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If you or a family member have been the victim of violence (assault, robbery, rape, murder, etc.) at a business, shopping center, apartment complex, or any other type of commercial property, you may be able to sue the property owner for failing to provide adequate security. These lawsuits are commonly referred to as negligent security cases.

Maryland allows plaintiffs who bring a successful negligent security lawsuit to recover meaningful financial compensation. On this page, our injury lawyers look at Maryland negligent security cases and how to get compensation for personal injuries or death. We will also look at the potential settlement payout value of negligent security lawsuits in Maryland by summarizing recent reported settlements and verdicts in prior cases.

When Can You File a Negligent Security Lawsuit

Testimony from a critical witness can often make or break a tort case at trial. But sometimes, the witness testimony the jury never hears can be even more critical in shaping the outcome. This leads to frequent battles over absentee witnesses.

The “missing witness” rule in Maryland, also known as the “failure to call a witness” rule, is a legal principle that allows a party to make an argument or inference in a trial based on the failure of the opposing party to call a witness who might know essential facts relevant to the case. This rule – although technically not a rule – is designed to address situations where a party possesses evidence that could be helpful to their case but does not present that evidence at trial.

The origins of the missing witness rule can be traced back to early English common law, where courts inferred that the absence of a witness implied the testimony would be unfavorable to the party failing to present the witness. This rule was rooted in the principle of fairness and the adversarial nature of legal proceedings, aiming to prevent parties from withholding evidence that could potentially alter the outcome of a trial.