Who is Liable for Bar Fight Injuries? When Can You File a Lawsuit?

Get fair compensation for bar fight injuries. Learn who is liable for injuries caused by mean drunks, rough bouncers, and parking lot brawls.

A night out with your friends in a bar or club should be filled with fellowship and camaraderie. Unfortunately, not all bar patrons see it that way.

Alcohol is the beverage of choice in bars and clubs. Consumed in excess, it has varying effects on people.

In a matter of seconds, a bar fight can erupt, quickly turning an otherwise pleasant evening into one filled with danger and chaos.

Whether someone punched you, cut you with a broken bottle, threw a chair at you, or you suffered excessive force from a bouncer, you may have the basis of a personal injury claim, not only against the person who started the fight, but the bar owner as well.

Who’s Liable for Bar Fight Injuries?

Depending on the underlying circumstance leading to the bar fight, there may be more than one party that is liable (legally responsible) for your injuries.

Potentially liable parties in a bar fight include:

  • The other fight participants
  • You
  • The bar owner

The Other Fighters’ Liability

When an individual takes a swing at you or grabs your date without provocation, in many states the unprovoked attack counts as assault. Battery charges might be added if you’re badly hurt in the ensuing fight.

Call the police to report the assault and ask for emergency medical care, if necessary.

The person who started the fight may be arrested, charged, and eventually convicted of assault and battery. They may have criminal liability as well as civil liability for your damages.

The police report can be compelling evidence in your favor when you pursue personal injury compensation from the at-fault parties.

Victim’s Shared Responsibility

In most states, you have a right to compensation for your injuries, even when you share some of the blame for the circumstances leading up to the bar fight.

Contributory negligence rules can kill injury claims in Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. If the bar’s insurance company thinks you’re so much as one percent to blame for your injuries, they’ll use a pure contributory negligence argument to deny your claim.

Comparative negligence or modified comparative fault is used in most states. Under pure comparative fault rules, you have the right to pursue an injury claim even if you’re the one most at fault for the fight.

In modified comparative fault states, you may not be able to recover any compensation if you are equally to blame or more to blame for causing the fight or your injuries. If your claim is not denied, your compensation will be reduced to account for your percentage of blame.

Bar Owner Responsibility for Patron Injuries

No two fight cases are the same, and each state has different laws that may apply. Winning a personal injury claim against the bar where you were hurt rests on whether the bar owner did everything reasonably possible to protect patrons like you from harm.

Premises Liability Claims

Under the legal doctrine of premises liability, business owners must do everything reasonably possible to ensure the safety and well-being of their patrons. Unfortunately, there are no laws that specify what’s reasonable and what’s not in a specific situation.

Bar customers have a legal right to remain safe from undue harm and injury while on the bar’s premises. This includes not only the bar itself, but the bar’s parking lot, alleyways, and all other property the bar sits on. Yet, the bar owner isn’t automatically responsible for every injury that happens on their property.

For the bar owner to be liable, the owner must be able to foresee a potential injury could happen. This means the circumstance that causes an injury is one that a prudent bar owner in a similar location knows or should know is dangerous.

Unless you can prove the bar employees knew or should have known that someone could get hurt, and did nothing about it, you won’t have a strong claim against the bar.

Case Example: Bar Not Liable for Head Injury

Jonathan Lloyd and his friend Cecil George were at a New Jersey bar called the Harem. George was already intoxicated when Lloyd saw George fighting with another bar patron.

The Harem’s bouncers broke up the fight and escorted George and the other fighter out of the bar to the parking lot. Lloyd followed them out. After they were all outside, the bouncers stood near the bar’s entrance.

Lloyd was standing near his friend George in the parking lot when he saw the other fighter rushing toward George. Lloyd stepped in between George and the person coming at George to “put himself as a barrier” between the two.

As Lloyd later testified, “Everything happened quickly.” Lloyd woke up in the hospital four days later, having suffered a serious head injury.

Lloyd filed a lawsuit against the bar for not protecting him. The Harem argued they could not have foreseen Lloyd voluntarily stepping into the middle of a fight.

The court agreed with the bar, ruling that “it was not foreseeable that [Lloyd] would be in any danger outside” and “it could not be reasonably foreseen” that Lloyd would intercede in the altercation.

Lloyd lost his case. He appealed to a higher court that confirmed the bar was not liable for Lloyd’s injuries.

Dram Shop Laws

Back in the day, liquor was sold in small amounts called drams, and any establishment that sold distilled liquor was a dram shop. The term dram shop is still used by lawmakers.

Under most states’ dram shop laws, a bar can sometimes be held liable for serving alcohol to a person who ends up causing harm to themselves or someone else. Dram shop claims are not limited to car accidents caused by drunk drivers.

Owner’s Duty to Prevent Bar Fights

A prudent bar owner should have enough bouncers or security personnel in place to prevent bar fights and stop any altercations that do break out.

Having a lot of bouncers or security guards can sometimes be a two-edged sword for the bar owner. Bouncers have been known to use excessive force to stop fights, resulting in unnecessary injuries not only to the participants but to innocent bystanders as well.

Bouncers are only supposed to use force equal to the aggressive bar patron’s use of force, and no more.

