As a hotel guest, you put your trust in the property owner, whether you realize it or not. You trust that no one can enter your room while you’re sleeping. You trust that you won’t be ambushed while walking to your car. You trust that giving your credit card to the front desk employee is a secure procedure.

In fact, you put more than just your trust in a property owner. When you stay at a hotel, you put your very life in the hands of the party responsible for securing the premises from the actions of criminals.

So what happens if your trust is misplaced? What if someone does enter your room while you’re sleeping, ambush you in the parking lot, or pull a gun in the hotel lobby?

Are you wondering: How do I file a civil lawsuit for negligent security at a hotel? Belsky & Horowitz, LLC can guide you through this complicated legal process. Please contact our office to discuss your case with a member of our team. There is no cost or obligation to learn your legal options.

You may visit several places in or around Baltimore that have security guards, from banks to grocery stores, shopping centers or malls, hospitals and schools, government buildings, apartment complexes, and more. The presence of a security guard gives most individuals who work or visit those places of business a sense that they’re safe; however, that’s not always the case.

While some security guards are armed, others are not. Even if they are, they may not be in the right place at the right time or well-trained enough to de-escalate a situation before damage is done. There’s then a situation where a security guard may be aware of their responsibilities but not carry them out.

It may be possible to hold a security guard or the entity that hired them liable in scenarios like the ones described above. We’ll delve deeper into your options when you get hurt due to a security guard’s negligence below.

When someone owns a property in Maryland, the law requires them to keep those premises safe for people who live and visit. That includes things like maintaining walking areas and keeping the premises safe from fall hazards. But it also means protecting against foreseeable crime.

So what is negligent security? Negligent security means that a crime could have been prevented (or at least made less likely) if adequate security measures had been in place. It means there was a failure to prevent foreseeable criminal conduct from happening on the property.

Negligent security arises whenever security measures are nonexistent, broken, ineffective, or inadequate. When negligent security is an issue, visitors, guests, tenants, and residents of a property can become injured or killed by criminal activity. Crimes as serious as assault, robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, and rape can result due to poor security measures on the premises.

A property owner who fails to protect against foreseeable crimes may be held liable through legal action for the injuries their negligence caused.