Some people in New York may have heard that on August 26, there was a deadly shooting at a Florida video game tournament. On Aug. 28, attorneys announced that some survivors would be filing a lawsuit although they did not say who would be targeted in the lawsuit.
At least one of the people filing was shot at the tournament. Others suffered emotional trauma. A total of 10 people were injured and 2 were killed when a 24-year-old man opened fire at the GLHF Game Bar at the entertainment complex known as Jacksonville Landing. The man had bought the handguns legally in his home state of Maryland despite having been treated as a teen in psychiatric facilities. Maryland law does not allow the sale of guns to people who voluntarily spent 30 days or longer in a psychiatric facility or who were involuntarily committed. Since the gunman’s treatment happened when he was a teenager, however, it did not fall under those laws.
One of the attorneys with the firm representing some of the injured people said that there was an obligation to provide a high level of security that was not met. The area has also had problems with violence in the past.
Under premises liability law, property owners and managers are obligated to keep visitors safe. This means taking reasonable steps to ensure that safety. One common injury in premises liability law arises because of slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accidents. Therefore, it is important that property owners make sure walking surfaces are not slippery and are free of debris and other obstacles. The concept of premises liability could extend to a failure to provide adequate security for an event if there was a reasonable expectation that it would be needed.
Source: USA Today, “‘It must always be people over profits’: Jacksonville shooting survivors to file lawsuit,” David Osborn and John Bacon, 8/28/2018