St. Louis Negligent Security Lawyer

Negligent security is a type of premises liability claim that can apply when individuals suffer harm because a property failed to protect them from foreseeable criminal acts.

In plain terms, negligent security occurs when a violent crime happens on a property and the incident was linked to a property owner’s failure to take reasonable precautions to address known or predictable security threats.

Missouri law sets an important baseline for these cases through the Business Premises Safety Act, codified at Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.787.

Under that statute, businesses generally have no automatic duty of care to protect visitors from criminal acts by third parties unless the business had reason to know criminal acts were being committed or were reasonably likely to be committed in a particular area of the premises, and the business had sufficient time and the ability to prevent the harm.

That legal framework means many negligent security cases in Missouri focus on foreseeability and preventability.

If there were previous crimes on the property or a history of threats, complaints, or police calls that signaled a rising risk, the property may have had a responsibility to respond with reasonable safety steps.

Those steps can include basic measures like lighting and access control, as well as security infrastructure like security cameras, working surveillance systems, and trained security personnel.

If a property ignores warning signs and a visitor is attacked, the claim often centers on whether the business failed to provide adequate security measures that could have reduced or prevented the danger.

In Missouri, a negligent security claim usually comes down to whether the harm was preventable and whether the business had a legal obligation to act.

Section 537.787 also includes defenses that businesses often raise, including a defense that the business implemented “reasonable security measures,” and defenses involving trespassing, criminal conduct by the claimant, or incidents occurring when the business was closed.

What Negligent Security Looks Like in Real Life

Negligent security claims often involve incidents such as shootings, assaults, sexual violence, robberies, and other violent attacks, especially in settings where prior crime or known risks made the danger predictable.

In many cases, the facts point to gaps that allowed the incident to happen or escalate, such as:

• Broken locks or gates that allowed unauthorized entry
• Poor lighting in parking areas, hallways, stairwells, or common spaces
• Missing or nonfunctional security cameras or surveillance systems
• No trained security personnel or inadequate staffing in high-risk areas
• Failure to monitor cameras or respond to known disturbances
• Ignoring tenant or customer complaints about prior threats
• Failure to remove trespassers or address repeated disturbances
• Outsourcing security to security companies without adequate supervision or enforcement

When those failures are tied to a known risk, and the crime fits the pattern of foreseeable harm, Missouri law may allow victims and families to seek compensation for medical care, lost income, emotional and psychological harm, and other damages connected to the attack.

The “Foreseeability” Issue in a Missouri Negligent Security Case

In a Missouri negligent security case, the concept of foreseeability often determines whether a property owner owed a duty to act before a violent crime occurred.

Under Missouri’s Business Premises Safety Act, businesses are not automatically responsible for criminal conduct by third parties, so a claim typically depends on whether the risk of violence was reasonably predictable based on what the property knew or should have known.

Foreseeability can be established through prior incidents on the property, repeated disturbances, police calls for service, or other warning signs that made an attack more than a random possibility.

It can also come from the nature of the property itself, such as locations that attract late-night crowds, operate in high-crime corridors, or have a known history of assaults or robberies.

When those warning signs exist, the law may expect the property to take reasonable steps to reduce the risk rather than leaving visitors exposed.

That is where inadequate security measures become central to the case, including broken locks, poor lighting, lack of security presence, or nonfunctional surveillance equipment.

In many personal injury cases involving negligent security, the evidence focuses on whether the property’s security failures made it easier for the crime to happen or gave the attacker more opportunity to carry it out.

Property owners and insurers often argue the crime was unforeseeable and unavoidable, but the investigation may show the danger had been building for months or years with clear opportunities to intervene.

When a crime follows a recognizable pattern and basic security steps were ignored, the case becomes less about blaming the property for the criminal act and more about proving preventable harm caused by a failure to respond to known risks.

Negligent security claims in St. Louis often involve violent crimes that occur on property where owners or property managers failed to respond to known risks.

These cases usually focus on whether the property had a legal duty to address predictable dangers and whether the crime was crime foreseeable based on prior incidents, complaints, or recurring problems.

Many claims arise in places where criminal activity was not new, such as apartment complexes with repeated disturbances, hotels with prior assaults, or parking garages with a history of robberies.

A negligent security lawsuit becomes more likely when the conditions made it easier for an attacker to target someone, such as broken access gates, lack of security presence, or failure to maintain adequate lighting in high-traffic areas.

These incidents can happen anywhere, but they often occur in settings where people are isolated, entering or leaving a building, or walking to their car at night.

When an injured person can show that the property failed to take reasonable steps despite clear warning signs, the case may center on whether the attack could have been prevented or reduced.

