What is a negligent security claim under Georgia law?

· 3 min read

A negligent security claim in Georgia holds a property owner or business responsible when inadequate security measures allow a foreseeable crime by a third party to injure someone lawfully on the premises. It is a branch of premises liability, built on the same duty to keep property reasonably safe, but applied to the risk of criminal attacks rather than physical defects.

The duty behind the claim

The foundation is O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1, which requires an owner or occupier who invites people onto the property to exercise ordinary care to keep the premises and approaches safe. Georgia law recognizes that, in some settings, keeping the premises safe includes guarding against the criminal acts of others. When a violent crime against a guest, tenant, or customer was reasonably foreseeable, the owner can owe a duty to take reasonable steps to protect against it.

This duty does not make the owner an insurer of every visitor’s safety. The owner is not automatically liable just because a crime happened on the property. Liability arises only where the harm was foreseeable and the owner failed to act with the care the situation called for.

What an injured person generally must prove

A negligent security case usually requires several connected showings:

  • The owner owed a duty to the injured person, who was lawfully on the premises.
  • The criminal attack was reasonably foreseeable to the owner.
  • The owner failed to take reasonable security measures in light of that risk.
  • That failure caused the injury, which a more secure premises would likely have prevented.

Foreseeability is the heart of most of these cases. Georgia evaluates it under the totality of the circumstances, considering all the relevant facts about the property and its surroundings rather than a single rigid factor.

What reasonable security can involve

Because the standard is ordinary care rather than a fixed checklist, what counts as reasonable depends on the property and the level of risk. Depending on the circumstances, it may involve functioning lighting, working locks and gates, maintained security cameras, trained personnel, or controlled access. Whether any particular measure was required, and whether its absence caused the harm, is decided on the facts of each case.

Comparative fault and damages

O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 governs how responsibility is divided, and in negligent-security cases it does double duty. First, it measures the victim’s own carelessness: that percentage is taken out of the award, and a victim found at least half responsible is left with nothing. Second, the same statute spreads the remaining fault across everyone involved, the criminal attacker included, so the property owner answers only for its own slice rather than the entire loss.

Pulling it together

A negligent security claim under Georgia law lets a person injured by a foreseeable third-party crime hold a property owner accountable for failing to provide reasonable security. Rooted in the ordinary-care duty of O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1, it turns on foreseeability judged from the totality of the circumstances, the adequacy of the security provided, and whether better security would have prevented the harm.

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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