When a Preventable Crime Takes a Life, Your Family Deserves Answers

When a Shooting or Assault on Business Property Leads to a Wrongful Death Claim

A family may bring a wrongful death claim when someone is killed in a crime that a business’s negligent security may have made possible. This is often called a negligent security claim. It asks whether the property owner used reasonable care to guard against a crime it could foresee.

These claims can arise at bars and taverns, parking lots, apartment complexes, retail stores, and hotels. For families in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, a shooting or assault on commercial property can raise questions that feel overwhelming while they are grieving. The law gives families a way to ask them, one step at a time.

Our team offers a free, confidential first consultation with no obligation to continue. It is a place to talk through what happened and what your family wants to know.

Who May Bring a Wrongful Death Claim in New Mexico?

A wrongful death claim in New Mexico is brought by the personal representative of the person who died. The New Mexico Wrongful Death Act allows this action when another person’s wrongful act, neglect, or default causes a death. Under New Mexico statute § 41-11-1, a civil claim against a licensee or a social host for injury or death or damage to property that was proximately caused by the sale, service or provision of alcoholic beverages may be brought only as provided in that section.

The personal representative is the person appointed to act for the estate. If no one has been appointed yet, a family can ask our team how that step works in their situation.

Subsection B of NMSA 41-11-1 covers claims by a person who was sold or served alcoholic beverages while intoxicated: that person is not entitled to collect any damages or obtain any other relief against the licensee unless the licensee is determined to have acted with gross negligence and reckless disregard for the safety of the person who purchased or was served the alcoholic beverages. Who may bring a claim depends on New Mexico law and the facts of each case, and our team can explain how it applies to your family’s situation.

Timing matters. Under § 41-2-2 NMSA, every action brought under this and the preceding section must be brought within three years after the cause of action accrues, and the cause of action accrues as of the date of death (NMSA 1978, § 41-2-2 — three years from the date of death).

What Negligent Security Means and When a Business May Be Liable

Negligent security means a business failed to use reasonable care against a crime it should have expected. New Mexico’s visitor rule says a landowner must use ordinary care to protect visitors from harm caused by a third party’s foreseeable conduct, including criminal conduct (UJI 13-1320 visitor duty).

Foreseeability is the key question. Facts that can matter include earlier incidents on the property, complaints made to management, and the security measures already in place.

Common security gaps include poor lighting, broken locks or gates, cameras that do not work, too few or untrained staff, and slow responses to danger. A jury may weigh the owner’s failure to protect visitors against the attacker’s conduct.

A claim may name the property owner or occupant, since the visitor duty applies when an owner or occupant breaches the duty to use ordinary care to keep the premises safe for use by a visitor, resulting in injury to the visitor from the acts of a third person.

Bars and taverns face a narrower rule. The statute also caps liability at $50,000 for one person’s injury or death in one occurrence.

What Damages a Wrongful Death Claim May Cover

In a wrongful death case, a jury may award money for losses that the surviving family has suffered. Under the New Mexico Wrongful Death Act, a wrongful death claim has a three-year limitation period.

The jury considers the financial harm to the people who receive the award. It also considers circumstances that make the wrongful act worse or less serious.

Some family members may also bring a loss of consortium claim. This covers harm to a close, mutually dependent relationship. Under New Mexico’s loss of consortium ruling, that claim belongs to the family member, not to the estate.

No one can promise a dollar amount at the start. Results depend on the evidence and the facts of each case. Past results do not predict a similar outcome.

How the Process Works, Step by Step

Most cases start with a consultation, then move through investigation, negotiation, and, if needed, a lawsuit.

1. Consultation. You talk with our team about the death, the location, and your family’s questions. The first consultation is free and confidential.
2. Investigation. We may request the police report, ask for surveillance video, and review earlier calls for service at the property.
3. Identifying parties. We look at who owns, operates, and secures the property. We may send preservation letters asking those parties to keep evidence.
4. Building the claim. We gather proof of foreseeability and security gaps, and we work out the family’s losses.
5. Demand and negotiation. We present the claim to insurers. If a fair resolution is not reached, we may file suit in New Mexico court.
6. Resolution. The case ends through settlement or trial. We keep the family updated at each stage.

Timing varies with each case’s facts and the court’s schedule.

Fees, Court Costs, and What You May Owe

The first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue.

Ask us how court costs and litigation expenses are handled in your case.

If there is no recovery, you may still be responsible for court costs and litigation expenses. New Mexico’s fee rule requires a written contingency agreement, signed by the client, that states which expenses the client owes whether or not the client prevails. Read that written agreement carefully before you sign it.

Our firm does not give clients money, loans, or help with living expenses such as rent, food, or bills.

Why Families Turn to El Gringo Law for These Claims

El Gringo Law represents families in wrongful death negligent security matters in New Mexico. Josh Wood is the responsible lawyer for this page.

Josh Wood is licensed in New Mexico and Arizona. Our team includes lawyers and staff who work with families through each stage of a claim.

We serve clients in Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, and Sandoval County, among other areas in New Mexico. Our work includes investigating security failures and advancing court costs and litigation expenses, as described above.

Every case is different. Past results do not predict a similar outcome.

You can reach the firm through elgringolaw.com.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wrongful Death Negligent Security Claims

Talk With Our Team About Your Family’s Situation

If someone you love died in a shooting or assault on business property, your family may have questions about a claim against the owner or a security provider. Our team can help you sort through the options and the deadline. To start, reach out through our contact form at https://elgringolaw.com/contact/, or start a chat.