St. Louis Bar & Nightclub Injury Lawyer
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Terry Crouppen who has more than 40 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney. Our last modified date shows when this page was last reviewed.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Terry Crouppen who has more than 40 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney. Our last modified date shows when this page was last reviewed.
- Last Modified:
- March 14, 2024
Bars and nightclubs are fun for a night out, but the combination of large crowds, intoxication, and rowdy behavior also puts you at risk for injury. When these injuries happen due to negligence on the part of the bar or club, such as ignored drink spills or ill-prepared security, you may be eligible for compensation through a personal injury suit.
The award-winning St. Louis personal injury attorneys at Brown & Crouppen Law Firm in Missouri have a proven track record of recovering damages for our clients injured at bars or nightclubs. We will advocate for you and pursue compensation for your injuries.
Can You Sue a Club for Injury?
Yes, you can sue a bar or club for an injury incurred on the premises when the establishment acted negligently and failed to prevent dangerous situations from arising.
How To Prove Negligence
To prove negligence, the injured party must show that the establishment did not exercise appropriate care in upholding safe conditions. To prove negligence, you must establish the following elements:
- You were lawfully on the premises, giving rise to the establishment’s duty to prevent harm.
- A hazardous condition or danger existed on the premises.
- The owner knew or should have known about this danger but failed to address it or warn patrons.
- The establishment’s actions or failure to act caused your injury.
- You’ve suffered damages.
For example, if a bar’s staff does not clean up a broken glass in a reasonable amount of time and a customer seriously injures themselves on the glass, the bar would be negligent.
It is important to note that this is a broad explanation of how to prove negligence. Proving negligence in Missouri involves certain legal nuances depending on the circumstances. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you establish the necessary elements to prove your case and maximize your compensation.
Missouri Dram Shop Law
A dram shop rule holds a bar or nightclub responsible for any harm committed by a patron who was negligently over-served alcohol. Those harmed by a negligently overserved patron may sue a responsible commercial establishment.
Every state has different dram shop laws. In Missouri, the Missouri dram shop law states that a bar or nightclub must not serve alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person or a person in knows or should know is under the legal drinking age. The establishment can be held liable for personal injuries caused by an overserved or underage patron.
The law defines “visibly intoxicated” as those inebriated to such an extent that they demonstrate significant “uncoordinated physical action or significant physical dysfunction.”
Types of Compensation for Bar & Club Injuries
You may seek compensation for various damages when suing a bar for injury. These could include the following:
- Medical costs: If your injury resulted in costly medical bills, you can seek compensation to offset these medical costs. This compensation could cover costs incurred for hospitalization, physical therapy, medications, and other potentially expensive medical expenses.
- Lost wages: In cases where your injury causes you to miss work, resulting in lost pay, it is possible to seek compensation for any lost income.
- Non-economic damages: In addition to monetary losses, it is also possible to receive compensation for non-economic damages. These include compensation for pain and suffering, emotional hardship, and loss of enjoyment of life.
How Can Brown & Crouppen’s Bar and Club Injury Lawyers Help?
For help navigating the complexities of suing a bar or nightclub for an injury in Missouri, contact an attorney specializing in personal injury cases. An experienced attorney can help you recover damages caused by a negligent establishment.
Brown & Crouppen’s team of award-winning attorneys has a strong track record of advocating for victims of others’ negligence, and over $1 billion in compensation has been awarded to our clients. Contact Brown & Crouppen today to learn more about how we can help.
Common Bar & Nightclub Injuries
Bars and nightclubs have a legal duty to keep patrons safe from incidents such as falls and altercations. Injuries often result when negligent venues and staff fail to meet those duties. Injuries are increasingly likely in crowded environments where people drink, such as bars and nightclubs. You may experience significant personal injury resulting from one of these common types of incidents:
- Cuts and lacerations: Cuts and other serious lacerations could result from broken glasses and bottles, possibly requiring stitches.
- Injuries from falls: Falls may be caused by crowded conditions, slips, and other obstacles. Injuries are increasingly likely in crowded environments where people drink alcohol, such as bars and nightclubs. These falls can cause serious injuries, including broken bones, sprains, concussions, and other issues.
- Injuries from altercations: Some injuries may be caused by physical fights or assaults, including disputes with security and bouncers or getting caught in a bar fight.
Injuries caused by over-aggressive security: Bouncers and security often cross the line with overly aggressive behavior, including threats and assaults, when responding to incidents.
Causes of Bar & Nightclub Injuries
While at a bar or nightclub, several different conditions and situations may result in you getting injured. The most common causes of injuries include slips and falls, negligent or underqualified security, hazardous conditions, and overserved patrons.
Slip and Falls
Spilled drinks, slippery surfaces, and crowded areas make slip-and-fall accidents more likely in bars and nightclubs. These types of accidents can cause serious injury, necessitating high medical expenses and causing great pain and suffering.
The bar or nightclub must maintain safe conditions and prevent slips and falls. The establishment should clean up spills and prevent slippery conditions from becoming hazardous.
The establishment may be deemed negligent if they fail to exercise adequate care. An experienced slip-and-fall lawyer at Brown & Crouppen Law Firm can help you determine the facts of your case and get you the compensation you deserve.
Negligent or Underqualified Security
The security staff’s job is to ensure that bars and nightclub patrons are safe, but sometimes they may be negligent or underqualified. An establishment may be negligent for employing unqualified or untrained security personnel who fail to prevent or respond properly to potentially dangerous situations.
Additionally, the failure of security and staff to adequately prevent and respond to bar fights may allow for serious injuries and harm to occur. Contacting a negligent security lawyer may be beneficial if you think negligence contributed to your bar or nightclub injury.
Hazardous Conditions
If a bar or nightclub establishment is in disrepair, these unsafe surroundings could additionally contribute to injury. Examples of hazardous conditions could include the following:
- Poor lighting, which may lead to falls or other injuries
- Crowding that goes beyond a safe capacity
- Unmarked stairs, ramps, or other obstacles
Overserved Patrons
Bars and nightclubs have a legal duty to avoid serving alcohol to visibly intoxicated patrons. Those who do imbibe too much can become a hazard to other patrons. They may bump into other patrons, causing them to fall. Or they can severely injure other patrons in a bar fight resulting from decreased inhibitions. In addition, drunk patrons may get behind the wheel and cause a car accident injuring other motorists.
What Should I Do if Injured in a Bar or Nightclub?
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury caused by a negligent bar or nightclub, you may file suit to offset the expenses and compensate for the losses you have incurred.
In Missouri, you have five years from the day of the accident or the day the injury was discovered to file a personal injury suit. It is important to consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to ensure you can get compensation and justice.
At Brown & Crouppen Law Firm, we have been helping our clients get the personal injury compensation they deserve for over 40 years. Contact us today for a free consultation.
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