The focus is not simply on the crime itself.

It is on what the property knew, what it failed to fix, and how those choices contributed to the harm.

In many cases, the strongest claims involve patterns of violence or repeated security failures that made the danger predictable long before the incident occurred.

Incidents commonly tied to negligent security claims include:

• Assaults at apartment complexes, stairwells, hallways, or shared common areas
• Shootings on or near residential property, including parking lots and entry points
• Armed robberies or carjackings in parking garages or retail parking lots
• Sexual assaults in hotels, motels, apartment buildings, or short-term rentals
• Attacks in bars, nightclubs, and entertainment districts, especially late-night incidents
• Violence at convenience stores, gas stations, and ATMs in poorly monitored areas
• Workplace attacks in properties with known trespassing, threats, or prior disturbances
• Home invasions or intruder attacks tied to broken locks, gates, or uncontrolled access

After an assault or attack on someone else’s property, what you do in the first hours and days can affect both your health and your ability to pursue a claim later.

Violent incidents often leave people dealing with physical injuries, shock, and fear, and it is common to feel overwhelmed or unsure of what comes next.

Even if you believe the property failed to protect you, the legal process often depends on documentation that begins immediately after the incident.

Taking the right steps early can preserve critical evidence and help protect your rights while you focus on recovery.

Steps to take after an incident include:

1. Call 911 and request police assistance so the incident is formally documented and the scene is secured when possible.
2. Get medical care right away, even if symptoms seem minor, and follow through with treatment to create a clear record of injuries.
3. Preserve evidence by taking photos of the area, visible injuries, torn clothing, and anything else that captures what happened and the conditions on the property.
4. Identify witnesses and collect contact information before people leave, especially employees, residents, or bystanders who saw the incident or the property conditions.
5. Write down everything you remember while it is fresh, including what you saw, what you heard, and any security failures such as broken locks, poor lighting, or missing cameras.
6. Avoid giving recorded statements or signing releases for the property owner or insurance company before getting legal advice.
7. Contact a negligent security attorney.

These cases often involve evidence that disappears quickly, including surveillance footage that can be overwritten within days.

Property owners and managers may also repair security issues after an incident, which can make it harder to prove what conditions looked like at the time of the attack.

An experienced attorney can send preservation letters, request footage, and begin investigating prior incidents tied to the property’s history of violence or security failures.

If you are coping with trauma or the loss of a loved one, having legal support can take pressure off your family while the case is evaluated.

The earlier a claim is investigated, the better the chances of documenting the security failures that may have contributed to a preventable attack.

Missouri Law and Negligent Security Claims

Negligent security claims in Missouri are shaped by a mix of state statutes and local rules that define when a property may owe a duty to protect visitors from third-party criminal acts and how those cases must be proven.

The legal baseline often depends on foreseeability, what the property knew or should have known about criminal risk, and whether reasonable protective measures could have reduced the danger.

Missouri law also sets out key defenses and evidence rules that affect how plaintiffs build these cases, especially when the defendant is a business open to the public.

In St. Louis, additional licensing and regulation requirements for private security officers and security businesses can become relevant in cases involving guards or third-party security contractors.

Missouri and St. Louis laws that affect negligent security cases:

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.787 — Business Premises Safety Act (duty + affirmative defenses): Establishes that businesses generally have no duty to protect against third-party criminal acts unless the business knew or should have known criminal acts were occurring or were reasonably likely and had time/ability to prevent the harm; also outlines affirmative defenses and limits admissibility of subsequent security improvements.
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120 — Five-year statute of limitations for most personal injury claims: Provides the general filing deadline for “injury to the person or rights of another” not otherwise enumerated, which commonly applies to negligent security personal injury claims (subject to exceptions depending on the claim type).
• St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department — Private Security licensing and regulation (City ordinance enforced by SLMPD Private Security Section): St. Louis requires licensing and regulates contract security businesses and private security officers; these rules can matter when a negligent security case involves a security guard, an unlicensed officer, or a security company’s hiring and training practices.
• City of St. Louis Ordinances (security-related licensing and business regulation): The City maintains a searchable ordinance database that includes regulations affecting business operations, licensing, and public safety requirements that may intersect with negligent security disputes depending on the property type (bars, venues, private security contractors, etc.).

A negligent security case arises when someone is harmed by a violent crime on another person’s property and the circumstances suggest the incident was preventable with reasonable safety measures.

You may qualify for a lawsuit if you were lawfully on the property and the owner or manager failed to address known risks, such as prior assaults, robberies, or repeated disturbances.

