The Short Answer
A negligent security claim in Colorado holds a property owner financially responsible when they fail to provide reasonable security and a foreseeable crime — an assault, robbery, or worse — happens to a visitor as a result. To win, you generally have to show the owner knew or should have known crime was likely, failed to take reasonable precautions, and that failure contributed to your injury. These claims fall under Colorado’s premises liability Act (C.R.S. § 13-21-115), and most must be filed within two years.
—
Yes — if you were the victim of a crime on someone else’s property because that property owner failed to provide reasonable security, you may be able to recover compensation from the owner, separate from any criminal case against the person who hurt you. Most people don’t realize this. They assume the only path to accountability runs through the criminal courts. It doesn’t.
A criminal case punishes the attacker. A civil negligent security claim addresses the property owner who created the conditions that let the crime happen — the broken gate, the dark parking lot, the security guard who was promised in the lease but never hired. Two different cases. Two different defendants. And in Colorado, you can pursue both.
This is one of the most misunderstood corners of premises liability law. Below, we’ll walk through what negligent security actually means, how foreseeability gets proven in Colorado, what evidence matters, and the deadlines you can’t afford to miss.
What Negligent Security Means Under Colorado Law
Property owners and businesses owe a duty of care to the people they invite onto their premises. That duty is spelled out in the Colorado Premises Liability Act, C.R.S. § 13-21-115, which sets different standards depending on whether you were an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser.
If you were an invitee — a customer at a store, a tenant in an apartment complex, a guest at a hotel — the owner owes you the highest duty. They must use reasonable care to protect you against dangers they actually knew about or reasonably should have discovered. And in the right circumstances, that duty extends to the criminal acts of third parties.
That last part surprises people. Why would a property owner be responsible for what a criminal did? Because the law doesn’t ask the owner to prevent every crime. It asks whether the crime was foreseeable and whether the owner took reasonable steps to guard against it. When a parking garage has a documented history of muggings and the owner never installs lighting, cameras, or any security presence, the law recognizes that the next assault wasn’t a freak event. It was a predictable one.
That’s the heart of a negligent security claim in Colorado. The owner didn’t commit the crime. But they left the door open — sometimes literally — and someone got hurt.
Where Negligent Security Claims Commonly Arise
These cases tend to cluster around a handful of property types, because that’s where crimes against visitors most often occur:
- Apartment complexes with broken entry gates, malfunctioning door locks, or burned-out exterior lighting
- Parking garages and lots with poor lighting and no surveillance
- Bars and nightclubs that fail to provide adequate bouncers or crowd control despite a history of altercations
- Hotels and motels with non-functioning room locks or unsecured access points
- Shopping centers where prior robberies should have prompted better security
- ATM locations placed in poorly lit, isolated areas
We’ve seen these situations play out across the Colorado Springs region. A tenant assaulted because the complex never fixed a gate that had been broken for months. A shopper robbed in a dim parking lot where similar robberies had already happened. The pattern is almost always the same: a known risk, ignored.
If your situation involves a rental property specifically, our rental property injury page covers how landlord duties apply, and our negligent security practice page goes deeper on these claims.
How Foreseeability Is Established in Colorado
Foreseeability is the linchpin. If the crime wasn’t foreseeable, the owner generally isn’t liable. So how do we prove an owner should have seen it coming?
Prior crime history. This is the strongest evidence. If the same property — or the immediate area around it — has a documented record of assaults, robberies, or break-ins, that history put the owner on notice. Police reports for the address, calls for service, and area crime statistics all build this picture. A complex with a string of prior incidents can’t credibly claim the next attack was unforeseeable.
Physical conditions. Inadequate lighting, broken or absent locks, malfunctioning gates, disabled security cameras, and overgrown landscaping that creates hiding spots all signal a property that invited trouble.
Industry and contractual standards. When a lease promises a gated, secured community or a manned front desk, and the owner doesn’t deliver, that gap becomes powerful evidence.
The nature and location of the business. A late-night bar or an ATM tucked in an isolated corner carries a different risk profile than a daytime office. Colorado courts look at the totality of the circumstances.
In our experience handling premises liability cases in Colorado Springs, foreseeability rarely turns on a single fact. It’s the accumulation — the prior incidents plus the broken lock plus the ignored complaints — that tells the story of a property owner who knew and did nothing.
The Evidence You Need to Build the Case
Negligent security cases are evidence-intensive, and much of the most important proof is in the property owner’s hands — which means it can disappear if you wait. Here’s what typically matters:
- Police reports from your incident and from prior crimes at the location
- Incident logs and security records the property maintained
- Witness statements from other tenants, customers, or employees
- Property inspection and maintenance records showing how long a lock or light was broken
- Surveillance footage — or proof that cameras existed but weren’t working
- Area crime statistics establishing the pattern of foreseeable risk
- Prior complaints tenants or visitors made to management
A great deal of this evidence is controlled by the defendant. Maintenance logs get “lost.” Footage gets overwritten on cyclic retention schedules. That’s why moving quickly matters. When Bradford Pelton PC takes a negligent security case, one of the first things we do is move to preserve evidence before it vanishes. Attorney Alex Kerr handles these complex premises cases personally, from the first consultation through resolution — no handing your file off to a rotating cast of associates. The same attorney who hears your story is the one who builds your case.
