When you visit one of New York’s many bars or nightclubs, you are entitled to, and should expect, that these establishments are safe places to visit. This means you should not suffer any injury from another patron or from an employee. The bar or nightclub is required to have a sufficient number of properly trained personnel, including managers, bartenders and security personnel.

Employees and security should protect you from threats and dangerous conditions while you are eating, drinking, dancing or socializing on the premises. Bars and nightclubs have a responsibility to provide reasonable protection to its patrons while they are on the premises.

One of the dangers while visiting any place of assembly, including a bar or nightclub, is the risk of a fire or other emergency. Policies and procedures must be established for a proper response to the emergency and for the safe evacuation of all the patrons on the premises. All employees must be properly trained in this regard. Too often we hear of incidents where the bar or nightclub was overcrowded or had an exit blocked and patrons were injured while trying to flee and exit the premises.

People frequenting bars or nightclubs go there to drink alcohol in these establishments. Some establishments even impose a two (2) drink minimum.

New York’s Dram Shop Lawyers

The Dram Shop law in New York makes it illegal for businesses to serve alcohol to persons who are visibly intoxicated. Visible intoxication can be signs such as slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and lack of physical coordination.

If a person who is visibly intoxicated leaves a bar or nightclub and then drives a motor vehicle The Dram Shop law states that the bar or nightclub may be held liable if there is an accident caused by that driver. So, if you are injured by an intoxicated driver, you have a right to sue the bar or nightclub that served alcohol to that intoxicated driver. We recently were successful in suing the bar and obtaining a substantial settlement after an accident by proving that the driver was clearly intoxicated and became so at the bar.

It is unfortunate but a known fact that some people will drink to excess and become inebriated or drunk. It is also easy to imagine a fight starting between patrons who are inebriated or drunk. Bottles, glasses, barstools and chairs are then readily available to be used as weapons during a fight. The establishment must have enough properly trained employees on duty to avoid these types of situations.

Employees, especially bartenders, must be properly trained to recognize when a patron is intoxicated and thus should not be provided with any additional alcoholic beverages. All employees should be properly trained in the policies and procedures established by the bar to immediately deal with any threats or other disruptive behavior that may occur on the premises.

If security personnel are employed then the policies and procedures should specify when security personnel should become involved. Based on the establishments past history of assaults and fights, if assaultive behavior is reasonably foreseeable, then proper and adequate security must be present. Security personnel must be properly hired, experienced, trained and supervised.

Crowding and overcrowding must also be controlled as it creates the risk of patrons accidentally bumping into each other which often leads to fights. If there are a sufficient number of employees and all employees are properly trained and the premises constantly monitored then conflicts between patrons can be kept to a minimum and situations defused before they escalate.

Jaroslawicz & Jaros has successfully represented many clients who were injured while in a bar or nightclub as a result of various altercations. We know how to properly investigate these types of cases to ensure that the maximum compensation is obtained for our clients.