When Is a Bar Liable for Bar Fight Injuries?

No one heads out for a fun night at the bar expecting to be attacked and injured. When alcohol is involved, minor disputes can easily escalate into a physical altercation. If you were injured after being attacked in a bar, the bar could be liable depending on the facts and circumstances surrounding your case. It is best to seek medical attention and then contact an attorney quickly. Witnesses will need to be interviewed as soon as possible before they start to forget what they saw, and other types of evidence may need to be preserved sooner rather than later.

Under What Circumstances Is a Bar Liable for Injuries From Fights?

Illinois bars have a duty to take reasonable measures to keep their patrons safe. While no bar can prevent every fight that breaks out, they must take certain precautions, such as removing belligerent patrons. If a bar has failed to use reasonable precautions to prevent violence, and you are injured as a result, the bar could be held liable. In Illinois, a bar or nightclub could be held responsible if you were injured on their premises under these circumstances:

• Excessive force by bouncer - Bouncers and nightclub security guards are not permitted to use more force than necessary under the circumstances. Bar patrons are sometimes injured when a bouncer grabs or throws them in the course of breaking up a fight, or when a bouncer becomes violent while ejecting a customer.
• Failure to provide security - Drinking establishments are expected to provide a reasonable level of security to protect patrons from the threat of violence. If the person who attacked you was acting belligerent, threatening you or other customers, or creating a disturbance, the bar should likely have removed that customer before things escalated to the point where you were physically attacked.
• Dram Shop Act - In Illinois, if an establishment serves alcohol to a person who becomes intoxicated and causes injury to another person, the establishment could be held liable under the Dram Shop Act.

If you were injured as a result of violence in a bar or nightclub, you will want to get in touch with a lawyer promptly. Bar fights are often chaotic events involving multiple parties and witnesses. It is especially important to begin documenting the events quickly, as people’s memories tend to fade quickly especially when they were intoxicated at the time.

Call an Illinois Injury Lawyer

Bar fight injuries can be serious, causing you both physical and economic harm if you miss work or need medical attention. If you were assaulted or battered in a bar or nightclub, contact Quinn Law Group, LLC. Our experienced Park Ridge assault and battery injury attorneys may be able to recover compensation for you. Call 847-232-7180 for a free consultation.

Source:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=023500050K6-21