When a Florida Shooting Becomes a Wrongful Death Case Against a Property Owner
You are sitting in Columbus, Ohio, staring at a phone that shouldn’t have delivered the news it did. Your dad, or your brother, or your son went to Florida and never came home. The grief is heavy enough without the burning question that follows every triple homicide: How was this allowed to happen?
When we represent families in these moments, we start by looking past the shooter. The shooter is a criminal, but the civil law focuses on the enablers—the property owners and management companies that ignored a history of violence and left the door open for an assailant. We handle these tragedies not just as a quest for money, but as a way to force corporate interests to install the security they should have had years ago, so no other family from Ohio or anywhere else has to live through this nightmare.
If your loved one was killed in a shooting on commercial property, you are in a high-stakes legal environment. Florida law is complex, and the companies involved are already building their defense to protect their profits. We provide a free consultation and work on a contingency basis, meaning we don’t get paid unless we win your case.
Proving Negligent Security: Why Foreseeability Is the Central Pillar
In a Florida negligent security case, we don’t just prove that a shooting happened. We prove that the shooting was foreseeable. A property owner in Florida has a non-delegable duty to maintain a safe premises. If that property is in a high-crime area and the owner has ignored a pattern of prior similar crimes, the law holds them accountable for the failure to protect their guests.
We use specialists to dig into “Crime Grid” reports and CAP Index scores to determine the history of violence at the address. If the police were called there dozens of times for assaults or robberies and the owner did not hire armed guards or improve lighting, that is negligence.
Florida’s Wrongful Death Act (Fla. Stat. §§ 768.16–768.26) provides that when a person’s death is caused by a wrongful act or negligence, the decedent’s survivors may bring a civil action for damages.
For out-of-state families, this means filing a lawsuit in a Florida court to reach the corporate interests that failed your loved one. Whether it was an apartment complex, a hotel, or a shopping center, if the security was inadequate, we work to prove the crime was a preventable failure of management, not a random act of God.
The Two-Year Fuse: Florida’s Statute of Limitations
Time is your greatest enemy after a tragedy. Under Florida law, the statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim is generally two years from the date of death.
Wait too long, and your right to seek justice is barred forever. But the legal deadline isn’t the only clock running. The evidence needed to win a wrongful death claim is often on a much shorter fuse.
The Evidence Clock: What Must Be Frozen Today
The proof that wins a negligent security case is incredibly fragile. While you are grieving, the property owner’s insurance company is already looking for ways to protect the record. We move to freeze these records the day we are hired:
- Surveillance Footage: This is the single most important piece of evidence. It can show if the shooter was loitering, if gates were broken, or if security guards were absent from their posts. Most commercial DVR systems record over themselves in 7 to 30 days. Once that footage is gone, it is almost impossible to recover.
- Police Calls for Service (CFS) Logs: These logs establish that the owner was on notice. They show exactly how many times the police were at that address for violent crimes over the last three years.
- Maintenance Logs: If the complex had a broken gate or dead lights in the parking lot, the maintenance logs prove the owner knew about the defect and didn’t fix it.
- Security Personnel Records: We examine whether guards were properly licensed and trained under Florida Administrative Code Chapter 493. Many “security” companies cut corners with unlicensed staff to save money.
The Insurance Company Playbook and Our Counters
The adjusters who call you after a shooting might sound sympathetic, but they have a specific job: to devalue your life and the life of your loved one. Lupe Peña, an associate at our firm, spent years as a former insurance-defense attorney at a national firm. He knows exactly how they set reserves and which delay tactics they use from the inside.
Here are the three most common plays we see and how we counter them:
Play 1: “It Was an Unforeseeable Third-Party Crime”
The insurer will argue that the shooter was a “lone wolf” and no amount of security could have stopped them.
* Our Counter: We bring in criminologists and security operations experts to perform a “Prior Similar Crimes” analysis. We show that when a property has twenty robberies in a year, a shooting is not a surprise—it is a statistical certainty.
Play 2: “The Recorded Statement Trap”
The adjuster will ask you to “just tell us what happened” on a recorded line. They are looking for you to say the victim was there for an illegal reason or “knew the area was dangerous.”
