Top Five Negligent Security Hazards

In Texas. property owners have a legal responsibility to create safe and secure environments for their invited commercial or noncommercial guests. In criminal court, individuals are legally responsible for assaults, robberies, and other such incidents. The “society is to blame” defense usually doesn’t hold up in court. However, if they were negligent, property owners are financially responsible for damages in these cases.

A negligent security claim has basically two components in the Lone Star State. The property owner must owe a duty of care, an issue which usually hinges on the relationship between the owner and victim. Additionally, a Sugar Land personal injury lawyer must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not), that the owner knew about, or should have known about, the injury-causing hazard.

Propped-Open Security Gates or Security Doors

This negligent security hazard might be one of the most common hazards. People often prop open apartment security gates when they’re moving, and hotel guests often prop open security doors for the same reason. Obviously, when a door is propped open, anyone can walk right in.

Most security doors don’t have alarms or other such triggers that inform management of the hazard. Therefore, these claims usually have knowledge issues.

However, here’s the good news. The duty of care includes a duty to inspect the property and ensure that standards are maintained. The longer a door or gate was propped open, the more likely it is that the owner should have known about it, and should have done something about it.

Burned-Out Security Lights

The same basic principle, which is called the time-notice rule, applies to this negligent security hazard. Property size is usually the primary inspection factor. A fourplex owner can easily walk around the building and look for hazards. But a large apartment complex is much more difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to inspect. Although the duty of care primarily protects victims, the duty of care is not one-sided.

Broken Gates

Anyone could use a rock to prop open a gate. But a nonfunctioning gate is a structural issue. Therefore, knowledge is easier to prove. Additionally, circumstantial evidence is admissible. If someone lodged a complaint about a broken gate or other negligent security hazard, and the owner did nothing, that complaint is basically a smoking gun.

Broken Cameras

Frequently, owners over-rely on the deterrent effect of security cameras. They deploy cameras so people know that Big Brother is watching. But they don’t bother to maintain these cameras. Additionally, cameras are passive security measures. They only make it easier to find bad guys.

Inadequate Security Level

We mentioned property size as a factor above. Similarly, the type of property is one factor that determines the appropriate security level. A bridal shop probably needs virtually no security. But a check-cashing store needs much stronger security.

Other factors that determine the appropriate security level include prior similar incidents in the neighborhood, the property’s location (e.g. is it on a freeway or a cul-de-sac), the area’s crime rate, and prior similar incidents at that location.

Work With a Dedicated Harris County Attorney

Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Missouri City, contact the Henrietta Ezeoke Law Firm. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.

Source:

law.cornell.edu/wex/negligence