Short answer: Sometimes. A property owner is not automatically responsible because a crime happened on its property. But when an apartment complex, hotel, bar or parking lot operator had reason to see the danger coming and failed to take reasonable steps, such as fixing broken locks, lighting or gates, or responding to earlier incidents, the owner can share responsibility for a victim’s injuries with the person who committed the assault.
People hurt in an assault usually think of the case as being against the attacker, and a criminal prosecution may follow. The trouble is that the attacker often cannot be found, or has no insurance and no money. A negligent security claim asks a different question: what did the business or landlord know, and what did it do about it?
The Key Question Is Foreseeability
The law generally does not make owners insure against every crime. The focus in these cases is whether the particular danger was foreseeable to the owner and whether the owner took reasonable precautions against it. Evidence that tends to show foreseeability includes:
- Earlier assaults, robberies or break-ins on the same property or right next to it
- Tenant or guest complaints about broken doors, locks, gates or lights
- Police calls to the address, and the owner’s knowledge of them
- The owner’s own security policies, and whether staff followed them
- A known problem person who had been reported, banned or evicted
A single random attack in a well-kept, well-lit place with no history is a hard case. Repeated incidents that management knew about, followed by the same broken gate or dark stairwell, is a different one.
Where These Claims Come Up in Utah
Apartments and condominiums. Landlords control common areas such as hallways, stairwells, parking structures, laundry rooms and entry gates. Claims often involve locks or access gates that stayed broken after tenants reported them, burned-out lighting, or unfixed problems with doors to units.
Hotels and motels. Hotels control room keys, door hardware and access to the building. Issues include key cards that were never deactivated, doors that did not latch, and staff who gave out room numbers or keys without checking identification.
Parking lots and garages. Lighting, cameras, fencing and patrols are the usual questions, especially where the lot had a history of car break-ins or robberies.
Bars, clubs and event venues. Staffing, crowd control and how the venue handled a patron who was already aggressive can all matter. If the attacker was served alcohol, Utah’s dram shop law may also apply; see when a bar is liable in Utah.
Negligent security is a type of premises liability, the same body of law behind trip-and-fall claims. The difference is that the hazard is a person rather than a wet floor or a broken stair. For the general rules, see our page on premises liability claims.
How Fault Is Split With the Attacker
This is the part of the case that surprises people. Utah uses comparative fault, and the property owner will almost always argue that the person who threw the punch or pulled the knife bears most of the blame.
Under Utah law, the fact finder may, and when a party asks must, assign a percentage of fault to each defendant, to the injured person, and to anyone else identified under the statute for whom there is a factual and legal basis to allocate fault (Utah Code 78B-5-818(4)). That includes people who are not parties to the lawsuit, as long as the defense files a timely notice identifying them and the basis for allocating fault, no later than 90 days before trial (Utah Code 78B-5-821(4)).
Two rules follow from that:
- Each defendant pays only its own share. The maximum a defendant owes is the percentage of the damages equal to its percentage of fault, and there is no contribution between defendants (Utah Code 78B-5-820).
- You can recover from defendants whose combined fault exceeds yours (Utah Code 78B-5-818(2)). A victim who did nothing wrong usually has little or no fault, but the owner may still argue otherwise, for example by pointing to where the victim chose to go.
Utah’s definition of “fault” is broad; it covers any actionable breach of legal duty, act or omission that causes or contributes to the injury (Utah Code 78B-5-817(2)). How a jury divides fault between a careless owner and a deliberate attacker is often the most contested issue in the case, and it can shrink the owner’s share significantly. That is why the evidence of what the owner knew, and how long it had known, matters so much. If you were partly blamed, our post on recovering when you were partly at fault explains the percentages in more detail.
Evidence to Gather Quickly
Much of the evidence in these cases sits in the owner’s hands, and some of it disappears on a schedule.
- Video. Many camera systems record over themselves in days or weeks. A written request to preserve the footage should go out right away.
- Incident reports. Hotels, apartment managers, bars and security companies usually write their own reports. Ask for a copy and note who took it.
- Police reports and call history. The report for your assault, and the history of calls to the same address, can show what was known before that night.
- Prior incidents. Earlier crimes on the property, complaints and maintenance requests are often the heart of the foreseeability case.
- Photos of the conditions. Broken locks, a propped door, burned-out lights, a gap in a fence. Take them before they are fixed, and note the date.
- Lease, security contract and policies. These can show what the owner promised or required, and who was responsible for security.
- Medical records. Consistent treatment from the start ties the injuries to the assault.
Deadlines and Special Cases
Most Utah injury claims can be filed within four years under Utah Code 78B-2-307(4). If the assault caused a death, the wrongful death deadline is two years (Utah Code 78B-2-304(3)). If the property is owned or run by a government entity, such as a public housing authority, a city parking structure or a public university, a written notice of claim must be filed within one year (Utah Code 63G-7-402), and Utah’s Governmental Immunity Act keeps immunity in place, with narrow exceptions, for negligence-based injuries that arise out of an assault or battery (Utah Code 63G-7-201(4)(b)), which can make a claim against a public owner much harder. Find out early who actually owns and manages the property.
Talk to a Utah Injury Attorney
A negligent security claim is built from records the owner controls, so the first steps are preservation letters and a close look at the property’s history. We handle these cases on a one-third contingency fee, and the firm advances case costs, which are repaid from the recovery.
Hurt in Utah? Call (801) 921-5134 or send us your case for a free consultation. No attorney fees unless we win. Hablamos Español.