Crime Victim Lawyer In Atlanta

Why Do You Need An Atlanta Crime Victim Lawyer?

When you are shopping in a store, pumping gas, staying in a hotel, or are a paying customer on anyone’s property, you expect that you are safe. In these situations, you are considered an “invitee.” In Georgia, landowners and businesses must use reasonable care to keep the property safe for invitees.

When a business knows of (or should know of) a security threat to its patrons, the business must do something. The business could:

• Close down until the threat no longer remains
• Warn you about the danger
• Provide reasonable security measures to protect customers who are not informed of the threat.

However, businesses often choose to do none of these things. Instead, they stay open, do not warn customers, and do not protect customers. The reason for this is usually that keeping people safe costs the business money.

Crime victims bring negligent security cases after being injured on another’s property. When a business knows (or should have known) of a security concern but does not act reasonably to protect its customers, the company can be held responsible.

What Types Of Crimes Will An Atlanta Crime Victim Lawyer Help With?

Crime victim cases usually result from shootings, rapes, sexual assaults, and other violent crimes.

These crimes can happen anywhere, but the most common locations are:

• Apartment complexes
• Hotels and motels
• Gas stations
• Bars and restaurants
• Shopping centers malls
• Stores and their parking lots
• Workplaces
• Colleges and other schools

Contact An Atlanta Crime Victim Lawyer

Rafi, Brown, and Stokes has helped crime victims recover more than $15 million in negligent security cases. These are cases where a person is injured because a business, like an apartment complex, shopping center, gas station, or restaurant, failed to provide adequate security to protect their customers and guests.

If you were hurt at an unsafe property, an Atlanta crime victim lawyer may be able to recover substantial money for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages.

What Can Our Atlanta Crime Victim Lawyer Do?

Lawyers can’t win negligent security cases by sitting in their cozy offices waiting for evidence to come to them magically. The first thing an attorney from Rafi, Brown, and Stokes does after being asked to investigate a negligent security case is to drop everything and head to the crime scene. In many cases, they are at the crime scene within hours of the crime.

Once our skilled Atlanta crime victim lawyer arrives, they take photographs of everything that could be important, speak to police investigators and first responders, interview witnesses, and start learning everything they can about the location.

1. Obtain A Crime Grid

It is very important to find out all of the crime and dangerous activity that has happened at the location. Most customers have no idea whether the business is safe; they just figure (and reasonably so) that it is. It is the business owner or occupier that should know about everything that has happened at their location. After all, it is their business.

One way to determine the amount and types of prior crime is to obtain a crime grid from the police. Crime grids show crimes that were reported to police at a specific location. This is what a crime grid typically looks like:

The most important types of crimes are the ones that are similar to the crime that injured you: homicides, aggravated assaults with a weapon, gun, or knife, assaults, batteries, and discharge of firearms.

2. Find Former Victims And Employees

The information your attorney from Rafi, Brown, and Stokes learns from witnesses and the crime grid will help them determine if there were any other previous victims. If there are, the next step is to find and speak with those victims, and if necessary, ask them to testify.

The same goes for former employees. Many times, employees leave because they wanted to do the right thing like increase security, the owner refused, and so the employee got fed up and left. Many former employees are willing to speak freely and openly about their former employer or things that happened at the location.

In one case, Rafi, Brown, and Stokes attorney Mike Rafi found a woman who worked as a leasing agent at an apartment complex. Mike found the former employee, told her about his client who had been shot six times, and asked her to testify about the complex, the owner, and prior crimes. The former employee agreed to testify. In this photo, she is testifying about documents that may have been destroyed by the owner. The big stack of papers in the middle and the stack on the left together are the amount of internal documents about safety she said should have existed – the stack on the right is what the owner said he had.

Mike spends a tremendous amount of time searching for and speaking with former victims and employees. That’s why Mike’s clients get better results.

3. Meet With Experts

Rafi, Brown, and Stokes has a network of experts that he relies on and that juries trust. In crime victim cases, expert witnesses typically determine:

• If the crime was foreseeable, meaning whether the crime could be reasonably anticipated by the landowner.
• If the landowner used reasonable security measures given the foreseeability of crime.

Experts rely on the information provided to them by the attorney, so Mike’s comprehensive investigations ensure experts get the information they need.

4. Prepare For Trial

Rafi, Brown, and Stokes attorneys help crime victims win their cases by preparing every case for trial. Lawyers at other firms who assume they will settle cases are forced to play catch-up once settlement negotiations fail – this puts the lawyer, and in turn, the client’s chance at winning at a severe damage.

As time goes on, gathering facts becomes more difficult because witnesses move or forget things. To be successful at trial, Rafi, Brown, and Stokes attorneys know that preparation and planning start from the moment they begin working on the case.

What Is Considered A Violent Crime?

