Being attacked in a place that was supposed to be safe leaves damage that does not show up on an X ray. Scott Templeton is a San Angelo negligent security lawyer who represents people harmed by crime on property where the owner ignored a danger it already knew about. Templeton Law Firm handles these claims across Tom Green County and West Texas, in English and Spanish.
Free case review. Call (325) 482-9120 or contact the firm online.
What Is Negligent Security?
Negligent security is a claim against a property owner for failing to take reasonable steps to protect people from foreseeable crime. It is not a claim against the person who attacked you. It is a claim that the apartment complex, hotel, bar, or parking lot operator saw the risk coming and did nothing about it.
Broken gates, dead security cameras, burned out lights, unlocked stairwell doors, and a security guard position that was quietly eliminated to save money are the conditions these cases are built on.
When Is an Owner Responsible for a Crime Someone Else Committed?
When the crime was foreseeable and the risk was unreasonable. Texas courts do not hold owners responsible for random, unpredictable violence. They hold owners responsible when the warning signs were already there.
The Texas Supreme Court set the framework in Timberwalk Apartments, Partners, Inc. v. Cain. Five factors get weighed together.
| Factor | The question it answers |
| Proximity | Did similar crimes happen on this property or immediately nearby? |
| Recency | How recently did those crimes occur? |
| Frequency | How often were they happening? |
| Similarity | Were the earlier crimes close enough in kind to put the owner on notice? |
| Publicity | Did the owner know, or should it have known, through reports, complaints, or news coverage? |
No single factor decides the case. A property with one shoplifting arrest three years ago looks very different from a complex with eleven reported assaults in eighteen months.
Can an Owner Be Liable Without a History of Crime on the Property?
Yes, when the danger unfolds in front of them. In Del Lago Partners, Inc. v. Smith, the Texas Supreme Court found a resort responsible after roughly 90 minutes of open hostility between intoxicated groups ended in a serious assault. Staff watched it build and did nothing.
The Court limited that ruling to its facts, but it shows that crime history is not the only route. This version of the claim depends on what employees saw, when they saw it, and what a reasonable business would have done with that information.
If staff were warned and ignored it, that matters. Call (325) 482-9120.
Is Foreseeability Alone Enough to Win?
No. Foreseeability and unreasonable risk are two separate questions, which the Texas Supreme Court made explicit in UDR Texas Properties, L.P. v. Petrie.
A crime can be foreseeable and still not create liability if the burden of preventing it would have been out of proportion to the risk. Practically, that means these claims are strongest where the fix was cheap and obvious: repairing a gate that had been broken for months, replacing a light, re keying a door, or restoring a guard shift that had already been budgeted.
What Kinds of Properties Face Negligent Security Claims?
Any property that invites the public in and controls its own safety measures. Apartment complexes and rental communities produce the largest share, followed by hotels and motels, bars and nightclubs, retail parking lots, self storage facilities, gas stations open late, and student housing.
Bars carry an added layer. Under Section 2.02 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code, a business can be responsible for what a patron does next if it was apparent that the patron was obviously intoxicated to the extent of being a clear danger to himself and others. A bar whose staff completed state approved seller training may have a defense. That claim runs alongside a security claim rather than replacing it.
What if the Attack Happened at a Business You Were Visiting?
The claim runs against whoever controlled the premises. Retail stores, restaurants, medical offices, and warehouses all owe reasonable care to the customers and visitors they invite in, and that duty includes protection from crime the business could see coming.
Control is the pivot. A shopping center landlord may control the parking lot and exterior lighting while an individual tenant controls only its own storefront. Franchise agreements and property management contracts frequently split those duties in ways that are not obvious from the sign on the building, so both are worth reading before deciding who belongs in a lawsuit.
What Evidence Actually Builds One of These Cases?
Records that show the owner was already on notice. Police call histories for the address, prior offense reports from the same block, and code enforcement files establish the crime pattern the Timberwalk factors ask about.
From the property side, the useful material is internal: tenant complaint logs, work orders for gates and lighting, contracts with security vendors, staffing schedules, and any risk assessment the insurer required. Security consultants are often retained to compare what the property had against what comparable properties in the area were doing.
Much of this exists only until someone decides to delete it. A written preservation demand sent early is the practical step that keeps it available.
How Long Do You Have to File a Negligent Security Claim in Texas?
It depends on the underlying crime, and the difference is large. The general two year rule in Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code does not apply to every case.
| Type of claim | Deadline to file |
| Most injury claims, including robbery and assault | 2 years |
| Injury arising from sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault of an adult | 5 years |
| Injury arising from certain offenses against a child | 30 years |
Those longer periods come from Section 16.0045, and Section 16.003 expressly carves them out. Whether they reach a claim against a property owner rather than the person who committed the offense is still being worked out in Texas courts, which is a reason to have the dates reviewed rather than assumed.
What Does It Take to Handle One of These Cases Well?
The kind of digging that gets skipped when files are handled at volume. Crime history has to be pulled, prior tenant complaints have to be found, and lease and management contracts have to be read to figure out who actually controlled security.
That means subpoenaing offense reports, reading management contracts to find who was responsible for the gate, and taking depositions of the people who fielded the complaints. I have been licensed in Texas since 1998 and handle this work personally.
Cases filed here are heard in the 51st, 119th, 340th, or 391st District Courts of Tom Green County. This work sits inside the firm's broader premises liability claims in San Angelo, alongside the other personal injury cases we handle in San Angelo.
Talk to Scott Templeton directly at (325) 482-9120 or scott@templetonlawfirm.com.
Safety Was Part of What You Were Paying For
Rent, a room rate, a cover charge, a parking fee. Every one of them comes with an unspoken promise that the business is watching the things you cannot watch yourself. When that promise is broken and someone gets hurt, the law does not treat it as bad luck.
You can reach Scott Templeton directly at 905 S. Abe Street in San Angelo, weekdays from 9 AM to 5 PM, in English or Spanish. Case reviews are free, and injury clients pay no attorney fee unless there is a recovery. Call (325) 482-9120 or schedule a free consultation about your negligent security claim.
Negligent Security Questions Answered
Do I have to wait for the criminal case to end before filing?
No. The criminal case and your civil claim run on separate tracks with separate rules and separate deadlines. Waiting can cost you evidence, and in some situations it can cost you the claim entirely. A conviction can help, but it is not required.
The person who attacked me was never identified. Can I still bring a claim?
Yes, though the case is built differently. With no arrest there is no criminal file to subpoena, so the evidence leans almost entirely on the property's own records and on the police call history for the address. Those cases move slower at the start and often depend on how quickly a preservation demand goes out.
I was visiting a friend at the complex, not living there. Can I still sue?
Usually yes. Texas protection is tied to your status on the property rather than to a lease, and a resident's invited guest is generally treated the same as the resident for these purposes. Bring anything that confirms you were there with permission, such as a text invitation or a gate code you were given.
Who actually pays if a claim succeeds?
Usually the property's liability insurance, not the owner's personal bank account. Commercial properties carry general liability coverage, and management companies, security contractors, and franchisors sometimes carry policies of their own. Identifying every available policy early shapes what a case can realistically resolve for.
Will my name become public if I file?
Not necessarily. Texas courts allow protective measures in cases involving sexual assault and other sensitive facts, including filing under initials or a pseudonym in appropriate circumstances. Raise this at the first meeting so it is handled before anything is filed.