diff --git a/lib/permissions.test.ts b/lib/permissions.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3b45233
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/permissions.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { hasPermission } from './permissions';
+
+describe('hasPermission', () => {
+  it('returns false (not a crash) for a "user" role on an admin-only resource', () => {
+    expect(() => hasPermission('user', 'admin', 'access')).not.toThrow();
+    expect(hasPermission('user', 'admin', 'access')).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('returns true for "admin" role on an admin-gated resource', () => {
+    expect(hasPermission('admin', 'admin', 'access')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns true for "super-admin" role on an admin-gated resource', () => {
+    expect(hasPermission('super-admin', 'admin', 'access')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns true for "user" role on a permitted resource', () => {
+    expect(hasPermission('user', 'tickets', 'read')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns false for an unknown role', () => {
+    expect(hasPermission('bogus-role', 'admin', 'access')).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/lib/permissions.ts b/lib/permissions.ts
index 008b7ef..c11d963 100644
--- a/lib/permissions.ts
+++ b/lib/permissions.ts
@@ -74,17 +74,17 @@ export const userRole = ac.newRole({
 
 // Helper function to check if a user has a specific permission
 export function hasPermission(
-  userRole: string,
+  roleName: string,
   resource: keyof typeof statement,
   action: string
 ): boolean {
   const roles: Record<string, ReturnType<typeof ac.newRole>> = {
     "super-admin": superAdminRole,
     admin: adminRole,
-    user: userRole as unknown as ReturnType<typeof ac.newRole>,
+    user: userRole,
   };
 
-  const role = roles[userRole];
+  const role = roles[roleName];
   if (!role) return false;
 
   // Check if the role has the permission