Managing negligent security risks — Part 1

Scene of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Negligent security cases typically involve violent crimes and oversized jury awards. (Photo: Neville Elder/Shutterstock.com)

Out of the countless number of negligent security cases filed each year, only a handful of those matters ever go to trial. Most cases settle out of court, and the outcomes go unreported. However, the legal costs involved in the discovery and settlement process continue to rise, and the payouts to claimants are often substantial.

When negligent security cases do go to trial, they typically involve victims of violent crime, which can mean broad press coverage, sympathetic juries and oversized awards. One landmark case, where an individual was shot in a nightclub parking lot and permanently paralyzed, resulted in a jury award of nearly $103 million, which was later negotiated down to the insurance policy’s limit of $26 million.