Man Stabbed in Bar Fight Sues Bar

Lawsuits such as these are filed under a theory of negligent security. It is assumed that when you enter an establishment, even a bar, that bar has a duty to ensure your safety. In cases where you’re injured on the premises, you may have a right to sue.

Such was the case of a 49-year-old male victim who suffered life-threatening injuries at a New Haven bar. The fight began at the bar and then moved down the street where the man was stabbed. That alone might give you pause to worry about the prospects of this man’s lawsuit, but there is more to the case than meets the eye.

How the Victim Can Win this Lawsuit

Just because the man was stabbed a block away from the bar, doesn’t mean that the bar itself didn’t act negligently. In cases like this, a bar always has a legal duty to keep their patrons safe. However, like all negligent security lawsuits, the proprietor or staff must be able to foresee that such an event is possible or likely.

In this case, the proprietor, a bouncer, or other staff could have intervened when the fight got out of hand. This could have included calling the police, removing a belligerent customer from the premises, or otherwise diffusing the altercation.

In this case, the altercation was not diffused. A jury will be asked to decide what, if any role, the bar played in events that led up to the stabbing. If the plaintiff can show that the bar staff either exacerbated the problem or failed to remedy the solution in a manner that avoided the stabbing, some of the liability might be assigned to the bar.

What Was the Victim’s Role

In negligent security cases, the best play for the defendant is to blame the victim for their injuries. This works particularly well in negligent security lawsuits because, as they say, it takes two to tango. Therefore, determining what the circumstances were that led up to the bar fight will play a key role in the bar’s defense.

If the bar can prove that the defendant instigated the fight or went outside the bar to reconcile the fight, then the patron who was stabbed may be limited in their options for recovery.

In Florida, a patron would be able to recover damages even if they were 99% at fault for the incident. Of course, their recovery would be reduced to only 1$ of their total damages.

Negligent security cases tend to be complex. Attorneys for the plaintiff generally point to the bar’s history of violent occurrences as proof that the bar needed better security. The burden of proof is awkward because it forces the plaintiff to prove that a violent crime on the property was foreseeable and thus preventable.

Talk to a Miami Negligent Security and Bar Fight Attorney Today

If you’ve been injured on dangerous premises, the Miami personal injury attorneys at the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. can help you recover damages related to your injuries. Talk to us today for a free consultation.

https://www.goldfarbpa.com/yoga-studio-sued-in-shooting-death/