Premises liability lawsuits often seek to hold property owners and businesses responsible for negligence. To establish that one party was negligent, it is necessary to prove that other reasonable people could have avoided the same hazards.
An assault at a business is obviously the fault of the party who becomes violent. However, companies can reasonably predict assaults in many cases, as certain types of businesses have a stronger association with violence than others.
If a company operating in a sector with a known risk of on-site assaults does not have adequate security measures in place, the failure to address well-known hazards could constitute negligent security practices.
What industries see the most violence?
There are certain types of businesses where violent incidents are more likely to occur than at other businesses. Any place where people consume alcohol, including sports bars and restaurants, could theoretically see fights between patrons.
Retail establishments may see violent encounters if customers fight over the last item in stock or if someone attempts to shoplift from or rob the business. Hospitals and mental health facilities, where people might have volatile interactions or negative responses to medication, also see more violence than other locations.
Businesses that know their patrons could become volatile or that the risk of criminal activity is higher than average may need to invest in adequate security measures to protect their employees and visitors. The failure to do so could provide the basis for a premises liability lawsuit.
Those with injuries and other losses after an assault may have grounds for a premises liability lawsuit. Crime victims could benefit from discussing the scenario with a professional familiar with negligent security litigation.
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