When Can You Hold a Business Liable for Negligent Security?

In Ohio, business owners have a legal obligation to ensure that their property is reasonably safe and secure for customers and other invited guests. This obligation is comprehensive: Not only do business owners have a duty to remove property defects and conduct regular maintenance, but they also have a duty to provide adequate security. Here, our experienced Toledo premises liability attorneys explain when you can hold an Ohio business liable for injuries related to inadequate security.

Understanding a Business Owner’s Duty to Provide Safe and Secure Conditions

Under Ohio law, a business can be held legally liable if its negligence contributes to causing an injury to a person. Negligence is the failure to take due care. Of course, that is a very broad definition. What actually constitutes proper care will always depend on the specific circumstances of the situation at hand. For the purposes of negligent security claims, this a very important concept to understand: A business’s duty to provide safe conditions will depend on what is reasonable given the circumstances.

What is ‘reasonable’ will vary depending on the facts of the case. For example, no small rural diner would be expected to have a well-trained security guard on site, and it would be unreasonable for a customer to blame this type of business for not hiring a security guard. On the other hand, a bank in a high-crime area may be expected to have a security guard on the premises to protect its customers. Ultimately, in Ohio, businesses owe customers a duty to provide security that is at least as good as a prudent business owner would have provided in similar circumstances.

Examples of Negligent Security

Negligent security comes in a wide array of different forms. At Lafferty, Gallagher & Scott, LLC, our dedicated premises liability team has experience handling claims involving many different examples of negligent security, with some of the most common examples including:

• Lack of security personnel;
• Untrained or undertrained staff members;
• Lack of screening at entrances;
• Broken metal detectors;
• Broken locks on windows or doors;
• Lack of adequate lighting;
• Unsafe conditions in parking lots or parking garages;
• Failure to perform background checks on staff members; and
• Lack of surveillance equipment.

Request Your Free Personal Injury Consultation Today

At Lafferty, Gallagher & Scott, LLC, our Ohio premises liability lawyers have extensive experience handling negligent security claims. To get help with your legal claim today, please call our team today at (419) 241-5500 or reach out to us through our website. We represent injured victims throughout Northwest Ohio, including in Ottawa County, Lucas County, Wood County and Fulton County.