Security employer held liable after assault on lone night guard

A security company’s responsibility for its employee did not end at a customer’s gate. On 16 June, the Supreme Court held Marksman liable in negligence after A.C., a lone guard, was sexually assaulted while working at a third-party site.

The court examined the actual precautions: deployment and handover procedures, patrols, emergency equipment, training and a guardhouse door that could not be locked. It found that the employer had not taken reasonable steps to protect the worker against a foreseeable intrusion. The duty was one of reasonable care, not an absolute guarantee against crime.

The court rejected contributory negligence and accepted the connection between the assault and the claimant’s psychiatric injury. General damages totalled J$10 million, comprising J$3.5 million for PTSD and J$6.5 million for assault and battery, with interest and costs. The court’s anonymity is preserved here.

Full 29-page judgment reviewed. This report concerns civil employer liability, not the criminal outcome. Later appellate treatment was not checked.