A violent crime is committed when the victim is harmed or threatened with harm. Violent crimes include murder, assault, nonnegligent manslaughter, rape and sexual assault, child endangerment, kidnapping, robbery, and more. According to the FBI, there are only four types of violent crime: murder, rape and sexual assault, robbery, and assault.

Types of violent crimes:

• Murder
• Assaults
• Robbery
• Sexual assault
• Rape
• Shootings
• Stabbings

How Do You Prove That Security Was Negligent?

Businesses will do all they can to avoid responsibility. Almost always, a business will argue that the crime and injury were not “foreseeable,” which means the business could not reasonably expect the crime would happen on the property and that the victim would be injured.

Our Atlanta crime victim lawyer can use their knowledge of similar businesses and the area, the relationship with people in the community, and dedication to to prove businesses who make this argument wrong.

Businesses also routinely claim there was nothing they could do to keep a crime victim safe – that even if they had security measures, the crimes still would have happened. This excuse is unacceptable because most times, the business has never even tried to implement any security measures – most likely because they didn’t want to pay for them.

When businesses open their doors to and take money from customers, they should spend their money to keep customers safe.

Rafi, Brown, and Stokes has successfully shown in many cases that if businesses actually had security measures in place, then their clients would not have been injured. They know what businesses will try to say to escape responsibility, and he knows how to prove them wrong.

Contact Rafi, Brown, and Stokes if you were injured at a business and believe they should have done more to keep you safe.

Examples Of Reasonable Security Measures

Businesses that invite customers to their property should have security measures in place, especially when they know of prior crimes at their locations.

Some ways that businesses can protect their customers are:

• Warnings
• Well-thought safety policies and procedures that are actually followed
• Sufficient lighting
• Security guards
• Gates and fences

• Controlled access checkpoints and locks on doors and gates
• Video cameras and signage
• Proper background checks on employees and residences
• Peepholes

How To Protect Yourself In An Apartment Complex

Research Crime At The Apartment Complex

Even before you go look at an apartment complex, you can find out information and statistics about crime in the area and at the complex. Call local police and ask if any officers are familiar with and will talk to you about the complex. Also, be sure to search the internet for information about the complex.

These websites will help you find information:

• Apartmentratings.com
• Cityprotect
• Crimemapping.com
• Spotcrime.com

When you do go to the complex, ask management about any recent crimes. Ask management if they have issued any warnings to residents about crime or dangerous activity. Also ask any residents that you see if they know of any crime, if they feel safe, and if they think security measures are adequate.

Check Entrances And Exits To The Complex And Its Buildings

When you first get to the apartment complex, take notice of the entrances to the complex itself and individual buildings. When you leave, do the same thing with the exits. Gates at the entrances to the complex will help deter criminals from committing crimes on the property.

At entrance points, gates prevent unwanted people from entering, and at exit points, gates prevent criminals from getting away quickly committing a crime.

Individual buildings within the complex can have security to keep criminals away. It is best if doors on the outside of the building only allow people in who have the correct key, passcode, or the okay from someone inside the building already. These controlled-access doors reduce break-ins, loitering, and the chance that you will be hurt at the complex.

Find Out If There Are Security Guards

If there are security guards at the complex, then you should quickly see them. The presence of security guards will help stop criminals from coming on the property. Whether you see security guards or not, you should ask whether the complex has them. If there are guards, ask how many and whether the guards travel on foot and in vehicles. Make sure the patrols are randomly timed throughout the day, so criminals can’t learn the patrol’s schedule.

If the complex doesn’t have guards, ask why not. Ask whether the complex regularly re-evaluates the need for security. Also ask if the complex has ever had security before, and if so, why it stopped having security.

Look At The General Upkeep

While you are at the apartment complex, take a look at how the complex looks in general. Boarded or broken windows, run-down or damaged buildings or parking lots, and unkempt landscaping are all signs that the landlord does not properly maintain the property. Think about it: if the landlord doesn’t keep the place looking good, do you think they are worried about security?

Check For Security Cameras And Signs

When you walk into certain stores and many gas stations, you will be able to tell security cameras are in use because you will see yourself live on a television screen. There are also usually signs telling you that you are being recorded. These things are important because security cameras can only deter crimes if criminals know they will be recorded.

If you see security cameras and signs, ask why the complex has them – find out if it is because there was prior crime. Ask whether the footage is reviewed and how long the footage is saved for.

If there are no security cameras and signs, then ask if there are cameras that you can’t see. If there aren’t, ask if the complex is considering cameras and learn why they think they do or don’t need the cameras.

Evaluate Lighting

Poorly-lit or dark areas make it easier for criminals to gain access to the property and commit crimes. Before you agree to move in, go to the complex at night. Check the entrances, parking lot, walkways, hallways, stairways, elevators, mailbox areas, laundry rooms, and other common areas to make sure all these places are well-lit. The more places that are well-lit, the safer you will be.

