Security Company Negligence | New Mexico
El Gringo Law represents people injured on property where security was missing, weak, or poorly managed. Start with a free, confidential consultation with no obligation to continue.
By Josh Wood · Published October 28, 2026
Albuquerque Security Guard Company Negligence Lawyer
A security company can be responsible for an injury when its own failures helped cause it. Those failures include poor hiring, weak training, lax supervision, and not enough guards on a site. If you were hurt in New Mexico during a security failure, a security guard company negligence lawyer in Albuquerque can review the company’s own conduct, not just the property owner’s. This page explains how that claim works.
If a guard was posted where you were hurt, and you wonder whether the company's hiring, training, or staffing played a part, our team can talk with you about your options. Talk it through with our team — the first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation.
When a Security Company Can Be Responsible for Your Injury
A security company can be responsible when its own failure to use reasonable care contributed to your injury. This is a negligence claim against the company that employed or dispatched the guards. It stands apart from any claim against the property owner.
Claims like this often come up after assaults in apartment complexes, parking lots, retail stores, hotels, and office buildings. Many people hurt in those places never learn which company held the guard contract. Finding out is one of the first steps.
The central question is not only whether a crime happened. It is whether the company’s own conduct fell below reasonable care and helped bring about the harm. Those facts drive the claim.
Families can bring these claims too. If a security failure caused a death, a wrongful death claim may be possible.
Four Failures That Can Support a Claim: Hiring, Training, Supervision, and Staffing
Each one looks at what the company did, not only what the guard did.
Negligent hiring. The company did not check a guard’s background, prior complaints, or fitness for the post. A plaintiff must show the employer knew or should have known the employee would create an unreasonable risk of injury. UJI 13-1647 NMRA
Negligent training. Guards were not prepared for patrols, de-escalation, calling police, emergencies, or the risks of the site. New Mexico courts have treated negligent training, usually with supervision, as a negligence claim against an employer. Ortiz v. New Mexico State Police
Negligent supervision. No one checked patrols, check-ins were missed, warnings were ignored, or guards left their posts.
Negligent staffing. The site had too few guards, shifts went uncovered, or the company did not provide the coverage its contract required.
Recovery for negligent hiring or supervision does not require that the guard was acting within the scope of work when the injury happened. UJI 13-1647 commentary
Each failure counts only if it contributed to the injury. An act or omission is a cause if it contributes to bringing about the injury. Under New Mexico’s civil jury instruction on causation, UJI 13-305 NMRA, an act or omission can count as a cause of an injury even if it is not the sole explanation or the one closest in time or place. It is enough if it combines with some other cause to produce the result, as long as it is reasonably connected as a significant link to the injury. UJI 13-305 NMRA
How Security Company and Property Owner Responsibility Can Overlap
Both the security company and the property owner can be responsible in one case when each contributed to the injury. Each duty is different.
A landowner must use ordinary care to protect a visitor from harm caused by a third party’s foreseeable conduct, including criminal conduct. UJI 13-1320 NMRA That duty belongs to the owner.
NMSA § 41-3A-1 abolishes joint and several liability in comparative-fault cases, except as otherwise provided hereafter, and the liability of any such defendants is several. The statute also lists exceptions, including for people who acted with intent to injure.
New Mexico uses comparative negligence. Scott v. Rizzo
The security contract matters. Required guard counts, patrol schedules, and training rules show what the company agreed to do, and whether it did it.
For the owner side, read about property owner attack claims and proving owner knowledge of crime risk.
Injuries, Incidents, and the Evidence That Shows What Went Wrong
Evidence about hiring, training, and staffing often shows what went wrong. Start collecting it early.
Claims can involve assaults, sexual assault, wrongful death, catastrophic injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and burn injuries. Each case turns on its own facts.
Evidence worth preserving includes:
- Incident reports and police reports
- Guard logs and patrol records
- Training files and hiring or background documents
- The security contract
- Surveillance video
- Photos of the scene and your injuries
Video and logs can be overwritten or deleted on a schedule, so early requests matter. Public data can add context. The Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey tracks assault and where crimes occur.
Keep discharge papers, treatment notes, and bills. Medical records help connect your injury to the incident.
How the Process Works, Step by Step
The process starts with a free, confidential first consultation, and you decide whether to go further. The first consultation is consulta inicial gratuita, confidencial y sin compromiso.
- Consultation. We review what happened and answer your questions, with no obligation to continue.
- Fact review. We look at the incident, the security contract, and which company employed the guards on that shift.
- Evidence requests. We send requests and preservation letters to the property owner, the security company, and others.
- Investigation. This may include witness statements, guard interviews, and review by outside security professionals when the facts call for it.
- Demand or suit. We negotiate with insurers and defendants. If a fair resolution is not reached, we can file suit.
NMSA § 37-1-8 provides that actions for an injury to the person or reputation of any person must be brought within three years. Deadlines depend on the facts, so contact us early.
Not sure what your next step is?
Talk it through with our team — the first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation.
Why Work With El Gringo Law on a Security Company Claim
El Gringo Law represents people hurt in New Mexico, and Josh Wood is responsible for the content of this page. Our team works with each client on the file.
- Lawyer responsible for this page: Josh Wood, licensed in New Mexico and Arizona.
- Our team: Our team, including support staff, works on each matter.
- Practice areas: car accidents, trucking accidents, premises liability, negligent security, wrongful death, sexual assault, catastrophic injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and burn injuries.
- Outcomes: Every case is different. Past results do not predict a similar outcome, and no result can be promised.
Common Questions About Security Company Negligence Claims
Most questions come down to who employed the guards and what the company was required to do.
Can I sue the security company, or only the property owner?
You can name both when each one contributed to the injury. The facts decide who is responsible.
Do I need proof the guard was fired or disciplined?
No single record decides a claim. Prior complaints, training gaps, and supervision records can help show the company’s own conduct.
Can a family bring a claim after a fatal security failure?
Yes. New Mexico allows wrongful death claims, and the filing window runs three years from the date of death (NMSA 1978, § 41-2-2 — three years from the date of death). NMSA 1978, § 41-2-2
What should I keep after an incident?
Keep incident and police reports, medical records, bills, photos, and any messages with the property or the security company.
If a security guard was posted where you were hurt, and you wonder whether the company’s hiring, training, or staffing played a part, you don’t have to sort that out alone. Reach out through our contact form or start a chat on this site.
How We Approach Negligent Security Cases
Reviewing the Facts
We look at incident reports, security logs, staffing records, and the property's history to understand what the security company knew and what it did.
Focused on Injury Law
Our practice focuses on personal injury, and we represent people hurt in car accidents, premises incidents, and other cases where someone else's conduct caused harm.
Clear Communication
Our team keeps you informed about each step, answers your questions in plain language, and offers Spanish-language support when you need it.
Advancing Costs
We can advance court costs and litigation expenses, which are repaid only from a recovery, so you are not carrying those costs upfront.
Act Early to Protect Evidence
Security footage, visitor logs, and incident reports can be overwritten or lost over time. Contact us as soon as you can so we can help identify and request the records that matter.
Common Security Failures We Review
Inadequate Staffing
Too few guards for the size of the property, or posts left unstaffed during high-risk hours.
Ignored Prior Incidents
Repeated assaults, break-ins, or threats on the property that were reported but never addressed.
Poor Lighting and Access Control
Dark parking areas, broken gates, unlocked doors, or entry points that were not monitored.
Inadequate Training
Guards who were not trained to recognize threats, respond to emergencies, or document what happened.