Example: Bystander Injured by Rough Bouncer

Bouncers had to forcibly remove Jack from a bar after he started a fight with another customer. Jack continued throwing punches at the bouncers, who roughly pinned his arms back and threw him out of the bar.

The bouncers were equally rough with Jack’s friends, including Rob, who had been cheering Jack on but didn’t participate in the fight. Rob’s shoulder was dislocated from being twisted, and his face was severely scraped and bloodied by gravel in the parking lot when the bouncers pushed him down to the ground.

The bouncers’ use of force against the Rob was excessive. Unlike Jack, Rob wasn’t fighting or resisting and was on his way to the door to leave when the bouncers turned to him. The bar owner, as well as the individual bouncers, are therefore liable for Rob’s damages.

Winning a Bar Fight Injury Claim

While you may have grounds for a claim or lawsuit against the person or persons involved in the fight, they may not have enough assets to justify the cost of litigation.

In contrast, it makes sense to pursue compensation for serious injuries from the bar owner if you’re hurt in a fight, whether as a participant or an innocent bystander. The bar likely has a general liability insurance policy.

To succeed in your injury claim you must prove:

  1. The bar owner had a legal duty to protect you from injuries.
  2. The bar owner could foresee the danger which caused your injuries.
  3. The bar owner breached (violated) their legal duty to protect you.
  4. The breach resulted in your injuries and real damages.

The burden is on you to gather good evidence to prove your claim. You’ll need enough evidence to convince the bar owner’s insurance company that the owner breached their duty of care and the breach was the direct cause of your injuries.

What To Do After a Bar Fight

1. Call the police

Law enforcement will likely investigate by asking witnesses to describe how and why the fight broke out. If you were a bystander, specify what caused your injury. If you were a participant and were injured when the bouncers used excessive force, make that clear as well. Your arrest doesn’t excuse a bouncer’s excessive force.

2. Identify the bar owner and report your injuries

Ask for the bar’s owner or manager. Get the owner’s name and contact information. If the bar is part of a chain, get the company’s contact information. Make clear the aggressor or the bouncers injured you during a fight or other turmoil. Ask if the business can complete an incident report.

3. Seek prompt medical care

Never refuse or delay medical attention. If someone calls an ambulance, let the paramedics evaluate your injuries. You could have life-threatening head or internal injuries and not realize it. Adrenaline and shock can mask serious injuries.

If you aren’t taken directly to the hospital, have a medical exam as soon as possible. Failing to have prompt medical treatment can tank your injury claim. The insurance company will jump at the excuse to deny your claim by arguing your injuries didn’t happen at the bar.

4. Get witness statements

Speak with witnesses. If you were a bystander, take the time to ask witnesses to write down what they saw and how you were hurt. Make sure they indicate you didn’t start the fight or contribute to your own injuries. If the police arrested you, ask your friends to gather witness contact information.

5. Take photographs

Take pictures of the strewn chairs and tables, broken glass, injuries to other patrons, and more. If it’s dark inside the bar, ask the manager to turn on the lights. Photograph your injuries. Injuries like swelling and bruising may not appear right away, so continue to take pictures of your injuries throughout your recovery.

6. Check criminal records

It’s fairly easy to research a person’s criminal background. Look for arrest and conviction records of the fight participants and bouncers, the bar’s manager, and the bar owner. Criminal records go a long way to support allegations of excessive force by bouncers, the bar owner’s negligence in hiring them, and a bar manager’s tendency to lie about the underlying facts of the fight.

7. Gather proof of damages

Collect copies of your medical records. Also, make copies of receipts for medications, crutches, slings, and even the parking fees you had to pay while visiting doctors for treatment. If you had to miss work, get employer verification of the dates of your absence and the amount of wages you lost.

Negotiating a Fair Settlement

You probably won’t need an attorney to negotiate a fair settlement amount for minor injury claims. If you’ve recovered from scrapes, bruises, and muscle or tendon strains, you can deal directly with the insurance company.

It’s vital not to say anything that may indicate that you contributed to your injuries. Avoid statements like “Well, I was pretty drunk,” or “I was cussing the bouncers.”

Figure out a fair settlement amount by totaling the cost of your medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, the value of ruined items like clothes or eyeglasses, and lost wages. Add one or two times that amount for pain and suffering.

Send your demand letter with copies of all your bills, receipts, and any other evidence you’ve collected.

If your damages are less than $1,000, the insurance company may pay immediately. Some bar owners carry a kind of no-fault premises liability insurance that pays injury claims without concern about whose fault it was. No-fault insurance won’t cover your pain and suffering, but you won’t have to prove the bar was negligent.

You’ll need a skilled attorney to get anywhere near fair compensation for serious injuries or complicated claims.

Bar fights can result in serious injuries like brain trauma, spinal cord injuries, broken jaws or other bones, internal bleeding, and other “hard” injuries. Severe injuries are expensive insurance claims. The insurance company and its team of lawyers will vigorously defend the bar against your claim.

An injury attorney will help you get the compensation you deserve for:

  • Dram shop claims and lawsuits
  • Assault injuries caused by bouncers or other bar customers
  • Claims against multiple parties
  • Wrongful death of a loved one

Most personal injury lawyers offer a free consultation. It costs nothing to get valuable legal advice from an experienced local attorney.

Bar Fight Injury Questions