Information sourced from Negligent Security Attorney
Statistically, the defense wins more often than the plaintiff in inadequate security civil trials. Although this is the case, it may be due to the fact that many strong plaintiff cases settle before trial.
The study shows that Defendants won 52% of the negligent security jury trials out of the 1,086 cases studied. 21% of the time, the Plaintiff received a winning verdict. 19% of cases were continued or sent back to be re-tried. 8% of the cases resulted in confidential settlements, which typically involves the Defendant paying the Plaintiff some amount of money.
Most plaintiffs (70%) were customers or guests of the business. Employees of the Defendant make up 17% of plaintiffs. 7% are unknown due to the confidentiality of the settlement. 1% of plaintiffs were trespassers.
When compared to the negligent security lawsuit study from the 1990s, the new study shows that plaintiffs won more trials in the 90s when compared to now. However, the newer study shows that juries are awarding higher verdicts now when the Plaintiff does win. So why the change? More cases are settling, so it is possible that the truly explosive plaintiff cases resolve before trial.
Of the 21% of trials that the Plaintiff won:
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40% were amounts less than $250,000;
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16% fell in the $250,000 and $500,000 category;
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13% were between $500,001 and $1 million;
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13% landed verdicts between $1,000,001 and $2,000,000;
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10% were between $2 and $5 million; and,
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8% obtained more than $5 million.