Disclaimer: The information on this page is provided for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Louisiana premises liability law is highly fact-specific, and every case is different. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

If you were hurt at a bar, club, or event in Louisiana, the venue may be legally responsible if it failed to provide reasonable security. This is called a negligent security claim, a type of premises liability case built on the idea that property owners owe visitors a duty to guard against foreseeable harm. Whether that duty applies to your situation depends on what the venue knew, what it did about it, and what actually happened the night you were hurt.

At Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers, our attorneys have spent 350+ years combined helping injured Louisianians hold negligent property owners accountable, recovering more than $1 billion for clients across the state. Below, we break down how negligent security claims work, what evidence matters most, and what steps to take if you were injured through no fault of your own.

What Is Negligent Security?

Negligent security is a legal claim arguing that a property owner or operator failed to take reasonable steps to protect visitors from foreseeable criminal acts by third parties, such as:

• Fights
• Assaults
• Robberies
• Shootings

It falls under the broader legal category of premises liability, which holds owners responsible for injuries caused by unsafe conditions on their property.

Louisiana premises liability claims are generally rooted in Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315, which provides that anyone whose fault causes damage to another is obligated to repair the damage.

Premises liability covers any injury caused by a hazardous or poorly maintained property, including:

• Spills
• Broken stairs
• Inadequate lighting

Negligent security is a narrower category focused specifically on injuries caused by another person's criminal act, where the property owner's lack of precaution is the alleged failure.

Common Causes of Negligent Security at Bars, Clubs, and Events

• Crowded nightlife venues pose real safety risks, and courts closely examine whether an operator responded 
• to known dangers with reasonable precautions. Common contributing factors include:
• Insufficient or untrained security staff for the venue's capacity
• No metal detectors, pat-downs, or bag checks at entry points
• Overserving visibly intoxicated patrons without intervention
• Poor lighting in parking lots, entrances, or exits
• Unaddressed overcrowding beyond posted occupancy limits
• Broken or absent security cameras
• Failure to remove or restrain patrons after prior altercations
• No plan for controlling crowds during closing time or after fights break out

Types of Injuries From Negligent Security Incidents 

Injury Type	Common Cause
Blunt force trauma	Bar fights, assaults, crowd crush
Gunshot wounds	Shootings inside or in parking areas
Stab wounds	Weapon-related assaults
Traumatic brain injury	Falls during altercations, being struck
Broken bones and fractures	Physical altercations, crowd surges
Emotional distress	Witnessing or surviving a violent incident

Who Can Be Held Liable for Negligent Security?

• Liability in these cases can extend beyond the person who directly caused the harm. Depending on the facts, one or more of the following parties may share responsibility:
• The venue owner or operator, if they failed to maintain adequate staffing, lighting, or entry screening
• Event promoters, if they organized an event without arranging sufficient crowd control
• Third-party security contractors, if their staff acted negligently or were inadequately trained
• Property management companies, if they control the physical space where the incident occurred

How Louisiana Law Determines Duty in These Cases

Louisiana does not treat every crime on a business's property as the business's fault. In Posecai v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the Louisiana Supreme Court adopted a balancing test that weighs the foreseeability and gravity of the risk of harm against the burden it would place on the business to guard against it.

Under this standard, courts generally consider:

• The history of prior crimes on the property or in the immediate area
• How similar those prior incidents were to what happened to the injured person
• The nature of the business and its location
• The cost and feasibility of the security measures the plaintiff argues should have been in place

A single unforeseen incident with no history of prior violence at a venue is far less likely to support a duty finding than repeated fights or weapons incidents that the operator knew about and ignored. This is why documenting a venue's history matters so much in these claims.

Evidence Needed to Prove a Negligent Security Claim

Evidence Type	Why It Matters
Surveillance footage	Shows what security staff observed and how they responded
Incident and police reports	Establishes an official record of what happened
History of prior incidents	Supports foreseeability under the Posecai balancing test
Staffing and training records	Shows whether security levels matched the venue's risk profile
Witness statements	Corroborates the sequence of events
Medical records	Documents the extent and cause of injuries
Venue permits and occupancy records	Reveals whether capacity or licensing rules were violated

Types of Compensation Available

Compensation in a negligent security case generally falls into two categories, and the specific amount depends heavily on the severity of the injury and the strength of the evidence of liability.

