At Cowen Edwards, we stand alongside any victim of sexual assault at bars and restaurants in the Fort Lauderdale area. The owners and operators of these establishments can be held responsible for the physical, emotional, and financial consequences of an attack.
We help victims prove that the owners of bars failed in their duty to keep guests safe. Then we demand the maximum in support for victims. If you have been a victim, please contact our lawyers for a free, confidential consultation on how to seek justice and full support through recovery.
Do I Need a Lawyer After a Sexual Assault at a Fort Lauderdale Bar?
Yes. In many cases, a skilled attorney can earn much more for your recovery for you than you could by filing a claim yourself. A skilled Fort Lauderdale Negligent Security Sexual Assault Lawyer is also a necessary protection when business owners try to point the finger of blame at someone else or hire lawyers to poke holes in your case against them.
The owners of a bar can be fully liable for any crime committed against innocent victims on their properties. Unfortunately, you’ll need proof to force them to accept blame. A Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyer will fully investigate the crime and compile the evidence to make sure the blame remains squarely on the proprietors.
A lawyer can handle a frustrating settlement process or trial while providing as little disruption to you as possible. You can focus on rebuilding your life with the assurance that you will receive the most in support possible for what you’ve been through.
How Could a Bar Owner Be Liable for a Sexual Assault?
Bar and restaurant owners are actually responsible for the safety of all guests and visitors. Under Florida premises liability laws, they must do everything reasonably possible to keep guests out of harm’s way.
Bar owners and staff must keep anyone they invite in safe, including those businesses in Fort Lauderdale’s hottest areas like Las Olas Boulevard and along the beach front.
Business owners and property owners can be liable for recovery costs for sexual assault victims if it’s established that: (1) The owner had a legal responsibility to protect the victim, (2) The owner failed in protecting the victim, (3) The negligence of the owner led to the assault.
Owners must take strong security measures to avoid being responsible for the criminal acts of guests or those who hang out outside. The absence of safety measures is described by a legal concept known as “negligent security.”
These are just a few of the ways proprietors can be guilty of neglecting security:
- Lack of security guards or too few security guards
- Lack of training for security guards
- Improper background checks on security guards and employees
- Lack of proper lighting at night in parking lots, out front, or out back
- Too few surveillance cameras or a security system that isn’t working
- Failure to warn customers of previous assaults on the premises or in the area
- Allowing entrance to a guest who poses a known risk to others
- Bartenders taking reasonable precautions to prevent guests’ drinks from being spiked
What Should I Do If I’m Sexually Assaulted at a Fort Lauderdale Bar?
If you are physically able, contact 911 and get an ambulance and police on the way. If you can’t manage a 911 call have someone around you, hopefully a bar employee, to call for some help.
Once you are no longer in danger, if you feel up to it, you should also take steps to gather important evidence right there on the scene. Unfortunately, some of this evidence will disappear as soon as you leave the scene, leaving your lawyer without access to it.
If you feel safe to do so, try to document information and gather these details:
- Get checked out by paramedics and alert them to all injuries. Go to the hospital. Allow medical personnel to engage in evidence collection and a medical exam even if you don’t think you’ll file a police report.
- If you must leave the scene before you can collect proof of what happened, have someone with you or a helpful bystander help you.
- Give investigating police officers all of the details you can remember.
- Make sure a manager at the bar or restaurant knows what happened. Help them create an incident report for the person or restaurant group that owns the bar.
- Take photos of anything you feel is important to what happened. Show any lights that aren’t on, any security cameras that aren’t working, a drink that you feel was spiked.
- Get contact information from any witnesses. Some witnesses may not have seen the assault, but they may be able to testify to the lack of security.
- Contact Cowen Edwards as soon as possible so your lawyer can begin investigating your case, looking into the background of the restaurant, tracking down witnesses, and requesting surveillance video before it gets erased.
Earning Support for Sexual Assault Victims Attacked at Bars and Restaurants
Sexual assault victims will require financial support to pay for the medical care and mental health care they may need to regain a sense of control and security. Victims should never let an at-fault owner off the hook by not reporting every hardship they’ve been through in the aftermath of an attack.
A skilled attorney would file a claim with the bar owner’s or restaurant group’s insurance providers. This claim would include every damage the victim suffered and may suffer in the future. Anything left out of a claim or lawsuit could end up as an expense the victim or the victim’s family may have to pay down the road. That’s unacceptable.
Cowen Edwards would demand these benefits and more on behalf of victims:
- Support for all medical bills related to physical injuries, medications, and rehabilitation for as long as necessary
- Support for the physical pain experienced by victims
- Support for the emotional trauma caused by a sexual assault, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD symptoms, and the loss of enjoyment of life
- Money to pay for therapy
- Money to pay for travel to doctor’s appointments and court dates if necessary
- Reimbursement for the lost income victims face while being unable to work
- Awards for gross negligence
When companies display gross negligence (negligence so careless that it almost rises to the level of intentional harm) a court might award punitive damages to punish the company owner or corporation.
This penalty is meant to deter similar lapses in security in the future. The punishment isn’t assigned to benefit the patient, but the financial penalty is awarded to the sexual assault victim. This can mean a substantial addition to a victim’s settlement check.
Dedicated Fort Lauderdale Negligent Security Sexual Assault Lawyers
After a frightening attack, victims will have enough to deal with as they seek to heal. When the negligent security of a business contributed to a sexual assault, victims should never have to worry about financial concerns while in recovery.
At Cowen Edwards, we go to work to earn justice for clients while causing as little disruption to victims and their families as possible. We want to make sure the victims of crime have everything they require to begin to recover physically, emotionally, and financially.
When you’re hurt in a negligent security incident in Fort Lauderdale, we’ll be there to stand up for your rights and hold those responsible financially accountable. Don’t wait–contact us today to set up your free, confidential consultation.