These cases are often stronger when there is evidence of security failures like broken locks, poor lighting, lack of surveillance, or a history of similar incidents that made the danger predictable.

The incident must also be connected to your losses, which may include medical bills, lost wages, emotional trauma, and other damages tied to the attack.

Some claims also involve property damage, such as damage to a vehicle during a carjacking or loss of personal belongings during a robbery, though the primary focus is usually on bodily harm.

Many victims face serious injuries that require surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation, or long-term mental health care.

If the facts support that a property’s security failures contributed to the harm, you may have the right to pursue fair compensation through an insurance claim or lawsuit.

Our law firm can review what happened, explain how Missouri law applies to your case, and help you understand whether a negligent security claim is worth pursuing.

Gathering Evidence for a Negligent Security Claim

Negligent security litigation focuses on proving that the risk of violence was foreseeable and that the property failed to take reasonable steps to reduce it.

Evidence matters because property owners and insurers often argue that the attack was random, unavoidable, or unrelated to any security failure.

The stronger the documentation, the easier it becomes to show how missing safeguards (such as a lack of adequate security personnel or broken access controls) created the conditions for preventable harm.

Building a clear record early can support liability and strengthen a demand for financial recovery, especially when critical information like surveillance footage or incident logs could disappear quickly.

Evidence that can support a negligent security claim includes:

• Police reports and 911 call records tied to the incident
• Prior police calls for service and crime history at or near the property
• Incident reports created by the property, business, or security staff
• Surveillance footage and camera system coverage maps
• Proof of missing or nonfunctional cameras, lighting, locks, or gates
• Documentation showing a lack of adequate security personnel, understaffing, or untrained guards
• Contracts and communications with third-party security companies
• Guard logs, patrol schedules, and post orders describing expected duties
• Tenant or customer complaints about threats, trespassers, or prior criminal activity
• Witness statements from residents, employees, or bystanders
• Maintenance records showing delayed repairs to locks, gates, or lighting
• Photographs of the scene, including blind spots, broken fixtures, and poor visibility
• Emails, internal reports, or corporate communications showing prior awareness of risk
• Prior lawsuits, insurance claims, or settlement records related to similar incidents

Damages in Negligent Security Claims

Damages are the financial and personal losses a victim suffers after a violent incident, and they form the foundation of what a claim is worth.

Lawyers assess damages by reviewing medical records, treatment projections, employment documentation, and evidence of how the injuries affected daily life, independence, and long-term stability.

Because negligent security cases often involve trauma that extends beyond physical harm, attorneys also evaluate pain and suffering and emotional distress using mental health records, testimony from providers, and documented changes in functioning.

In a successful negligent security lawsuit, compensation is based on the total impact of the attack, including both measurable costs and the lasting consequences that do not show up on a bill.

Common damages in negligent security claims include:

• Medical expenses (emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, therapy, rehabilitation, prescriptions)
• Future medical costs and long-term care needs
• Lost wages and loss of earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and sleep disruption
• Disfigurement or permanent disability
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium (harm to spousal or family relationships)
• Property loss or property damage related to the incident
• Wrongful death damages, including funeral and burial costs and loss of companionship/support

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Negligent Security Incident?

Liability in a negligent security case depends on who controlled the property, who was responsible for safety decisions, and who had the ability to correct security failures before the attack occurred.

These claims often involve multiple defendants because the party that owns the property is not always the one managing day-to-day operations or hiring security.

Identifying the correct liable parties is a core part of the investigation, especially when contractors, management companies, or corporate entities share responsibility for the conditions that contributed to the incident.

Potentially liable parties may include:

• Property owners
• Property management companies
• Businesses operating on the property (bars, clubs, hotels, stores, venues)
• Security companies contracted to patrol or monitor the premises
• Security guards and supervisors (in certain cases involving negligence or misconduct)
• Maintenance contractors responsible for locks, gates, lighting, or access control systems
• Corporate parent companies or franchisors (when they control security policies or operations)
• Event organizers or promoters (for assaults tied to crowd control or venue security failures)

TorHoerman Law has a proven track record representing victims of accidents, serious injuries, corporate misconduct, and preventable harm caused by unsafe property conditions.

Negligent security cases often involve life-changing trauma, and the legal process can feel overwhelming when you are trying to recover or when your family is grieving a loss.

Our law firm investigates what happened, identifies the security failures that may have contributed to the attack, and builds a claim based on the facts, the property’s history, and Missouri law.

If you or a loved one was injured due to negligent security in St. Louis, TorHoerman Law is available to review your case, explain your legal options, and discuss what pursuing compensation could look like.

Call today for a free, confidential consultation.