{"id":7937,"date":"2026-11-10T08:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T08:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elgringolaw.com\/resources\/negligent-security-lawyer-new-mexico\/can-i-sue-business-attacked-property-albuquerque\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T08:52:25","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T08:52:25","slug":"can-i-sue-business-attacked-property-albuquerque","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/elgringolaw.com\/resources\/negligent-security-lawyer-new-mexico\/can-i-sue-business-attacked-property-albuquerque\/","title":{"rendered":"Negligent Security Claims in New Mexico: Can You Sue?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Negligent Security \u00b7 Premises Liability \u00b7 New Mexico<\/p>

Hurt in a Crime on Someone Else's Property? Find Out Where You Stand<\/h1>

El Gringo Law helps people across New Mexico understand their options after an assault or crime on a business or apartment property, and what to do next.<\/p>

Start Your Free Consultation<\/a><\/div>
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By Josh Wood \u00b7 Published November 10, 2026<\/p>\n\n

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If someone attacked you on a business’s property, you may be asking whether you can sue that business too. Many people in this spot are still shaken, and some are asking for a family member who was hurt.<\/p>\n

The attacker is usually the person most directly responsible for the assault. A business can also share responsibility when it knew or should have known about a risk of crime and did not take reasonable steps to guard against it.<\/p>\n

This page explains how New Mexico looks at these claims, what evidence matters, and what to do now.<\/p>\n

The Short Answer: Sometimes, Depending on What the Business Knew and Did<\/h2>\n

Yes, a business can sometimes be sued after an attack on its property. The claim focuses on the business’s own conduct, not only on the attacker’s act.<\/p>\n

A negligence claim generally requires a duty owed to the injured person, a breach of that duty, and a breach that was a cause of the injury. Herrera v. Quality Pontiac<\/a> states those elements. In a claim for negligence in hiring, supervising, or retaining an employee, the key question is usually whether the employer knew or should have known the employee would create an unreasonable risk of injury and failed to use ordinary care.<\/p>\n

The answer depends on the facts. What happened, where it happened, what the business knew, and what it did about the risk all matter. Two attacks that look alike can still lead to different answers.<\/p>\n\n

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If you were hurt in an attack on a business's property, you don't have to sort out your options alone. Our team can talk through what happened with you. Talk it through with our team — the first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation.<\/p>

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Get a free consultation<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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What a Business Owes People Who Are on Its Property<\/h2>\n

A business owes a lawful visitor a duty to use ordinary care to keep the property safe.<\/p>\n

The UJI 13-1309 NMRA<\/a> instruction says an owner owes a visitor a duty to use ordinary care to keep the premises safe for use by the visitor. Its commentary adds that this duty applies even when a danger is known or obvious, unless the trial court determines the visitor’s negligence was unforeseeable as a matter of law.<\/p>\n

Ordinary care means what a reasonably prudent person would do in the same situation. The UJI 13-1603 definition<\/a> adds that the amount of care grows as the risk that should reasonably be foreseen grows.<\/p>\n

New Mexico also dropped the old split between licensees and invitees. In Ford v. Board of County Commissioners<\/a>, the New Mexico Supreme Court adopted a single standard of reasonable care for visitors. Trespassers remain a separate category, so the rules can differ for someone who was not lawfully on the property.<\/p>\n

The duty can also reach harm caused by other people. The UJI 13-1320 instruction<\/a> says a landowner must use ordinary care to protect a visitor from harm caused by the acts of a third person where there is a foreseeable risk that a third person will injure a visitor. That is the link between a business and an attack by a stranger.<\/p>\n

What Negligent Security Means in an Assault Case<\/h2>\n

Negligent security is a premises liability claim. It says a business failed to provide reasonable security against crime it should have expected. Put simply, the business did not do enough to protect people on its property.<\/p>\n

Security measures that often get examined include:<\/p>\n