Losing Their Cool: Night Club Bouncer Assault
Losing Their Cool: Night Club Bouncer Assault
Premises Liability
When someone is injured in a night club, they typically sue the owner of the nightclub under a legal theory called premises liability. In California, premises liability means that an owner or operator of an establishment may be held responsible for keeping the building in a reasonably safe condition and preventing foreseeable injuries to anyone visiting that business.
The bar owner may even be held liable for the negligent actions of their employees if the employees are working doing the duties of their job when the patron is injured. This means that if a guest notifies security of a spill and the security guard fails to see that it is cleaned up, and another patron is subsequently injured, the owner could be liable under a premises liability negligence claim.
Negligent Security
As the name implies, negligent security is when a bouncer fails to perform some aspect of his or her job and a guest is injured as a result. This is most commonly the claim when a security guard fails to take action to prevent a patron from being injured by another patron. It also can be used when a bouncer attacks a guest.
Dram Shop
Currently 42 states and the District of Columbia have dram shop laws. Dram shop laws hold a bar or night club owner as well as their servers responsible when a guest injures another person after the bar or night club allowed that guest to become visibly intoxicated at their establishment.
Wrongful Death
For anyone the worst case scenario for any night club accident is when someone dies. Generally, wrongful death is a death caused by the negligence or other wrongful act of another. In California, wrongful death actions may be brought by the deceased’s spouse, domestic partner, children, grandchildren, other dependents or personal representative
The damages a person may expect from a wrongful death claim will vary. Generally, a wrongful death award is based on two things. First, the estimated pecuniary loss based on how much someone would have received if the deceased had lived as well as the cost of funeral and burial expenses. The second basis is the immeasurable loss of the decedent’s companionship, affection, moral support, comfort, contribution and assistance maintaining the household. A person may not recover punitive damages in a wrongful death claim. Punitive damages are additional fines designed to punish the offending party for bad behavior and to discourage them from repeating it.
Understand Your Rights
Injuries from an incident at a bar can have lifelong consequences. If you have been injured in a night club or bar or have lost a family member as a result of a nightclub incident, it is important to speak with an experienced local personal injury attorney who can review your options with you.