Hurt in a Tampa, Clearwater or St. Petersburg Night Club or Bar?
Did you know that clubs and bars have a duty to provide a safe environment to its patrons? Often when an assault, beating, stabbing or shooting takes place on a business’s premises, the owners of the establishment can be held liable for a third person’s intentional actions due to failure to stop such from happening in the first place. These types of cases are called negligent security cases.
Night clubs and bars should be safe and fun places to hang out with your friends. One shouldn’t have to worry about being attacked or injured when they are at such a place. Bouncers and employees should be properly trained to ensure that the patrons are safe, especially when alcohol (which diminishes inhibitions and can lead to problems) is served.
Issues such as the number of bouncers on staff, the training that they undergo, and the policies and procedures that bouncers should follow are all looked with great scrutiny when an establishment fails to protect its patrons from violence. For example, bouncers cannot simply evict two fighting patrons into the parking lot. Instead, they must ensure that the situation is diffused and should call the police department to ensure that the fight does not simply continue outside which can lead not only to injury to one or both combatants but also to an innocent person walking past the fight.
Another factor that can be looked at is the way in which alcohol is served. Bartenders who serve obviously intoxicated patrons or all you can drink events where patrons are allowed to become highly intoxicated are both negligent practices.
Another problem is overcrowding where establishment owners, in an effort to make more money, allow more patrons into the establishment.
Yet another issue is each establishments past problems with fights, the selling or consumption of illegal drugs or other criminal activity in the past. It is the owner’s responsibility to take reasonable steps to deter those types of behaviors by adding more security and/or changing the establishment’s rules and procedures.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a bar or club, call Personal Injury Attorney Chelsie M. Lamie at 727-501-3464 for a free consultation. You can also learn more about Attorney Lamie by visiting www.chelsielamie.com.