24/7 Support. Pay Nothing Until We Win!
Yes, you can sue a hotel for an assault or a break-in in Texas. Hotels owe guests a heightened duty of care under the law. When inadequate security allows a foreseeable crime to happen, the hotel can be held liable for the harm that follows. With over 35 years of experience and more than $200 million recovered, Johnson Garcia is prepared to take your case to trial. Call today for a free consultation.
The innkeeper’s duty of care is a legal standard that goes beyond ordinary premises liability. It dates back centuries to common law and requires hotels to do more than simply avoid creating hazards. Hotels must actively inspect their property, maintain security systems, and take steps to protect guests from foreseeable criminal activity. The distinction exists because hotel guests are classified as invitees under Texas law, meaning they are owed the highest level of protection. Unlike a homeowner hosting a friend, a hotel accepts payment in exchange for a safe place to stay, and the law holds the hotel to that promise.
When a hotel fails to meet its heightened duty of care, specific security failures often explain how the crime was able to happen. These are the failures Johnson Garcia sees most often in hotel assault and break-in cases across Texas.
A hotel room break-in often traces back to a lock that was reported broken and never fixed or a keycard system that stopped working and was never replaced. Hotels must maintain functioning locks and keycard access on every guest room, and a failure to do so is a direct breach of the duty owed to guests.
Without controlled access or adequate lighting, hallways and stairwells give intruders a clear path to guest rooms. A hotel that allows unscreened visitors to move freely through guest floors without keycard-restricted entry points may be liable when a guest is attacked in those spaces.
Cameras that are missing, broken, or pointed the wrong direction leave guests without a layer of protection the hotel should have provided. Disabled cameras also destroy the very evidence a victim would need to prove what happened and when.
If a hotel cuts security staffing during late-night hours despite a known crime history on the property, the hotel faces heightened liability for what happens as a result. Threats that go unanswered because no one is on duty often form the core of a negligent security claim.
Johnson Garcia combines over 35 years of experience with a trial-ready approach to hotel assault cases across Texas. The firm has recovered more than $200 million for injured clients and grieving families. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but that record reflects a willingness to hold hotels accountable when security failures lead to harm.
Johnson Garcia has helped Texans recover over 200 million after serious accidents—let us fight for you next.
Texas common law recognizes the innkeeper’s duty, which requires hotels to take active steps to protect guests from foreseeable harm. This duty is higher than what ordinary property owners owe. Hotel guests have no control over the building’s security and must rely entirely on the hotel to keep them safe.
A hotel assault or break-in claim requires proving four elements. You must show that the hotel owed a duty of care to you as a guest and that the hotel breached that duty through a specific security failure. You must also prove that the breach caused the crime to occur and that you suffered real damages. Hotels can also be held vicariously liable when their own employees commit crimes against guests, such as using a passkey to enter an occupied room.
The statute of limitations for most hotel assault claims in Texas is two years from the date of the incident.
If you were assaulted or experienced a hotel room break in, these steps protect your health and your legal rights.
Get medical care immediately, even if your injuries seem minor. File a police report the same day, because that report becomes part of the evidence your case depends on.
Photograph the security failure that allowed the crime to happen and request a written incident report from hotel management. Ask for a copy of any surveillance footage in writing before the hotel has a chance to overwrite it.
A hotel negligent security lawyer can investigate the hotel’s crime history, review staffing and maintenance records, and identify every party responsible for the conditions that allowed the attack. Johnson Garcia offers free consultations and handles these cases on a contingency basis.
If you were assaulted or robbed at a hotel that failed to keep you safe, you should not have to carry the burden of someone else’s negligence alone. The lawyers at Johnson Garcia understand what you are going through and are ready to fight on your behalf. Evidence at hotels disappears quickly, with surveillance footage often overwritten within days. The firm offers a free consultation and handles hotel assault cases on a contingency basis, meaning there is no fee unless the case succeeds.
Yes, hotels owe guests a heightened duty of care under the innkeeper’s duty, a legal standard that requires them to take active steps to prevent foreseeable harm. This duty goes beyond what ordinary property owners owe and reflects the trust guests place in the hotel when they pay for a room.
Yes, if the hotel room break in was caused by a security failure the hotel knew about or should have known about, the hotel may be liable. A broken lock, a faulty keycard system, or an unsecured entry point that allowed an intruder to reach your room can all support a claim.
Hotels should maintain functioning room locks and keycard systems, controlled hallway access, surveillance cameras in common areas, adequate lighting throughout the property, and trained security staff. A hotel that lacks these measures may face liability when a foreseeable crime occurs.
Texas generally allows two years from the date of the assault or break-in to file a lawsuit. Missing this deadline usually ends your right to pursue compensation.
Johnson Garcia handles hotel assault cases on a contingency basis, so there are no upfront fees or hourly charges. You pay legal fees only if the case produces a recovery.
Johnson Garcia represents hotel assault and break-in victims throughout Texas, not only in the Houston area. Regardless of where in the state the incident happened, help is within reach. Service areas include:
START YOUR JOURNEY TOWARDS JUSTICE
START YOUR JOURNEY TOWARDS JUSTICE
CALL NOW
