Negligent Security and South Carolina Personal Injury Law – What You Should Know

When you’re a customer at a South Carolina business, that business is obligated to provide an environment that’s reasonably safe. Most people think of safety as putting signs out warning of wet floors or broken equipment, but there’s more to it. Safety and security are closely related. In the case of security, a business is expected to create an environment where customers are safe from criminal activity like robbery and assault.

Was a business negligent by not providing you reasonable safety and security? Our firm has been helping injured people seek the compensation they need to recover since 1997, and we can help you, too.

Call 1-866-900-7078 or contact us online today for your free case evaluation.

What Is Negligent Security (aka Security Negligence)?

In simple terms, the owner, operator, or, in some cases, the tenant of a property may have a responsibility to prevent others from perpetrating crimes and violent acts on their premises. Negligent security can arise when that responsibility is not upheld. It is the basis by which an individual harmed by a third party may try to hold the property owner or operator of a business at the property accountable for the individual’s injuries.

Let’s say, for example, you’re walking to your hotel room after a night out in Charleston, and someone assaults you in the hallway. Or you’re in a sports stadium, and someone robs you in the bathroom. In both of these cases, a criminal act has happened on the property of another.

If inadequate or negligent security makes you the victim of a crime, you may be owed compensation.

Was the owner or operator of the facility aware of criminal activity or the likelihood of it? Was there a reasonable risk of harm that was ignored? If so, this could be a case for negligent security.

What Is the Responsibility of a Business to Provide Security?

Owners and operators of a property in South Carolina are generally responsible for the safety of their patrons and the people who are legally on the premises. Their responsibility may create liability when they fail to provide a reasonably safe and secure environment, depending on the status of the visitor.

In South Carolina, a visitor to a property has these possible statuses:

• Invitees are those who enter onto the property of another by invitation, their entry is connected with the landowner’s business or an activity the owner permits to be conducted, and there is benefit to the owner.

  Of the three types of visitors, landowners owe the highest duty to invitees. Property or business owners must use reasonable care to prepare the premises and make them safe for invitees. Business customers like store patrons and hotel guests are common examples of invitees.

• Licensees are those who are on the premises for their own primary benefit, not the benefit of the owner. Social guests, people who have entered the property to seek a favor, or those asking for directions are a few examples of licensees.Landowners owe a duty of reasonable care to discover licensees, to avoid injury to them, and to warn them of hidden dangers that the property owner is aware of.

• Trespassers are those who are not authorized to be on another’s property. Landowners typically owe no duty to adult trespassers except not to harm them willfully or wantonly.

South Carolina law is very specific about the rights of these three classes of visitors, and the rules have been detailed in case law. For example, store owners and innkeepers have a duty to reasonably protect their customers or invitees from foreseeable criminal activity. Consult with an experienced South Carolina personal injury attorney for help with your case.

Proving Property Owner Liability for Negligent Security

To prevail in a negligent security claim against a property or business owner, you must prove that the owner owed a duty to protect you from the criminal activity of another and breached that duty by failing to reasonably protect you. There are a few conditions that may help you prove an SC property owner or business operator owed you, or a loved one, a duty of reasonable care to provide security:

1. A history of criminal activity on or around the property – the owner, proprietor, or operator of the property knows or has reason to know there is a danger and is generally obligated to address it adequately to provide safety for the people on site
2. The nature of the business is inherently seen to attract crime – the place or character of the business is such that the owner should reasonably anticipate careless or criminal conduct on the part of another, such as a high crime area, a bank, or a night club, in some circumstances
3. The owner or operator voluntarily takes on the duty of providing security – even when a duty to provide security would not typically be owed by a property or business owner, the duty may nevertheless exist where the owner or operator has promised to provide security and has negligently failed to do so

These claims can be tricky. For answers, help, and a free case evaluation, call us at 1-866-900-7078 or contact us online today.

Examples of Security Lapses That Can Lead to a Negligent Security Claim in South Carolina

If your case involves any of the following red flags, you should consult with an attorney:

Inadequate screening or monitoring – failure to search for weapons, failure to have personnel at strategic places, such as at a front desk in a hotel or bouncer at a bar doorway

	General lack of security – dark, unpatrolled parking lots, unmonitored access to the property, improperly secured doors
	Inadequate or irresponsible staffing or training – guards not making proper rounds or being inattentive or unresponsive, not having someone at the front desk or entry as appropriate, or not screening new employees responsibly
	Inadequate equipment – broken security cameras, door locks, automatic locking doors and windows
	Improper or inadequate lighting – broken or malfunctioning lighting or bulbs, failure to leave lights on long enough
	Poor access control – broken or missing locks on gates and fences, lack of monitoring, not using existing gates, fences, or controls reasonably
	Overgrown landscaping – allowing plants to create hiding places or to obscure or damage monitoring equipment
	Non-functioning emergency warning systems – non-working or broken alarms and metal detectors

Who Can I Seek Compensation From for Negligent Security?