Colorado’s Legal Rules That Shape Your Claim
A few specific Colorado rules will shape any negligent security claim:
Statute of limitations — two years. Premises liability claims, including negligent security, must generally be filed within two years of the injury under C.R.S. § 13-80-102(1)(a). There’s an important wrinkle, though: if your claim is framed as assault or battery, a one-year limit may apply. Because these cases can be characterized more than one way, getting an attorney involved early protects your deadline. If the property is owned or operated by a government entity, you may have only 182 days to file a formal notice of claim under C.R.S. § 24-10-109 — a deadline that catches people off guard and can bar an otherwise strong case.
Comparative fault — the 50% bar. Colorado uses modified comparative negligence under C.R.S. § 13-21-111. You can still recover even if you were partly at fault, but your damages are reduced by your share, and you recover nothing if you’re found 50% or more responsible. Property owners and their insurers often try to shift blame onto the victim. Anticipating that argument is part of building the case right.
The criminal’s role doesn’t erase the owner’s. A common defense is that the criminal — not the property owner — caused the harm. Colorado law allows fault to be apportioned, but the existence of a criminal perpetrator does not automatically let the owner off the hook. The whole point of a negligent security claim is that the owner’s failure made the crime possible.
Damages. Recoverable damages may include medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Colorado’s cap on non-economic damages rose to roughly $1.5 million in 2025 under C.R.S. § 13-21-102.5, though what any individual case may recover varies widely depending on the circumstances.
How Insurance Handles These Claims Differently
Negligent security claims are not your typical slip-and-fall. They’re usually handled under a property owner’s commercial general liability policy, but insurers tend to fight them harder. The stakes are higher, the facts are uglier, and carriers know juries respond strongly to preventable violence. Expect aggressive defense — disputes over foreseeability, attempts to pin everything on the criminal, and arguments that the security measures in place were “reasonable.”
This is exactly the kind of non-standard premises case where experience matters. Our firm has secured results in complex, off-the-beaten-path injury matters — including a successful outcome for a DoorDash contractor whose case didn’t fit the usual mold. We approach negligent security the same way: as a serious, fact-driven fight, not a quick claim to settle and forget. You can read more about how we handle premises liability cases across the Pikes Peak region.
You May Have a Claim Even With a Criminal Case Pending
Here’s what we want every crime victim to understand: the criminal case and your civil claim are completely separate. The district attorney may prosecute your attacker in El Paso County District Court. That process is about punishment, and you have little control over it. Your civil negligent security claim is about your recovery — your medical bills, your lost income, your suffering — and it puts you in the driver’s seat.
You don’t have to choose. You can pursue compensation from a negligent property owner whether or not the attacker is ever caught, charged, or convicted. They’re different fights with different goals.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different. Contact Bradford Pelton PC for a free consultation to discuss your specific situation.
—
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifies as inadequate security on a property?
Inadequate security generally means a property owner failed to take reasonable safety measures that a foreseeable risk called for. Common examples include broken or missing door locks, non-functioning entry gates, burned-out parking lot lighting, disabled or absent surveillance cameras, and a lack of security personnel at properties with a known history of crime. Whether security was “inadequate” depends on the totality of circumstances, including prior incidents at or near the location.
Can I sue a property owner if I was assaulted in their parking lot?
Possibly, yes. If the property owner knew or should have known that crime was foreseeable — for instance, because of prior assaults or robberies in that parking lot — and failed to provide reasonable security like lighting, cameras, or patrols, they may be liable under Colorado’s Premises Liability Act (C.R.S. § 13-21-115). This is true even if the person who attacked you is also facing criminal charges. A free consultation can help determine whether the property conditions contributed to what happened.
How do you prove a property owner knew crime was likely to happen?
You establish foreseeability primarily through evidence of prior criminal activity at or near the property — police reports, calls for service, and area crime statistics — combined with proof of dangerous conditions like poor lighting or broken locks. Prior tenant or customer complaints and the property’s own security and maintenance records also help. The stronger the pattern of known risk the owner ignored, the stronger the case.
What’s the difference between a criminal case and a civil negligent security claim?
A criminal case is brought by the government to punish the person who committed the crime, and the victim has limited control over it. A civil negligent security claim is brought by the victim against the property owner to recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. The two are separate, and you can pursue a civil claim regardless of whether the attacker is ever caught or convicted.
How long do I have to file a negligent security claim in Colorado Springs?
Most premises liability claims, including negligent security, must be filed within two years of the injury under C.R.S. § 13-80-102(1)(a), though a one-year limit can apply if the claim is treated as assault or battery. If the property is owned by a government entity, you may have just 182 days to file a notice of claim. Because the deadlines vary, it’s wise to speak with an attorney quickly to protect your rights.