Business Liability for Assault by a Guard

I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Today’s question comes from a caller who said he was at a supermarket and a person who seemed to be on drugs started yelling at him and pushing him, and a security guard came over. The store security guard came up and struck the caller in the face and proceeded to strike him until other shoppers came to the caller’s rescue and told the guard that the caller was the victim, not the perpetrator.

The caller wanted to know his legal options because his arm was broken by the guard.

Courts have held in the past that a master may be held liable to pay compensatory damages where the master has hired a servant whose duties, in the natural and ordinary course, involve the use of force upon third persons, and where the master has expressly or impliedly authorized the servant to determine when to use force and the degree of force to be applied.

If it can be established that the conduct of the guard was within the scope of his employment and in furtherance of the interests of his employer, then the supermarket may be held liable.

Not long ago, we assisted a fellow whose leg was broken by a security guard again due to a mistake in identifying the party causing a ruckus that prompted the cashier to call for security. In that case, we sued the supermarket as well as the security agency that supplied the guard and trained the guard.

We were able to obtain favorable settlements against both defendants.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”