Women's Safety

Victims of crimes committed because of inadequate or improper security may be eligible for financial compensation. Pursing such cases, however, requires immediate response to allow the victim’s attorney to document and preserve critical evidence.

At Kramer & Dunleavy, we’ve handled a number of safety-related cases.  In one, a 26-year-old woman won a $2.5 million verdict against a Washington Heights landlord when she was raped at gunpoint in her own apartment.  In another case we handled, Manhattan woman won a jury verdict of  $1.625 million when she was raped in a similar crime. Two armed intruders entered her building through an unlocked front door and beat her husband.  In each case, the landlord was held accountable for failing to install or repair locks on the front doors of the Manhattan apartment buildings.

To avoid becoming a victim, please note these important security tips:

Your Security Checklist

Below are items you should be aware of when approaching or before entering apartment buildings, office buildings, parking lots and shopping malls:

• proper outdoor lighting
• locked front door
• working intercoms
• roof alarms
• window locks and gates
• fences and walls

• closed circuit TV in elevators, lobbies and halls
• visitor sign-in logs
• security guards/doormen

• security patrols
• high intensity lighting
• proper landscaping
• color codes/maps to prevent loss of direction

• proper screening of employees
• adequate training and security
• internal security practices

Inadequate or Defective Security

Below is a letter to the editor written by partner Denise M. Dunleavy, which was published in the (NY) Daily News:

Landlord duties for safety
Manhattan: Your Dec. 23 story "Women Safe in the City? No way, Gotbaum says" did a fine job of helping make women aware of their vulnerability to rape or sexual assault. But women need to know that they are much more vulnerable to such attacks in their homes, hotels and commercial buildings than they are on the streets.

As a trial lawyer who has successfully represented rape victims in civil cases, it's clear to me that many rapes and sexual assaults could have been prevented if owners of residential and commercial buildings did a better job of providing adequate security. Women should ensure that the locks on lobby and apartment doors are in working order, that there is adequate and bright lighting in lobbies and hallways and that intercoms and security cameras are functional. This is particularly critical if one is staying in a hotel or visiting an unfamiliar building.

While the NYPD is surely doing all it can to combat rape and sex attacks, landlords are in a unique position to help prevent these crimes.

Denise M. Dunleavy