When someone is assaulted, robbed, or seriously harmed on a property in New York City, the first question is often about the perpetrator. The second question, which determines if a civil claim exists, is whether the property owner took sufficient steps to prevent it. Negligent security claims in New York City are based on a legal principle: some crimes are foreseeable, and when a property owner fails to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm, they may be held legally responsible for what follows.

Subin Law represents people seriously injured as a result of negligent security in New York City. These cases require a detailed investigation into what the property owner knew, what security measures were in place, and whether the harm could have been prevented.

How Negligent Security Cases Arise

Security failures can take many forms. Broken or defective locks permit unauthorised access to buildings where residents and visitors expect protection. Inadequate lighting in parking structures, stairwells and entrances creates conditions that allow criminal activity to go undetected. Non-functioning surveillance systems remove the deterrent effect of working cameras. Security personnel who abandon posts or fail to respond to known threats offer no meaningful protection to those they are supposed to protect.

These failures are significant on their own. Combined with a prior history of criminal incidents on or near the property, they create a record that goes directly to the central legal question in every negligent security case: was this harm foreseeable?

Legal Responsibility

Property owners, landlords and building managers are responsible for maintaining adequate security measures appropriate to the known risks associated with their properties. This responsibility extends to tenants, guests and visitors lawfully on the premises.

Foreseeability is the foundation of every negligent security claim. A property with a documented history of prior criminal incidents, unresolved complaints about broken security equipment, or known vulnerabilities that were never addressed is one where harm was foreseeable. When a security company contracted to provide services fails to perform adequately, its role in the incident must also be examined alongside the property owner’s responsibilities.

Identifying which parties controlled the relevant security measures and what they knew about previous incidents determines who bears responsibility and how the claim is structured.

Building the Case

Negligent security claims require a detailed investigation centered on the property security history. Prior incidents reports, police records, tenant or visitor complaints, maintenance records for security equipment and surveillance footage help establish what the property owner knew and whether reasonable steps were taken to address known risks.

Evidence in these cases is time-sensitive. Surveillance footage is overwritten, incident reports are hard to obtain without legal action, and properties are often upgraded after a serious incident. Early legal involvement is essential to preserve the record before it changes. Every case at Subin Law is built for trial from the start. In cases that turn on what a property owner knew and when they knew it, that preparation is what allows the complete picture to be developed and presented.

What These Cases Involve

Victims of negligent security suffer physical injuries, psychological trauma, and long-term effects that extend well beyond the incident itself. The harm affects a person’s sense of safety, ability to return to normal life, and, in serious cases, their capacity to work and function independently.

These claims are vigorously contested. Property owners and their insurers argue that criminal acts are unforeseeable, that adequate security was in place, and that responsibility lies solely with the perpetrator. Building a record that establishes foreseeability and documents the specific security failures that contributed to the harm is central to developing these cases.

Subin Law takes a limited number of serious cases so each receives focused attention and a strategy built around its specific facts. Consultations are free and confidential. No attorney fees are charged unless compensation is recovered.

Contact Subin Law to discuss your case.