What Happens When a Security Guard Is Negligent?

What happens when a security guard is negligent? Very serious consequences can happen. When a security guard is negligent…

• • They fail to perform the job they were hired to do.
  • Individuals with harmful intentions can enter a property.
  • An opportunity for a perpetrator to commit a crime is opened.
  • A crime that should have been stopped is allowed to happen.
  • Those with malicious intent can carry weapons into public venues.
  • An innocent person can be injured or killed.
  • A person calling for help may not be heard.
  • A person may be handled with violence and hurt for no reason.
  • The security guard and their employer may be held liable for harm caused by a preventable incident.

Security guards play a critical role in ensuring the safety of many public and private establishments in Baton Rouge and throughout Louisiana. From schools and universities to hospitals, shopping centers, bars, and apartment buildings, guests and customers of many types of establishments rely on security officers every day. When one of these hired security personnel fails to uphold their duty to protect others, the consequences may become the legal responsibility of the negligent guard and their employer.

Cases involving a negligent security guard generally fall into the legal practice area of negligent security law. This type of personal injury case protects the rights of those who are injured when preventable crimes occur on another person’s property—foreseeable crimes that only happened because the property owner did not take reasonable measures to prevent or stop them. Imagine a concert venue with no metal detectors, no ticket checking, no crowd control measures, and no trained staff on hand to protect concertgoers. An example such as this would be categorized as negligent security if a person was injured because of the lack of security measures.

The information provided below aims to help you understand how these legal cases work and what happens when a security guard is negligent.

But as with all types of personal injury cases, your legal rights and options are largely determined by the unique circumstances of your case. For that reason, we at Bianca | Matkins do not take cases without first meeting to discuss your story. Of course, we never charge a fee for this meeting. A completely free consultation is available to any injured victim looking for legal recourse to recover the losses they suffered. Call or complete our online form today to speak with a qualified Louisiana negligent security attorney.

What Is Negligence?

First, it’s important to have a firm grasp of the legal concept of negligence. Not all careless behavior is legally considered to be negligence.

When a security guard is negligent, it means that they (and/or their employer) have violated a legal obligation and can thus be held liable for their actions through a civil personal injury case.

Proving negligence requires that four essential elements be met. In a case involving a negligent security staff member, those elements would be:

• The security guard owed the injured party a duty of care.
• Through an action or omission, the security guard breached (failed to meet) their duty of care.
• The injured party was harmed as a result of the security guard’s breach of duty.
• The injured party incurred provable losses (such as medical bills, stolen property, or missed work time and income) as a result of the harm they suffered.

There are additional elements which must be proven in a negligent security case (such as the foreseeability of the crime and whether the injured party was legally on the property at the time of injury). This can make cases involving security guard negligence even more complicated than some other types of personal injury cases.

The duty of a hired security guard seems clear—to protect those in the area under their watch. However, there are many different ways a security guard can be negligent, and not all of them are easy to prove in a negligent security case.

Examples of Security Guard Negligence

Security guards, security officers, bouncers, and other paid safety team members have a duty to make sure their actions are always in the interest of protecting those they are hired to protect. Any action (or failure to take action) that does not align with that duty can be seen as negligent.

Here are just a few examples of security guard negligence:

• A security guard sees a fight breaking out but fails to step in and take action.
• A security guard who is supposed to be on watch falls asleep on duty.
• A security guard opens a gate to a visitor without checking ID or a list of guest names.
• A security guard was instructed to walk rounds but fails to.
• A security guard was instructed to watch a surveillance camera monitor but becomes distracted.
• A security guard was supposed to check and lock all doors and gates but does not.
• A security guard fails to screen for knives, guns, and other weapons at an entry point.
• A security guard does not take action to calm a rowdy crowd before a trampling incident occurs.
• A security guard treats a guest or patron too roughly and injures them in the process.
• A security guard leaves their post during a critical time period.

Who Can Be Held Liable for an Injury Caused by Security Guard Negligence?

Depending on the circumstances of the injury case, the most common defendants in a security guard negligence case are:

• The security guard
• The security supervisor responsible for the guard’s actions
• The security company that employs the guard
• The property owner of the establishment that hired the security guard

Successfully handling a security negligence case takes a great deal of targeted effort and specialized knowledge. Pursuing legal action against a security guard and their employer is not something you should attempt to undertake on your own without legal representation.

If you were hurt on another’s property in Louisiana and you believe your injuries happened because a security guard was negligent, it is important that you meet with an attorney right away. In Louisiana, you only have one year to file a civil claim against the negligent party. When you are recovering from injuries and dealing with the repercussions of the event that harmed you, this short window of time closes very quickly. We encourage you to seek legal counsel before your opportunity to seek justice is taken from you.

A Baton Rouge Lawyer With the Expertise To Take on Your Case

We at Bianca | Matkins are confident in our ability to handle even the most challenging negligent security cases. What happens when a security guard is negligent is often life-changing to the victim of the incident, leaving them with emotional trauma, physical injuries, and heavy financial damages.

We want to help you make things right. And we want to help you use the tragedy you endured to help protect others in the future. Contact us at your convenience to schedule your free consultation. A meeting with a negligent security lawyer from Bianca | Matkins does not obligate you to hire our law firm to handle your case.