* Our Counter: We tell our clients never to give a recorded statement without us. You are under no legal obligation to help the insurance company build a case against you. Before you talk to them, check out our guide on what should you not say to an insurance adjuster.
Play 3: “The Comparative Fault Shift”
Under Florida’s modified comparative negligence system, the defense will try to pin at least 51% of the fault on the victim or the shooter to bar recovery.
* Our Counter: We focus the jury on the “enabler” theory. The shooter is the criminal, but the property owner provided the environment for the crime to flourish. A victim who was simply standing in a parking lot bears zero fault for being targeted by an assailant in an unsecured area. Even if there is a question of fault, we explain what it means for your case.
How Much Is a Florida Wrongful Death Shooting Case Worth?
No amount of money can replace a father. However, the civil system is designed to provide for the “lost support and services” the family now faces. For a triple homicide on commercial property, the case value range is typically $3,000,000 to $15,000,000+.
The final number is built on several factors:
1. Economic Losses: The wages your father would have earned until retirement, the value of the benefits he provided, and the costs of the funeral.
2. Non-Economic Damages: The mental pain and suffering of the surviving spouse and children. In Florida, these are often the largest portion of the award.
3. Apportionment: Whether the jury puts a percentage of the “blame” on the shooter (the intentional tortfeasor), which can affect how much is collected from the property owner’s commercial general liability (CGL) policy.
We work with life-care planners and forensic economists to build a complete arithmetic of the loss, ensuring the settlement offer accounts for the decades of support your family has been robbed of.
Why a Multistate Legal Team Matters
When a family in Columbus, Ohio, loses someone in Florida, you need more than just a local lawyer. You need a team with national reach. Ralph P. Manginello has been licensed for over 27 years and has fought corporate interests in federal courts. Lupe Peña’s background inside the insurance industry gives us the edge in knowing exactly how the other side is pricing your claim.
We work with local Florida counsel to ensure every state-specific rule is followed, while providing the personalized attention that “mega-firms” often lack. We serve our clients 24/7 with a live staff—not an answering service—because we know legal emergencies don’t wait for business hours.
Past results depend on the facts of each case and do not guarantee future outcomes. We don’t get paid unless we win.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue the property owner for a shooting in Florida?
Yes. If the shooting was foreseeable due to a history of crime on the property and the owner failed to provide adequate security (like guards, cameras, or locks), you can file a negligent security lawsuit for wrongful death.
How long do I have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Florida?
The statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim in Florida is generally two years from the date of the person’s death.
What if my loved one was partially at fault for the conflict?
Florida uses a modified comparative negligence system. As long as the victim was not more than 50% at fault, you can still recover damages, though the award will be reduced by their percentage of fault. In shooting cases, the fault lies with the criminal and the negligent property owner, rarely the victim.
What kind of security should a Florida apartment complex have?
Multi-family housing in Florida can get a “presumption against liability” if they implement specific measures, including security cameras, lighted parking lots, deadbolts on unit doors, and limited access to pool areas. If these were missing or broken, the owner is liable.
Who can receive money in a Florida wrongful death case?
Under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, “survivors” include the decedent’s spouse, children, and parents. Other relatives may recover if they were partly or wholly dependent on the decedent for support or services.
Do I have to travel to Florida to pursue this case if I live in Ohio?
In many cases, your involvement can be handled remotely through video conferencing and electronic documents. However, if the case goes to trial, you may need to appear in the Florida county where the incident occurred.
What is “foreseeability” in a security case?
Foreseeability means the property owner should have known a crime was likely. This is proven by showing recent robberies, assaults, or police calls at the property that went ignored.
Will the shooter’s criminal case affect my civil lawsuit?
The criminal case is separate from the civil lawsuit. While a conviction can be used as evidence, you do not have to wait for the criminal trial to end before filing your civil claim for damages against the property owner.
How do contingency fees work?
Our firm works on a 33.33% fee before trial and 40% if the case goes to trial. We don’t get paid unless we win your case, and we offer a free consultation to discuss your rights.
If your family is looking for answers after a tragedy in Florida, call us at 1-888-ATTY-911. We are here to help you hold the enablers accountable.