Negligent Security Wrongful Death Lawyer in Jacksonville
When someone is killed in a shooting, stabbing or assault, the person who did it may be arrested and prosecuted. But the criminal case is only part of the story. Often the attack happened somewhere the danger was known: an apartment complex with a history of shootings, a parking lot with broken lights, a workplace that let anyone through the door. Florida law can hold the property owner, manager or security company responsible for its part in the death.
Plata Schott Law is a Jacksonville trial firm led by Belkis Plata and Shannon Schott. We represent surviving families in wrongful death cases across Northeast Florida. We prepare every case for trial from day one.
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Free and confidential. You’ll speak directly with a lawyer, in English or Spanish. No attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you; costs and expenses may apply.
What a Negligent Security Wrongful Death Claim Is
A negligent security claim says a property owner or operator failed to take reasonable steps to protect people from a crime it should have seen coming, and that failure contributed to the death. The claim is not against the attacker; it is against the business or owner whose choices made the attack possible.
When the person attacked has died, the claim is brought under the Florida Wrongful Death Act (§§ 768.16–768.26) by the personal representative of the estate, for the benefit of the surviving spouse, children and parents. See wrongful death for who qualifies as a survivor and what they can recover.
Where These Deaths Happen
Apartment complexes: parking lots, breezeways, pools, unit doors
Hotels and motels
Bars, nightclubs and event venues, including attacks in and around the parking lot
Gas stations and convenience stores
Shopping centers and their parking lots
Workplaces: plants, warehouses, construction sites and offices where a worker or visitor is attacked by someone else on site
Parking garages
What Has to Be Proven
Every negligent security case turns on four questions:
Who controlled the property? Ownership on paper is not enough. We identify who actually managed, operated and secured the premises: the owner, a management company, a tenant business, a security contractor, or several of them.
Was the crime foreseeable? Usually shown through prior crimes at or near the property, such as calls for service, police reports, prior shootings or assaults, tenant complaints and security incident logs.
What reasonable security was missing? Gates that didn’t latch, cameras that didn’t record, lighting that was out, guards cut from the budget, no screening of who entered.
Would it have made a difference? The defense will argue nothing could have stopped the attack. We work with security experts to show what a working gate, light, camera, guard or screening policy would have changed.
Florida’s 2023 Changes, and What They Mean for Families
Florida’s 2023 tort reform law (HB 837) changed negligent security cases in two ways the defense will rely on.
The attacker goes on the verdict form (§ 768.0701). In cases filed after March 24, 2023, the jury must weigh the fault of everyone who contributed to the death, including the person who committed the crime. The property owner pays its own share. That makes it more important than ever to prove the owner’s own failures, not just that a crime happened.
A presumption for apartment complexes (§ 768.0706). An owner of a residential property with five or more units on a parcel can claim a presumption against liability, but only if it substantially implemented a specific list:
Cameras at entry and exit points that keep footage retrievable for at least 30 days
Parking-lot lighting at a set minimum level from dusk to dawn
Lighting for walkways, laundry rooms, common areas and porches from dusk to dawn
A deadbolt of at least one inch on each unit door
Locks on every window and sliding door
Locked pool gates with key or fob access
Peepholes on unit doors without a window
A crime-prevention (CPTED) assessment no more than three years old, done by law enforcement or a certified practitioner
Safety training for employees
The owner carries the burden of proving it did all of this. Many properties can’t. Missing footage, outdated assessments and broken lights are common.
When the Person Killed Was at Work
Many of these deaths happen on the job: a worker attacked at a plant, warehouse or job site. The rules depend on who the worker’s employer was.
Claims against the worker’s own employer are generally limited to workers’ compensation death benefits, with narrow exceptions.
Claims against someone else can be brought as a full wrongful death case. That includes a site owner who wasn’t the employer, a security contractor, or another company on the site. This is often the case when the worker was a contractor or temp placed at another company’s facility.
Florida’s statutory employer rules can extend workers’ comp immunity up a chain of contractors in some situations, so the contract structure matters.
