Businesses in Washington often carry special insurance to protect them from premises liability. Being open to the public creates a bit of risk for a business. Anyone who gets hurt while visiting a company’s office or retail establishment might have grounds for a premises liability claim.
Negligent maintenance or facility repairs will often be the underlying cause of a premises liability claim in Washington. People who get hurt because of unlit stairs or messy stores may have grounds for a lawsuit. However, people can also take action against landlords and businesses for negligent security if crime leads to someone’s injury while visiting a business or other commercial property.
What is negligent security?
Negligent security involves a failure to take steps that reasonable people recognize are necessary for the safety of others. When running a business, there are certain types of crime that are reasonably predictable. The location of the business, the local community and other factors will influence what risks are likely concerns.
Businesses can protect patrons and workers with fences, keyed building access and even Security Professionals. If someone can reasonably claim that better security practices would likely have prevented criminal activity, then they may have grounds for a premises security lawsuit against the business in addition to any claim they may bring against the criminals involved in the incident.
A company’s insurance policy can help provide compensation for those who suffered injuries in an assault or property losses in a robbery that occurred because of poor security practices. Recognizing who contributed to a situation that left someone hurt can make obtaining full compensation a bit easier.