If you were assaulted, robbed, or attacked on someone else’s property in Hutchinson, you may have more legal options than you realize. Negligent security is a type of premises liability claim that holds property owners accountable when their failure to provide reasonable security allows a violent crime to occur.
The attacker caused the violence, but the property owner may have enabled it by ignoring known risks. At Bretz Injury Law, our Hutchinson office is located at 3 Compound Dr. Call (620) 220-4242 for a free, confidential consultation.
Negligent Security Attorneys Serving Hutchinson
Bretz Injury Law represents victims of assault, robbery, and violent attacks who were harmed because a property owner in Hutchinson or Reno County failed to provide adequate security. These claims are civil lawsuits, entirely separate from any criminal case, and they do not require the attacker to have been caught, identified, or convicted.
Hutchinson recorded 145 violent crimes in 2024, and its crime rate was higher than 81% of cities nationwide. When assaults, robberies, and break-ins happen at a property where the owner was aware of the risks and chose not to act, the owner shares legal responsibility for the harm that followed.
A negligent security claim allows you to pursue compensation from the property owner’s insurance policy or directly from the owner, holding them financially accountable for the conditions they allowed to exist on their property.
Without an Attorney vs. With Bretz Injury Law
Property owners and their insurance companies respond to negligent security claims with a predictable strategy: blame the victim. They will argue that you should not have been at the property at that hour, that you provoked the attack, or that you failed to take your own precautions.
These arguments are designed to shift blame onto you so the property owner pays less or nothing at all.
We understand how difficult it is to relive a violent experience while also fighting to hold the people who enabled it accountable. You deserve to focus on your recovery without the added burden of dealing with an insurance system built to minimize what you receive.
When you have an attorney handling your claim, the investigation shifts to the property owner. Your lawyer will pull police reports, document prior criminal activity at the location, and build a case proving the attack was foreseeable and the owner failed to prevent it.
Types of Cases We Handle in Hutchinson
At Bretz Injury Law, we handle negligent security cases at properties and venues throughout Hutchinson, from apartment assault claims to parking lot attacks and everything in between.
Apartment complex assaults are among the most common claims we see, particularly at properties where basic security measures have been neglected or ignored. Hotel assault cases along the US-50 and Main Street corridors in Hutchinson produce valid claims when the property failed to maintain functioning room locks, lighting in parking areas, or security personnel.
We also represent victims of convenience store and gas station robberies where the owner failed to install cameras, hire security, or maintain visibility into the store. Parking lot attacks at shopping centers and businesses with inadequate lighting are another frequent case type.
Hutchinson is home to the Kansas State Fair, and event security failures at large public gatherings can also give rise to negligent security claims.
How Kansas Law Affects Your Negligent Security Case
Kansas premises liability law requires property owners to provide reasonable security for anyone lawfully on their property. To prove a negligent security claim, you must establish four elements: the property owner owed you a duty of care, the owner breached that duty by failing to provide adequate security, the breach caused or contributed to the attack, and you suffered damages as a result.
The standard that connects all four elements is foreseeability. If the property owner knew or should have known that criminal activity was likely and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it, the owner is liable.
Kansas follows a modified comparative fault system under K.S.A. 60-258a, which bars you from recovering compensation if your share of fault reaches 50% or more. You have two years from the date of the incident to file a claim under K.S.A. 60-513.
Foreseeability and Prior Criminal Activity
Foreseeability is the legal standard that determines whether a property owner should have anticipated the risk of a violent crime on their property. Courts look at the history of criminal activity at the location, including prior assaults, robberies, break-ins, drug activity, and police calls.
A property with a documented pattern of violent incidents creates a much stronger claim than one where no prior criminal activity has been reported.
Physical characteristics of the property also support foreseeability. Broken locks, burned-out lights, missing security cameras, overgrown landscaping that creates hiding spots, and unmonitored entry points all signal that the owner was not taking reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm to visitors.
The Invitee and Licensee Framework
Kansas law assigns different levels of duty to property owners depending on the visitor’s legal status. Invitees, which includes customers at a store, tenants in an apartment, guests at a hotel, and attendees at the Kansas State Fair, are owed the highest duty of care. The property owner must actively inspect for hazards, address known dangers, and take reasonable steps to keep invitees safe.
Licensees, such as social guests or delivery workers, are owed a medium duty of care. The owner must warn them of hidden dangers but is not required to inspect for unknown hazards.