Workers’ compensation and a wrongful death claim can run at the same time. Comp carriers usually have a lien on any third-party recovery, and we negotiate it as part of the case.
Deadlines and Evidence
Two years. A Florida wrongful death claim must generally be filed within two years of the date of death (§ 95.11(5)(e)). If the property is government-owned (a park, school or public building), written notice under § 768.28 is required first, and damages are capped.
The evidence goes first. Apartment and business camera systems commonly overwrite footage within 30 days, and the statute requires compliant complexes to keep it only that long. Within days of being hired, we:
Send preservation letters for video, access-control logs, guard reports and maintenance records
Request Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office calls-for-service and incident records for the address
Document lighting, gates, locks and cameras before they are repaired
Identify the management company, security vendor and every insurance policy
The Criminal Case and the Civil Case
If someone has been arrested, the criminal case and the wrongful death case run separately. You do not have to wait for a conviction, and waiting can let evidence and deadlines slip.
The criminal case punishes the attacker. The civil case holds the property owner and others accountable, and is usually the only real source of compensation for the family.
A not-guilty verdict or a dropped charge does not end the civil case. The civil case is about the owner’s security failures.
We stay in touch with the prosecutor’s office and victim advocate, and coordinate so the civil case does not interfere with the prosecution.
How We Handle These Cases
Free, private consultation with an attorney, in English or Spanish.
Estate and personal representative opened and appointed, if not already.
Investigation in days: video, crime history, security contracts, staffing records, CPTED and training documentation.
Security and causation experts retained early.
Every responsible party, every policy: owners, managers, security vendors, tenant businesses.
Prepared for trial from day one, with direct access to a partner throughout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a family sue an apartment complex when someone is killed there?
Yes, if the killing was foreseeable and reasonable security could have helped prevent it. The claim is brought by the personal representative under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act. Complexes with five or more units may claim a statutory presumption against liability, but only if they prove they substantially implemented every measure Florida requires, from cameras and lighting to a current crime-prevention assessment.
The person who killed my family member was arrested. Do we still have a case against the property?
Possibly. The criminal case and the wrongful death case are separate. The criminal case addresses the attacker; the wrongful death case addresses the owner or operator whose security failures contributed to the death. Neither depends on the outcome of the other.
Won’t the jury just blame the person who committed the crime?
The jury will be asked to assign a share of fault to the attacker under Florida’s 2023 law. That does not end the case. The property owner is responsible for its own share, and the case is built around the owner’s choices: ignored prior crimes, broken gates and lights, cut security, no screening of who came in.
My husband was killed at work by another person on the site. Can we only get workers’ comp?
Not necessarily. Workers’ compensation is usually the only remedy against the employer itself, but a wrongful death claim can often be brought against others: the site owner if it was not the employer, a security company, or another contractor. This is especially common when the worker was a contractor or temp at another company’s facility.
Our family member was visiting, not a tenant. Does that matter?
No. Guests, customers, visitors and workers lawfully on a property are owed reasonable care. What matters is that the person was there lawfully, not whether their name was on a lease.
How long do we have to file?
Generally two years from the date of death. Claims involving government-owned property require written notice to the agency first. Video and records are often gone in 30 days or less, so the first weeks matter most.
What does it cost?
Nothing up front. No attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you; costs and expenses may apply. The consultation is free and confidential.
Can we speak with a lawyer in Spanish?
Yes. Attorney Belkis Plata’s first language is Spanish, and our team is bilingual. No interpreter needed.
Time matters. Evidence disappears. 📞 Call (904) 619-5244 · Text Us · Free Case Review
No attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you; costs and expenses may apply.
Related: Wrongful death · Negligent security injuries · Wrongful death of a child
Plata Schott Law, Jacksonville, Florida. Serving Duval, Clay, Nassau, Baker, St. Johns and Putnam Counties. Reviewed by Belkis Plata and Shannon Schott. Updated November 2026.