You may be like other New Jersey residents who think that premises liability claims are mainly about slip and falls and dog bites. This area of law actually encompasses much more than that.
Property owners are also responsible for the reasonable safety of people allowed to be on the property. This means that if someone mugs you in a Walmart parking lot or assaults you in the laundry room of your apartment building, the owner may be legally liable. Many security measures could help improve your safety, and one that many establishments employ is the use of security guards.
What should security guards do to keep you safe?
A security guard’s specific duties usually vary, depending on the type of location at which they work. However, some common duties include the following:
- Security guards should constantly observe the environment. This often occurs through roving patrols and/or monitoring of security cameras.
- They report any suspicious activity.
- They respond to calls for assistance quickly and appropriately.
- They attempt to keep incidents from escalating.
- They interview witnesses and victims of incidents.
- They enforce rules and may control access to one or more buildings
- They provide first aid in an emergency.
- They help prevent incidents by keeping the property secure and acting as a deterrent.
- They work together as a unit in order to maintain security of the premises and perform their duties.
A breakdown at any point could prove catastrophic for you. For instance, if a security guard fails to appropriately monitor security cameras and does not see a potential threat get onto the property, you could end up injured. If a security guard fails to quickly respond to an incident, you could face more serious injuries than you would have if he or she had shown up sooner.
Failures could constitute negligence
When security guards fail to perform their duties, they endanger everyone in the environment in which they work. If a failure leads to an incident, it could constitute negligence. If you suffered injuries on the premises due to negligent security, then you may deserve compensation for the damages you sustained in an incident.
A thorough investigation of the circumstances could reveal that a security guard failed to keep you safe. Proving that such a breakdown occurred and led to your injuries could result in much-needed compensation for your financial losses associated with the incident.