Can I Sue for Being Shot or Stabbed in Los Angeles?

Can I sue for being shot or stabbed in Los Angeles?

Often, yes. If you were shot or stabbed on a Los Angeles property — an apartment complex, bar or nightclub, parking garage, store, hotel, or transit stop — and the owner failed to provide the reasonable security a foreseeable risk called for, California law may let you hold that owner financially responsible through a negligent-security claim. You are not suing for the crime itself; you are suing the property owner for the security failures that made a foreseeable attack possible. This is separate from any criminal case against the attacker.

Los Angeles negligent-security law — the short version

Los Angeles cases are governed by California law. California balances the burden of a security measure against how foreseeable the crime was; costly measures like guards generally require ‘heightened’ foreseeability, often shown by prior similar incidents. A negligent-security lawsuit here is generally filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court (Los Angeles County). For the full California standard — deadlines, how fault is shared, and what you can recover — see our California negligent security page.

Public safety in Los Angeles

Los Angeles has seen violent crime fall for several years — the LAPD reported homicides and the number of shooting victims down again in 2024 and 2025. Even so, violence stays concentrated in certain nightlife and high-traffic corridors, and a negligent-security case does not turn on citywide trends: it turns on the history of prior crime at the specific property where you were hurt, and whether the owner ignored that risk.

Where these cases happen in Los Angeles

In Los Angeles, these claims most often arise in dense nightlife and foot-traffic districts — Hollywood, Downtown LA, Koreatown, and parts of the San Fernando Valley — and around Metro transit stations. The property types that most commonly generate negligent-security claims are apartment complexes, bars and nightclubs, parking structures and lots, hotels and motels, gas stations and convenience stores, and retail centers.

Good to know in Los Angeles

A Los Angeles negligent-security case is generally filed through the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Personal Injury hub at the Spring Street Courthouse. Many LA bars and nightclubs operate under Conditional Use Permits that impose security-staffing, lighting, and operating conditions — and a venue’s failure to meet those conditions can be important evidence that reasonable security was missing.

Deadlines for a Los Angeles case

• Negligence / personal injury: generally two years from the date of the incident from the date of the incident.
• Wrongful death: generally two years from the date of death.

If a government entity is involved, California requires an administrative claim within six months — so it is important to act quickly. Surveillance footage and other evidence disappear quickly, so it is important to act fast.

Why Los Angeles victims choose The Haggard Law Firm

The firm has handled nearly 500 negligent-security cases nationwide and secured the largest negligent-security verdict in U.S. history ($102.7 million). We help Los Angeles crime victims and their families with no fee unless we win.

How we handle a California case — working with local counsel

The Haggard Law Firm is based in Coral Gables, Florida, and Michael A. Haggard is licensed to practice law in Florida. Mr. Haggard is not licensed in California. Negligent security and crime-victim litigation is the firm’s core focus, and because of the national reputation the firm has built in this specific area, Mr. Haggard regularly works on California cases as co-counsel with a locally licensed California attorney, seeking admission pro hac vice (for the individual case) where the court’s rules permit. Any California matter would be handled together with local counsel admitted in California.

If you were shot, stabbed, or lost a loved one to a preventable crime in California, you can still reach out to us directly. We will review your case for free and, where appropriate, associate with a qualified California attorney to pursue it.

This page is attorney advertising and general information only; it is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Michael A. Haggard is licensed in Florida. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.