranted, a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.
At Morgan and Morgan, we have compiled a proven record of success representing clients that dates back to 1988 when our first office opened in Florida. Our personal injury attorneys have recovered more than $20 billion in compensation for several types of personal injury cases, including cases involving negligent security. We recover your financial losses by securing monetary damages or negotiating a favorable settlement.
Do not allow a bank or any business for that matter get away with negligent security. Schedule a free case evaluation with one of the personal injury lawyers at Morgan and Morgan.
Get answers to commonly asked questions about our legal services and learn how we may assist you with your case.
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What Is Considered Reasonable Security for a Bank?
Although a blueprint does not exist for defining the security measures a bank must take, the federal government has established a list of minimum security procedures banks must implement to receive a license to conduct business. Banks typically establish their security measures according to several factors, which include cost, location, and type of bank.
In addition to complying with the minimum security measures established at the federal level, banks should implement other security measures to protect both customers and employees. Highly-trained security officers should be used to monitor suspicious activity both inside and outside a bank. Banks should commit to hiring experienced, full-time security officers instead of moonlighting part-time security officers that spend more time sitting than moving around the bank.
Banks should establish a proper opening and closing procedure that boost security, such as walking around a bank building before opening to determine if any suspicious activity is taking place either inside or outside the bank. Every security camera should be monitored daily for performance, from the security cameras strategically installed throughout a bank, as well as in the parking lot and inside an ATM. The bank manager should keep records of previous criminal activity at the bank, as well as at nearby businesses in the neighborhood.
Sufficient lighting should be in place in the parking lot and around the lanes that drivers use to make ATM deposits and withdrawals. Bright lights should surround a bank and glow 24 hours a day, seven days a week. One of the most important security measures to establish concerns properly training bank employees on how to address a robber’s demand for money. How a teller responds to a note or a verbal command goes a long way toward determining how a criminal responds.
How Does My Personal Injury Attorney Prove Negligence?
To win a favorable legal judgment against a bank, your lawyer has to demonstrate the presence of the four elements of negligence.
Duty of Care
The duty of care doctrine states that one party has the legal responsibility to protect a second party against sustaining injuries and/or financial losses. For example, a surgeon has a duty of care to perform a surgical procedure that does not harm a patient. Banks assume a duty of care to protect every customer and employee by following the highest standards of security protocols.
Breach of the Duty of Care Doctrine
A bank that fails to provide adequate security for customers and employees violates the duty of care doctrine. If you are a victim of a bank robbery that occurred because an improperly trained security guard failed to detect illicit behavior in advance of a crime, then you might qualify to receive compensation because the bank committed an act of negligent security.
To prove a breach in the duty of care doctrine, your personal injury attorney collects persuasive physical evidence, such as the footage captured by a bank security camera.
You Sustained Injuries
We are not just talking about the physical injuries that develop because you fell victim to a violent bank robber. Victims of bank negligent security also can suffer from emotional issues that include fear, anxiety, and feeling vulnerable every time they enter a bank or another type of business. Some victims of a bank’s negligent security can develop the symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which often has a negative long-term impact on personal and professional relationships.
The attorney representing the bank might claim you sustained your injuries as the result of another incident.
You Suffered Financial Losses
Whether you racked up costly medical bills because of a violent robbery or lost thousands of dollars due to an ATM hacking incident, you must show the judge hearing your case that a bank’s act or acts of negligent security caused financial losses. Copies of medical bills, bank statements, and employer timekeeping records can help you prove you lost money because of a bank’s negligent security.
What Is the Deadline for Filing a Negligent Security Lawsuit in Florida?
Since a negligent security case is part of personal injury law, you must follow the statute of limitations established for personal injury cases in Florida. Most states have set a deadline for filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages between two and four years. However, you might live in a state that has established a deadline as long as six years or as short as one year. Florida has set the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit at four years. The clock typically starts to click for the filing deadline on the date of the act or acts of negligent security, but you might receive an extension if you sustained physical injuries or experienced emotional issues in which symptoms did not develop until days after the incident.
Despite having four years to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, you should act with a sense of urgency when taking legal action for two important reasons. First, your attorney needs to speak with witnesses as close to the date of the negligent security incident as possible. Witness accounts tend to be much more accurate the closer they are provided to the date when a bank committed one or more acts of negligent security. Second, you have to take care of the bills associated with receiving medical care. Many healthcare providers do not wait for patients to receive compensation in the form of an approved insurance claim and/or a favorable legal judgment.
If you fail to file a personal injury lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations, expect the court clerk processing your lawsuit to dismiss it.
What Types of Compensation Might I Qualify to Receive?
Receiving a check for an approved insurance claim represents just one way for you to recover the financial losses generated by an act or acts of negligent security committed by a bank. If you can prove the presence of the four elements of negligence, you might receive a favorable legal judgment that awards you up to three types of compensation.
Economic Damages
Economic damages cover tangible expenses, such as the medical bills generated by diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions. You also might qualify for compensation to pay prescription medication and assistive device bills. If an act or acts of bank negligent security caused you to miss work, you have the right to request compensation for lost wages.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages do not come with a price tag, but if you experienced intense trauma, you might receive an award for non-economic damages that exceed the value of economic damages. Non-economic damages refer to the costs associated with developing highly negative emotional issues. Your attorney calculates a fair value for non-economic damages by using a formula that factors in the value of economic damages.
Punitive Damages
The judge hearing your case does not award you punitive damages to take care of medical expenses and the costs of addressing emotional trauma issues. Instead, punitive damages penalize the bank that committed one or more acts of negligent security. Judges also award punitive damages to discourage defendants from committing the same acts of negligence in the future. For an especially egregious act or acts of negligence, a judge might award a value for punitive damages that exceeds the combined value of economic and non-economic damages.
Hold a Bank Accountable for Negligent Security
When you walk into a bank or drive up to an ATM. You expect the bank to implement security measures that protect you against harm. If you are a victim of one or more acts of negligent security committed by a bank, you should turn to the experienced team of personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan.
Morgan and Morgan assigns a properly credentialed investigator to the attorney handling your case. The additional legal support helps your lawyer gather and organize the types of physical evidence that boost your chances of getting an insurance claim approved, as well as winning a favorable legal judgment for a personal injury lawsuit.
Learn more about how Morgan and Morgan provides strong legal support by scheduling a free case evaluation today with one of our personal injury attorneys.
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