Archive for February, 2010

MILWAUKEE, WI–The Milwaukee law firm of Hausmann-McNally, S.C. is currently working with clients whose loved ones were injured or killed in places where there was no security or inadequate or inept security.

The law is clear, says firm President Attorney Charles J. Hausmann, “If a business invites you to spend money there, shop, eat, drink or use its services, it also has a responsibility to take reasonable care that you are safe. Customers minding their own business have been victims of robberies, shootings, rapes, attacks and homicides.”  Business owners need to take reasonable care to ensure against foreseeable events, Hausmann contends.

One way to determine if a violent event was foreseeable is to check police records to see if there have been incidents in or around that business before. But that can be deceiving because some businesses avoid calling the police, even when it is warranted, because they are trying to keep a “clean” record. A better measure of the safety of an area is looking at the overall crime statistics for the neighborhood and the district.

Hausmann-McNally advises: What you don’t know can hurt you
Business and property owners need to understand that contracting someone to do security does not absolve them from responsibility for death and injuries on their property. Hiring someone big and burly to stand at the door is not adequate. All security firms are not alike. Proper selection of employees, adequate training and the establishment of meticulous procedures for searching customers as they enter (if the business location is dangerous) are all called for. If security is lax, a property or business owner may be found negligent in a civil injury or wrongful death suit which often carries a large financial penalty for them and/or their insurance carrier.

In a recent suits brought or investigated by Hausmann-McNally, some facts became evident.

• Many central city business owners—especially rough taverns in rough neighborhoods–do not provide adequate security for their customers
• Customers’ safety is at risk if the neighborhood or the establishment itself has a history of violence
• Some taverns do not call police when they should in order to keep their record clean
• Some tavern owners look the other way when patrons use drugs, abuse alcohol or carry weapons.
• Sometimes the door guard accepts a “tip” for skipping the search.
• Security guards—if not property screened and trained–do not necessarily provide adequate security
• Some guards do not check patrons carefully, they assume that regular customers are OK or give favors to “special” people
• Police and civic actions do not seem to be able to stem the violence in and around problematic central-city taverns. It is up to customers to take their business where they are safe, and for owners and managers to institute and maintain their own business security personnel and procedures.

What to watch out for

• Taverns or establishments that have a history of violence
• Gas stations where the guards watch over the owner’s property but not people outside at the pump and parking areas.
• ATM machines that are not in public view and well-lit
• Store parking lots that are dark and unattended
• Any commercial building where there are hazards to customers

In addition to criminal action against those that commit violent acts, there are financial penalties for negligent business owners who disregard their customers’ safety. A judgment in favor of the injured or deceased sends a message that citizens will no longer tolerate businesses that offer inadequate security.

“If the police don’t scare business owners into providing adequate security, perhaps hitting them in the pocketbook will,” says Charles Hausmann, president of Hausmann-McNally, S.C. The firm has been serving the community for over 35 years.