Negligent security claims generally arise when a violent act occurs on a property and the harm was tied to foreseeable risk—meaning the property owner or business should have taken reasonable steps to protect people based on what they knew (or should have known).
In Liberal, common situations we see include:
- Apartments and multi-unit housing: damaged or propped exterior doors, malfunctioning access points, poorly lit entryways, or lack of effective monitoring.
- Retail and service businesses: incidents in parking areas, dim walkways, or areas where security presence and incident response weren’t aligned with real-world conditions.
- Work-related traffic and evening movement: injuries that happen when people are arriving or leaving for shifts, after dark, or when foot traffic patterns increase.
A key point: the law doesn’t require a property owner to guarantee safety. It asks whether their security steps were reasonable for the environment.