Request New Exterior Door Locks

Every apartment complex should change the locks after a tenant moves out and before a new tenant moves in. The benefit of this is probably obvious: you have no idea if prior tenants actually returned their keys or whether they made copies. Ultimately, the fewer people who have access to your new apartment, the better.

But, apartment complexes don’t always actually change the locks, or if they do, they will just re-use locks used on other apartment doors. Since you can’t be sure the landlord actually changed the lock, ask if the complex will change the locks in front of you – if they refuse, then you should look elsewhere.

Check Window Locks

According to some estimates, up to 30% of criminals enter through windows. When you are inside the apartment, make sure all of the window locks are properly working. If they are broken ask for them to be replaced.

Test the windows by locking them and making sure you can’t open the window. If you can, request an apartment on a higher floor – it may take longer to carry your groceries up the stairs, but it will help you sleep safe and sound at night.

Look Through The Peephole

A peephole is a simple thing that can protect you while you are inside your apartment. If there is a peephole, make sure you can look from inside to outside and clearly see a person on the other side. If the door does not have a peephole, then ask for one.

Never open your door unless you know who is on the other side. A peephole lets you make sure you know the person at the door.

5 Things To Do After You Move In

1. Regularly Check About Crime

It is very important to find out all of the crime and dangerous activity that has happened at the location. Most customers have no idea whether the business is safe; they just figure (and reasonably so) that it is. It is the business owner or occupier that should know about everything that has happened at their location. After all, it is their business.

One way to determine the amount and types of prior crime is to obtain a crime grid from the police. Crime grids show crimes that were reported to police at a specific location. This is what a crime grid typically looks like:

2. Buy Additional Locks

Even if you had the complex change exterior locks, consider installing a deadbolt and door-chain. A deadbolt is more secure than a standard lock to pick because the deadbolt will only open by rotating the lock cylinder, while a standard lock is controlled by a spring bolt that can be opened by applying force to it.

A door-chain, like a deadbolt, is an added security measure that lets you identify and talk to visitors without completely unlocking and opening your door.

3. Protect Sliding Doors

Sliding doors are a great feature in an apartment but can be an entry point for criminals if improperly manufactured or installed. Many sliding doors have cheap or faulty locks and can be forced off their tracks with relatively little force.

Buy and use a security bar that prevents a sliding door from being opened from the outside – these bars can attach to the door itself or sit on the track.

4. Put Blinds In Your Windows

Blinds prevent would-be criminals from window shopping at your apartment. Install blinds that will completely block people outside of your apartment from seeing inside, and make sure you close your blinds when you leave your apartment.

5. Install A Security System

Studies show criminals try to determine if an apartment they are targeting has a security system before breaking in and if so, they will look for an easier target. In the past, the cost of installing a security system made it difficult for apartment renters to do so, but now, many companies have free installs.

Newer apartments may even have security systems already installed, so all you have to do is activate the system.

Crime Victims Questions & Answers

How Long Does It Take To Get Crime Victims Compensation?

It may take 30-60 days for the Georgia Crime Victims Compensation Program (CVCP) to disburse payments to victims. Once submitted and approved, allow up to four weeks for payment before contacting. How much each person may receive from the program varies depending on services required and the unique situation.

The Victim’s Compensation Program covers:

• Up to $15,000 in medical expenses
• Up to $3,000 in counseling services
• Up to $10,000 in lost wages and economic support in cases of domestic violence
• Up to $6,000 in funeral costs
• Up to $1,500 in crime scene clean up

What Happens If A Defendant Contacts A Victim?

In cases where a crime has been committed, the court has most likely instituted a no-contact order between the defendant and the plaintiff. If a defendant contacts the victim of their crime by disobeying that court order, the victim may report the violation of the order.

An experienced Atlanta crime victim lawyer will know that reporting this violation correctly can help the victim not only prove their case but also show that the defendant doesn’t respect the court system and fails to follow simple court orders, which reflects poorly on the defendant.

If the plaintiff has also requested a protection order and the defendant violates that as well, the defendant may be subject to more severe consequences. In these cases, contact should always be handled through the attorneys on the case.

What Is The Statute Of Limitation On Criminal Charges?

The standard for most criminal charges is four years, with misdemeanors coming in at just two years. In cases of violent crimes like murder, rape, sexual assault, assault, battery, and armed robbery, the statute of limitations varies or doesn’t exist at all.

For instance, for the felony charge of rape, the statute of limitations is generally 15 years. But if the victim was under the age of 18 at the time, it becomes more complex.

In severe criminal cases where DNA is used to uncover the criminal, the statute of limitations is voided and they may be prosecuted at any time. Examples of these exceptions include armed robbery, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, kidnapping, and more.