Beasley Allen’s Atlanta premises liability lawyers examine whether a Texaco gas station in Atlanta did enough to protect its customers after a young father was gunned down on the property.
Atlanta has continuously landed in the national spotlight over the past year for one very troubling reason: the surge in violent crime that has overtaken many businesses and neighborhoods. From a legal perspective, this trend underscores some of the work premises liability lawyers are doing to serve the individuals and communities racked by violence. It also raises questions over whether businesses and other property owners in the city are doing enough to protect their patrons and visitors from foreseeable crimes.
A closer look at Atlanta’s crime records shows that gas stations in and around the city have become hotbeds for much of this gun violence. When incidents of violent crime repeatedly occur over time, we need to look at any issues of negligent security that could be inviting criminal activity.
The premises liability lawyers in Beasley Allen’s Atlanta office are uniquely positioned to help the victims of this violence and their families. When our team of premises liability attorneys takes on a case involving negligent security issues, we must prove that the property owner or operator was aware of similar past incidents that have occurred on the property in question and whether they took reasonable care to address the problem and protect their customers.
Donovan D. Potter Sr., a lawyer on our Atlanta team, is currently investigating a premises liability case in which negligent security issues factor in considerably. On February 1, 2021, a young man was shot and killed at a Texaco gas station on Sylvan Road in southwest Atlanta. The victim, in this case, was standing outside of his vehicle pumping gas when the suspect approached the vehicle and appeared to open the front passenger door briefly.
The victim noticed the suspect’s actions and confronted him. At that point, the suspect pulled out a gun and shot him. The young man was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital but died from the gunshot injury shortly afterward. Authorities arrested the suspect two months later.
The Texaco gas station in this case is notorious for all the criminal activity that regularly takes place there. Most notably, the gas station has been the site of several homicides in past years. Whenever a business has a history of violent crime on its premises, such as this one has, negligent security concerns come to the forefront of our investigation. In such cases, the property owner or operator should have known that the premises were unsafe, and they should have taken corrective action.
Foreseeability is a central issue in most premises liability cases. When something is foreseeable, it means that a person could reasonably expect it to happen. In the context of gun violence and other crimes, it also means that appropriate action could be taken to prevent or change the outcome.
“Beasley Allen will do everything in our power to hold the entities responsible for the death of our client. Holding those accountable for the safety of their customers, where multiple violent crimes have occurred and continue to occur, will hopefully ensure that fewer families are impacted by violent incidents resulting in the deaths of loved ones.”
– Donovan D. Potter Sr., Of Counsel
Premises Liability Lawyers
Parker Miller of our Atlanta Office leads Beasley Allen lawyers handling premises liability cases. If you or a loved one was seriously injured due to a criminal act, or if you have any questions about premises liability law, please contact us.