If you’re hurt as a result of negligent security, here are some examples of businesses and properties that may be held liable in South Carolina:

• Parking lots and parking garages – These areas should generally be well lit and if necessary, have call buttons and security guards.
• Bars and nightclubs – These are often areas where fights and other criminal activity tends to break out. Reasonable security measures to protect patrons should be in place and enforced. These may include metal detectors, bouncers, and other security personnel and measures.
• Apartment buildings – Building owners who have offered security to its tenants should provide reasonable security in common areas. These might include security cameras, gates, and call buttons.
• Amusement parks – These areas should be well lit and if necessary, have call buttons and security guards.
• Colleges – Colleges and universities should take reasonable measures to protect students, staff, and visitors. This may include building-access controls, adequate lighting, immediate warnings of dangerous activity, emergency call buttons, and security guards where and when necessary, such as at football games, concerts, and other large campus gatherings.
• Hospitals – Attacks may be prevented by having reasonable security measures in place and by properly training staff as to what to do if an attack occurs. Controlled access may be called for in some areas.
• Schools – Preschool, elementary, and secondary schools also have a responsibility to keep students, staff, and visitors safe. This may include locked doors, resource officers, and requiring personal identification to enter the building.
• Stores and shopping malls – Attacks may be prevented by having reasonable security measures in place and by properly training staff as to what to do if an attack occurs.
• Self-storage facilities – Attacks may be prevented with adequate lighting, cameras, and locks, by having reasonable security measures in place, and by properly training staff as to what to do if an attack occurs. Locations offering 24-hour access should ensure that access is controlled to prevent unauthorized personnel in the facility.
• Hotels – Attacks can occur in any area of a hotel at any time. Hotels have a duty to provide reasonable security, including adequate locks on hotel room doors and security measures in common areas, such as self-locking doors and elevator entrance keys where appropriate.
• Banks – Banks have a duty to not only protect the money and securities located in the vault and the personal belongings in lock boxes, but also to protect their employees and others in the bank. Protection mechanisms in today’s banks should generally include, at a minimum, properly trained staff, security cameras, and other security measures.
• Sports stadiums – Sports stadiums have ramped up security in recent years. Bag checks, metal detectors, security guards, security cameras, police presence (both uniformed and plain clothed), ample parking lot lighting, and admission wristbands are among the measures many stadiums have taken.

Three Tips to Building Your Case for Negligent Security

1. File your case promptly. File your claim as soon as possible and before the statute of limitations ends – the deadline imposed by law to bring your case. Not only does this enable your attorney to gather evidence more easily, it may also enable you to collect potential compensation sooner. If the injury resulted in death, the statute of limitations may be even shorter.
2. Gather evidence and witnesses, if there were any. You must prove that you were injured due to someone else’s negligence. To prove negligence, you must show that you were owed a duty of care by the defendant, that the owner or proprietor did not fulfill that duty, and that their negligence directly led to your injury.
3. Hire an experienced South Carolina attorney. Your personal injury attorney can build your case and protect your rights. The business or property owner you’re seeking compensation from will likely have representation – you should have someone on your side who is looking out for you, too. And an experienced attorney can significantly increase your odds of receiving maximum compensation.

South Carolina Negligent Security Lawyers – Get a Free Case Evaluation

In South Carolina, business owners and property owners may owe a duty to provide adequate protection for those on their property, especially if the owners are aware of or should be aware of any danger. If you, or someone you know, have been attacked or suffered a personal injury on someone else’s property because of negligent security, you may be entitled to significant compensation for injuries and losses.

Since 1997, our firm has helped more than 65,000 people recover more than $1.8 billion in total compensation.¹ Our attorneys have the experience and resources to take on any opponent. And we put you first, always: We even have an official You-First Policy to give you peace of mind!

As part of our You-First Policy, there’s no need for you to worry about the cost of a high-quality attorney to advocate for you. At our firm, you pay no upfront fees, no hourly fees, and no attorney’s fee whatsoever if we don’t recover compensation for you. Guaranteed.²

Contact us online or call 1-866-900-7078 for your free case evaluation. A knowledgeable member of our team is available to speak with you right now.

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