Can I sue when a security guard used excessive force or failed to act in Georgia?

· 3 min read

Georgia law recognizes claims arising from a security guard’s conduct, whether the guard used too much force or stood by when action was needed. The path to liability differs depending on the failure, and it often reaches beyond the individual guard to the company or property that put the guard in place.

When a guard uses excessive force

A guard is permitted to use only reasonable force, and force that exceeds what the situation calls for can give rise to liability. Depending on the facts, an injured person may pursue claims grounded in negligence or in intentional conduct such as battery, where a guard applied force beyond any lawful justification. The employer can also be exposed. Under principles of respondeat superior, a business may answer for wrongful acts a guard commits within the scope of employment, and separate theories of negligent hiring, training, or retention may apply where the employer put an unfit or poorly prepared guard on duty.

When a guard fails to act

A guard who does nothing in the face of a known threat can present a different problem. The property owner’s duty of ordinary care to invitees under O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1 includes taking reasonable steps against foreseeable criminal acts, and once an operator undertakes to provide security, a jury may consider whether the guard’s inaction fell short of that reasonable care. Examples that can support a claim include:

  • Ignoring an unfolding assault a guard could safely have interrupted.
  • Failing to call police when a clear danger arose.
  • Abandoning a post the guard was assigned to monitor.

The analysis still turns on reasonableness. A guard is not required to risk serious injury or to prevent every possible harm, only to act as a reasonably careful guard would under the circumstances.

Who answers and how fault is shared

Both the guard and the entities behind the guard can be proper defendants, including the security company and, in appropriate cases, the property owner that retained it. With several defendants in play, O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 lets the jury hand a percentage of fault to the guard, the security company, the property owner, the injured person, and any criminal third party. The injured person’s percentage trims the award and forecloses it at 50 percent. The lawsuit has to be brought within the two years O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 sets.

The bottom line

In Georgia, both excessive force and a failure to act by a security guard can lead to liability, reaching the guard, the security company, and sometimes the property owner. The outcome depends on whether the conduct was reasonable, which legal theory fits the facts, and how Georgia’s fault rules apportion responsibility among everyone involved.

This article is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and Georgia law may change. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Georgia personal injury attorney.

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