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Most people understand that a property owner can be held responsible if a wet floor causes a fall or a broken staircase leads to an injury. Fewer people realize that property owners can also face liability when a crime happens on their premises because they failed to provide reasonable security. If you were assaulted, robbed, or otherwise harmed on someone else’s property in Philadelphia, the property owner may share responsibility for what happened to you.
This is called an inadequate security claim, and it falls under Pennsylvania’s premises liability law. Understanding how these cases work can help you decide whether you have grounds to take legal action.
What Is Inadequate Security?
Inadequate security means a property owner failed to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable criminal activity, putting visitors at risk of harm.
Under Pennsylvania law, a property owner or possessor may be liable for inadequate security when they owe a legal duty of care, the risk of criminal harm was foreseeable, they failed to exercise reasonable care, and that failure caused the injury. However, Pennsylvania law does not impose an automatic, blanket duty on all property owners to protect visitors or tenants from third-party crimes. For landlords in particular, under Feld v. Merriam, liability generally arises only where the landlord voluntarily undertook or agreed to provide a security program, or where specific circumstances, notice, and control over common areas establish a duty.
Inadequate security can take many forms, including:
- Broken or missing locks on doors and gates
- Poor or nonexistent lighting in parking lots, hallways, and stairwells
- Failing to provide reasonable protective measures—such as surveillance cameras or security personnel—when circumstances and known risks warrant them
- Failure to repair or report security vulnerabilities after prior incidents
- Negligent hiring or supervision of security personnel
The key concept here is foreseeability. Pennsylvania courts do not hold property owners responsible for every crime that could ever occur. Instead, the law asks whether a reasonable property owner in the same situation would have anticipated the risk and taken steps to address it.
What Types of Properties Can Be Held Liable?
Many private commercial and residential properties, where the owner or manager controls security conditions, may be held liable if inadequate security contributed to a crime—though public and governmental entities are subject to special rules, notice requirements, and statutory immunity limits.
Inadequate security claims arise in a wide range of settings across Philadelphia. Common locations include apartment complexes, hotels, shopping centers, parking garages, nightclubs and bars, convenience stores, schools, and public transit facilities. Essentially, any location where a property owner or manager exercises control over the premises and security measures can potentially face a claim.
Absentee landlords, commercial property management companies, and business operators all fall within the scope of Pennsylvania premises liability law. The fact that the harm was caused by a third-party criminal does not automatically shield the property owner from responsibility.
How Do You Prove an Inadequate Security Claim in Pennsylvania?
To succeed, you must show the property owner knew or should have known about a security risk and failed to take reasonable action to address it.
Pennsylvania premises liability law, grounded in general negligence principles under Pennsylvania common law, requires an injured person to establish several elements:
1. The property owner or possessor owed you a duty of care based on your legal status on the property or a specific security undertaking
2. The owner breached that duty by failing to provide adequate security
3. That breach was a direct cause of the crime and your injuries
4. You suffered real, documented damages as a result
Evidence matters enormously in these cases. Prior complaints, maintenance records, incident logs from the specific property, witness statements, and security camera footage are crucial to establishing that the owner had notice of a hazard. While broader crime reports and Philadelphia Police Department public crime data can help reveal community patterns, Pennsylvania courts place the greatest weight on specific, documented criminal incidents that occur directly on or immediately adjacent to the premises.
The stronger the link between the property’s security failures and the crime that harmed you, the stronger your claim becomes.
What Damages Can You Recover?
Victims of crimes tied to inadequate security may recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, emotional trauma, and more.
If your claim is successful, you may be entitled to compensation for:
- Medical expenses, both current and future
- Lost income and diminished earning capacity.
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress and trauma, which can be severe after a violent crime
- Costs related to therapy or rehabilitation
Crimes like assaults and robberies often leave victims with lasting psychological harm, not just physical injuries. Pennsylvania law allows recovery for both, and a court will consider the full impact of what you went through.
It is worth noting that Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence rule. Under 42 Pa. C.S. § 7102, if you are found partially at fault for your own harm, your recovery may be reduced. As long as your share of fault does not exceed 50%, you can still recover damages.
Our blog on Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence law explains how this affects personal injury claims in more detail.
How Long Do You Have to File?
In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations for most personal injury claims, including inadequate security cases, is two years from the date of injury.
Under 42 Pa. C.S. § 5524, you generally have two years from the date the crime occurred to file a lawsuit. Missing that deadline almost always means losing your right to pursue compensation entirely. The sooner you act, the better your chances of preserving evidence and building a strong case.
For a broader look at how premises liability works in Philadelphia, our guide covers the foundational legal concepts behind these claims.
Talk to Lassiter & Associates, P.C. About Your Case
Being the victim of a crime is traumatic enough. Discovering that it could have been prevented makes it worse. At Lassiter & Associates, P.C., I take these cases personally. Together with my team, I offer free consultations and believe in keeping clients informed at every step of the process — because understanding what is happening with your case makes an already difficult time more manageable.
If you were harmed due to inadequate security on someone else’s property in Philadelphia, contact me online or call my office at 267-682-8918 to talk through what happened and learn about your options.
