Can You Sue a Property Owner for Negligent Security in Texas?

If someone owns a house or runs a store or controls any property in Alvin or other parts of Texas, they have certain responsibilities. The government expects them to pay taxes, of course, but there’s more than that. Property owners are required to take steps to protect the safety of other people when they are on the premises.

That can include an obligation to keep people safe from harm caused by the criminal activity of others. In some situations, a property owner needs to put particular security measures in place to ensure that people don’t get attacked. When the property owner ignores the potential for harm and doesn’t do what they should to provide protection, the owner can be held liable for negligent security.

As Alvin premises liability lawyers, we understand how to hold property owners responsible for injuries that occur when they neglect their duties to their customers and neighbors. We know that there’s a lot of misinformation about negligent security because the laws in this area are different in each state. Here, we can provide a general overview of the way negligent security works in Texas. If you contact us directly, we can explain how the law would be applied in your particular situation.

Understanding Premises Liability

To see how negligent security operates, it is helpful to consider the overall legal concept of premises liability as it applies in Alvin and throughout the state. Liability refers to a situation where someone is held responsible for a problem, generally with an obligation to do something to fix the problem.

If you are liable for a debt, for instance, you are required to pay it. If you are liable for causing a car accident, then you can be required to pay for damage and injuries from the accident.

In the case of property, the person who owns or controls the premises can be held liable if they don’t do the right things to safeguard customers or other people who have been invited onto the property for the owner’s benefit. For instance, if the property has stairs but the railing or stair treads are loose, the owner has an obligation to fix those problems or put up some kind of barricade to prevent people from getting hurt because of the defects. The obligation doesn’t kick in immediately. Generally, the owner or manager of the premises must either be aware of the dangerous condition or that condition must have existed for long enough that the owner should have realized it was there. In other words, people who own or manage property owe a duty to their clients, customers, tenants, or other patrons to maintain the property in a safe condition and inspect regularly for potential hazards. And they have a duty to make repairs or warn people about those hazards.

Premises liability lawsuits often involve situations where a customer gets hurt or killed because they slipped or tripped over something that shouldn’t have been where it was. Alvin premises liability lawyers also seek justice and fair compensation for people harmed in other situations, such as when tenants or guests in an apartment complex or hotel are injured in a fire because the emergency exits were blocked. Negligent security is another type of premises liability situation. In these cases, the dangerous condition that property owners need to provide protection for is criminal activity rather than a loose handrail or blocked fire exit.

The Security Obligations of Property Owners

Just as property owners have a duty to be aware of and address problems such as spills on the floor, they also have an obligation to take steps to ensure that security is adequate on the property. For instance, if a landlord rents an apartment to a tenant, the door to the apartment should have a lock that works to prevent others from entering the apartment. If the windows can be accessed by people outside, those windows should have locking mechanisms as well.

Many other types of security measures might be required, depending on the situation. These could include:

• Focused bright lighting
• Security fencing
• Security cameras
• Monitoring of the premises
• Locked gates
• Guards

Not every setting requires maximum security measures. The property owner’s obligations will depend on the specific details of the situation.

Criminal Activity Must Be Foreseeable

If you were injured in a criminal attack, such as sexual assault, on private property in the Alvin area, Texas law allows you to file a premises liability claim against the property owner for harm that occurred due to negligent security. To win your case, your Alvin premises liability attorneys must prove that the attack was foreseeable to the property owner and that the owner didn’t put the right security measures in place to protect you from harm.

Of course, the property owner will claim that they had no idea there were attackers lurking in the area and that it was a complete surprise. So how can your legal team show that the owner should have been able to foresee the likelihood that someone would suffer from an attack like you did? One way is to introduce evidence such as police reports of similar criminal activity in the area. Showing that the area has a high overall crime rate can also indicate that the owner should have been on notice that extra security was required. 

Some types of businesses are frequent targets for theft, and when a theft goes wrong, people can get hurt. Those who run these businesses have an obligation to provide extra protection for customers and staff. For instance, the owner of a bar or check-cashing business in a neighborhood with a high crime rate might be expected to have a bouncer or guard on duty by the door, but a bakery that’s only open in daylight would generally not be expected to need this extra level of security.

When a Property Owner Fails to Keep You Safe, DeKeyzer Law Fights for Justice

There are many situations where it is obvious that criminals can be waiting to attack. Shoppers coming out into a dark parking lot, for instance, are always at risk. Store owners should foresee that risk and provide proper lighting and possibly other protective measures as well.

If you were attacked on private property and believe the owner should have done more to protect you, there’s a good chance you can hold that property owner liable through a negligent security lawsuit—if you make the right legal arguments and back those arguments with irrefutable evidence. That’s where we come in. At DeKeyzer Law, we know how to establish liability on the part of property owners to get Texas-sized justice for those who have been hurt. For a free case evaluation to learn what may be possible in your situation, call us at 713-904-4004 or contact us online now.