Category	Examples
Economic damages	Medical bills, lost wages, future medical care, rehabilitation costs
Non-economic damages	Pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life

No attorney can promise a specific outcome or dollar amount before reviewing the facts of a case, since Louisiana law requires that every element of fault and damages be proven individually.

How the Claims Process Works

After an injury, a personal injury attorney's role is to:

• Investigate the incident
• Gather evidence before it disappears
• Identify all liable parties
• Negotiate with insurance companies on the client's behalf

The client's role is to:

• Seek medical treatment
• Follow their doctor's guidance
• Provide the attorney with accurate information about what happened

Venues and their insurers frequently raise defenses in these cases, including:

• Arguing the attack was unforeseeable, given no history of similar incidents
• Claiming the injured person was partly at fault for their own injuries
• Disputing the extent or cause of the claimed injuries
• Arguing an independent third party's criminal act breaks the chain of liability

Louisiana follows a modified comparative fault system with a 51% bar, meaning a person found more than 51% at fault for their own injury cannot recover damages. For more on how this standard works, see our breakdown of Louisiana's comparative fault law.

How Long Do You Have to File a Claim in Louisiana?

Louisiana law sets a strict deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, and missing it generally bars recovery entirely. Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 3493.1, delictual (tort) actions arising on or after July 1, 2024, are subject to a two-year prescriptive period running from the date the injury occurred. Incidents that occurred before that date remain subject to the previous one-year deadline. Because the applicable deadline depends on the exact date of the incident, confirming it early with an attorney is important.

Steps to Take Immediately After the Incident

1. Get to safety first. Move away from the immediate danger before doing anything else.
2. Seek medical attention, even if injuries seem minor. Some injuries, especially head trauma, are not immediately obvious.
3. Call the police and request that an official report be filed documenting the incident.
4. Photograph the scene if it's safe to do so, including lighting conditions, entry points, and any visible security gaps.
5. Get witness information, including names and phone numbers of anyone who saw what happened.
6. Avoid giving a recorded statement to the venue's insurance company before speaking with an attorney.
7. Keep all medical records and bills related to treatment for your injuries.
8. Contact a personal injury attorney promptly, since evidence like surveillance footage is often overwritten or deleted within days or weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue a bar or club for an assault that happened on its property?
You may be able to, if you can show that the venue's lack of reasonable security measures contributed to the incident. Simply being attacked on the property is not enough on its own; Louisiana courts require evidence connecting the venue's conduct to the foreseeability of the harm.

What if I don't know who assaulted me?
A negligent security claim against the venue can proceed independently of whether the specific attacker is identified or caught, since the claim is based on the property owner's own conduct, not the attacker's.

Does it matter if I had been drinking?
It can be a factor that an insurer raises, but intoxication alone does not automatically bar a claim. Louisiana's comparative fault system may reduce compensation if a person is found partially at fault, but it does not necessarily eliminate the claim entirely.

How long does a negligent security case take to resolve?
Timelines vary widely depending on the severity of injuries, the number of liable parties, and whether the case settles or proceeds to trial. Complex cases involving multiple defendants or disputed liability generally take longer than more straightforward claims.

Do I need a lawyer if the venue's insurance company already contacted me?
Speaking with an attorney before giving a statement to an insurance company is generally advisable, since insurers often gather information early to minimize what they may eventually pay.

Laborde Earles is Here to Help

Negligent security cases require proving what a venue knew, what it should have done, and how its failure connected to your specific injury, which is rarely straightforward without legal guidance. At Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers, our attorneys have recovered more than $1 billion for injured Louisianians and put 350+ years of combined experience to work identifying every liable party in complex premises liability cases. If you were injured due to negligent security at a bar, club, or event, contact us today for a free case evaluation.

• Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315, LSU Law Center: https://lcco.law.lsu.edu/?uid=83&ver=en#83
• Louisiana Civil Code Article 3493.1, Louisiana State Legislature: https://www.legis.la.gov/LEGIS/Law.aspx?d=1386443
• Posecai v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 752 So. 2d 762 (La. 1999), CourtListener: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1691243/posecai-v-wal-mart-stores-inc/