Negligent Security: How To Identify It

It’s been well established that in American society, we have a duty of care to each other; however, when this fails to come to fruition, and people suffer. As a result, it may be a good idea to contact a negligent security lawyer. We must go out of our way to ensure that no harm comes to each other by our actions or those of individuals within our charge or oversight. All companies adhere to a regimen and routines designed to reduce liability for the company owner. Little things like cleaning the floor and making sure it’s free of hazards are part of that regimen. Larger companies like hotels and casinos hire security to ensure patrons do not harm themselves or other people while protecting the company’s assets.

While the hiring of this security personnel is good-natured by purpose, sometimes their actions, in reality, are misguided, as a woman in Chattanooga had experienced. At Dillard’s, she was accused of stealing the jeans and shoes she entered the store. She was handcuffed and publicly searched against her will, with employees going as far as to check the tag on her jeans.

She even showed employees the receipt, but even with proof of purchase, the employees detained her and her baby for more than half an hour. She’s now suing Dillard’s over what she had experienced. Again, we are bound to a duty of care, and while security can perform “certain” actions, they must be within the protocol and performed within reason. Otherwise, this would be a case of negligent security.

Negligent security is a species of premises liability dealing with civil redress for crimes and violent acts. It is the basis by which an individual injured by a third party tries to hold liable the owner or tenant of the property where a criminal injury is inflicted.

Under the legal theory of vicarious liability, the store can be liable for the harmful actions of employees. That depends on whether their actions were within their scope of employment, even further in terms of security, that they are within policy and that the policy itself is legally sound. The store would also be liable even if the store did not sanction the conduct, was unaware of the incident or did not have direct control or supervision over the employee at the time the incident occurred. The store wouldn’t, however, be liable for an employee’s “intentional act,” in which liability would fall solely on the perpetrators themselves.  To assess whether or not a store in a given scenario would be liable, it would be important to get legal help.  An example of this would be professional negligent security work, like at Eric Roy Law Firm, where there is an in-depth analysis of the type of injury that is looked at and how the case can be resolved, such as through car accidents or personal injuries.  This is a strong example for other businesses to follow because they aid in branching out when it comes to the different types of work.