Legal Question in Personal Injury in District of Columbia

My three daughter was shot entering our building. My question is can we sue the lanlord do to the front entrance sliding door did not open trappin 13 people outside the door and security is about 6the feet from the door and did not open them


Asked on 3/20/13, 4:08 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Torrance Colvin The Colvin Law Firm

First, and most importantly, I hope that your daughter is ok.

The type of case that you describe is a "premises liability" case. The easy answer is that, yes, it is possible to sue your landlord and possibly also the security company if it was contracted separately by your landlord. Due to the significant legal issues in premises liability, I definitely recommend that you speak with an attorney to evaluate the potential merits of your case. I would be happy to speak with you, when you are ready.

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Answered on 3/20/13, 5:50 pm
Stephen B. Pershing Stephen B. Pershing, Esq.

This is ghastly. Yes, you may have a claim against the landlord and possibly the security guard's firm as well. Much depends on what exactly was happening. For instance, how long did the whole terrifying thing take? did the security guard recognize the people outside the door trying to get in? What do you think kept her or him from opening the door, and what do you think of that reason? Should the landlord have known the sliding door was a problem? Maybe there were other incidents, violent or not, before this awful one. So the first thing we'd want to do is gather the facts. (Please forgive me--I didn't get whether you had one daughter shot at 3 years old, or three daughters shot at once. It's unspeakable either way.) And Torrance is right, there are plenty of legal technicalities to deal with, so you shouldn't try pursuing this without a lawyer. Don't go into it thinking there'll be a huge money damage award, because we don't know yet--go into it looking for your day in court, assuming the facts let us get there. My firm and I would be glad to talk with you free of charge and see what we can learn. We're a small firm, we do mostly civil rights cases plus a good number of tort cases, arts and entertainment and other commercial matters, and we're all about personal service, so let us know if we can help.

Steve Pershing

The Chavers Firm, LLC

1250 24th St NW Ste 300

Washington DC 20037

202 467 8324(voice)

202 466 0502 (fax)

[email protected]

www.chavlawfirm.com

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Answered on 3/22/13, 6:45 pm
Walter E. Laake, Jr. Joseph Greenwald & Laake Pa

I am so sorry to read about the injury to your daughter(s). What attorneys Colvin and Pershing have advised you above is essentially correct and I will not repeat here what you have already read. I have in the past obtained a $1.8 million dollar recovery against a landlord for inadequate security of the front doors to his apartments thereby allowing a felon to rob and murder one of his tenants. This case is listed in the Verdicts & Settlements portion of my website below. Whether you will win your lawsuit against this particular property owner/management company/ and or security company all depends on the facts of the case. I would be happy to discuss your case in greater detail should you wish to call me. Hoping to hear from you, I remain,

Walter E Laake Jr.

Joseph Greenwald & Laake PA

301-220-2200

dctrialattorneycom

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Answered on 3/24/13, 9:23 pm


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