Trespassers are owed only the duty to avoid intentional or reckless harm under K.S.A. 58-821. In most negligent security cases, the victim is an invitee, which means the property owner is held to the highest standard.
Comparative Fault and the “Blame the Victim” Defense
Insurance companies defending negligent security claims almost always argue that the victim shares responsibility for what happened. Under K.S.A. 60-258a, your compensation is reduced by whatever percentage of fault a jury assigns to you, and if that percentage reaches 50% or more, you recover nothing.
Adjusters will claim you chose to be at the property, that you ignored warning signs, or that your own behavior contributed to the attack. An experienced attorney counters these arguments by shifting the focus back to the property owner’s failure to act on known risks. When the evidence shows a pattern of criminal activity that the owner ignored, the victim-blaming defense loses its power.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Negligent Security in Hutchinson?
Multiple parties can owe a duty of care in a negligent security case, and liability depends on who owned, managed, or controlled the property where the attack occurred. Identifying every responsible party is essential because each one may carry separate insurance coverage, and naming all of them increases the total compensation available to you.
In many cases, the property owner is not the only defendant. Management companies, third-party security firms, employers, and even government entities can all share liability when their failure to provide reasonable security contributed to the conditions that allowed the crime to happen.
Kansas law provides different legal paths for pursuing claims against private parties and government entities, and your attorney will determine which framework applies to your situation.
Property Owners and Management Companies
Property owners and the management companies they hire are the most common defendants in negligent security cases in Hutchinson. A landlord who ignores tenant reports of break-ins, assaults, or drug activity in and around the building can be held liable when a subsequent attack occurs on the property.
Management companies that fail to maintain functioning locks, security cameras, exterior lighting, and controlled entry points share that liability. In many apartment complexes, the management company handles day-to-day security decisions while the owner collects rent, and both can be named as defendants in the same lawsuit when their combined inaction allowed the conditions that led to the attack.
Security Companies and Employers
Third-party security companies can be held liable when their guards failed to perform the duties outlined in their contract with the property owner. A security company that staffed unqualified guards, left posts unmanned, or failed to follow established patrol protocols can be sued directly for its role in enabling the attack.
Employers may also face liability for workplace violence when they failed to address known threats, provide security for employees working late-night shifts, or maintain a safe working environment. Employer liability often arises at convenience stores, gas stations, and businesses that operate during hours when the risk of robbery or assault is highest.
Government Entities and the Kansas Tort Claims Act
Government entities in Kansas can be sued for negligent security under the Kansas Tort Claims Act, K.S.A. 75-6101 et seq. This includes cities, counties, school districts, and state agencies that own or operate public facilities where visitors are harmed due to inadequate security.
The Kansas State Fair, operated by the state of Kansas in Hutchinson, could face liability for failing to provide adequate event security if a fairgoer is assaulted or robbed on the grounds. Government claims carry special notice requirements and shorter procedural deadlines than claims against private property owners, which is why reaching out to an attorney as early as possible protects your right to file.
What Compensation Can Negligent Security Victims Recover?
Victims of negligent security in Kansas can recover both economic and non-economic damages through a civil lawsuit against the property owner or other liable parties. The total value of your claim depends on the severity of your injuries, the lasting psychological impact of the attack, and how the incident has affected your ability to work and live your daily life.
Economic damages cover your medical expenses, emergency room bills, surgeries, and ongoing physical rehabilitation. Mental health treatment is also recoverable, including therapy and counseling for PTSD, anxiety, depression, and the lasting trauma that follows a violent attack. Lost wages from time you missed at work and lost earning capacity if your injuries prevent you from returning to your former job are included as well.
Non-economic damages address pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of your sense of personal safety, and disfigurement. When a negligent security incident is fatal, surviving family members may file a wrongful death claim. In cases where the property owner’s failure to act was extreme or willful, punitive damages may also apply.
How Bretz Injury Law Can Help
Attorney Matt Bretz grew up in Hutchinson and built his firm here because this is his community. He understands the properties, the neighborhoods, and the people of Reno County in a way that no outside firm can match.
Bretz Injury Law has recovered over $300 million for injured clients across Kansas, and we bring that same level of experience and preparation to every negligent security case we handle.
You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you, and that guarantee is in writing. Call (620) 220-4242 for a free, confidential consultation. We listen, we believe you, and we fight for you. Hablamos español.