Q: Can I hold liable and sue the company of a security guard that robbed and assaulted me?
I was robbed, extorted, beaten up, and threatened by a security guard and his group at a night club and I'm looking to sue the company or agency that hired the security guard as well as negligence on behalf of another security guard that stood by and did nothing about the incident. I have suffered trauma and pain and suffering as a result of this ridiculous incident but as far as injuries I was punched with a closed fist and just got bruising on the face no serious physical injuries, but this was a rather brutal and ridiculous incident in which I was abused in several ways. The individuals even took my credit card and used hundreds of dollars on it trying to max it out. I am looking to hold liable the company or agency of the security guard who robbed, assaulted, abused, extorted, threatened, and stole from me. I am also looking to sue for negligence because there was another security guard who just stood there while the incident occurred and did not act.
A:
Given the small amount of damages, you should file a small claim in justice of peace court for the precinct where the assault happened. Our JP courts have jurisdiction of such small claims up to $20,000. You do not need an attorney to file such a claim. While their are attorneys who accept personal injury claims on a contingency fee, the small amount of damages would most likely deter any experienced attorney from doing so in this case.
It sounds like you have a decent claim against the security guard involved. To prove a claim against the company/agency, however, you will need to prove that the guard's actions were directed and approved by the company/agency or were in furtherance of its business. Alternatively, you may be able to show that the security guard committed similar actions in the past which the company/ agency knew about or should have known about. Typically, when an employee commits a crime like assault, battery, or theft, the company or agency employing the individual employee is not legally responsible for his criminal actions.
A: I'm sorry for your ordeal. One option might be to try to arrange a free initial consult with law firms that handle such cases. If you have any medical records that evidence your injuries, those would be useful to an attorney evaluating the matter. Good luck
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