When a Bar is Responsible for Bar Fights

• July 13, 2024
• Attorney David Mann
• Personal Injury Premises Liability

It is not unusual for the consumption of alcohol to lead to disagreements or fights in a bar or restaurant. These altercations can lead to serious injuries, and even death in rare cases.  In terms of liability, there are certain instances when a bar is responsible for bar fights.  If you have been injured in a bar fight, you might be asking yourself when a bar is responsible for bar fights.

Premises Liability In Georgia

A key issue to consider in a bar fight is whether the establishment is liable for negligent security under the premises liability law in Georgia. If the bar had security personnel in adequate numbers, it is possible that the fight could have been broken up before anyone was hurt.

Businesses such as bars and restaurants do owe their customers a duty to be on guard against dangerous conditions. In fact, some courts have even found that business owners are liable when they do not provide a reasonable amount of security to protect customers from criminal conduct.

Acts of violence often can be prevented if the bar owner has the proper security measures to protect customers from harm that can be foreseen. If the owner does not take the correct security measures, it is possible for customers to be assaulted, robbed, beaten and worse.

Premises liability law in this state allows business owners to be held liable for some crimes that happen on their property.

There are two key questions that should be asked

• Was the criminal activity that led to the injury or loss foreseeable?
• Did the business owner fail to implement the proper security procedures to ensure their customers’ safety and well-being?

Proving Negligence in Bar Fight Cases

In order to prove that the bar should be held negligent in respect to your injuries, four specific elements must be true.  All four of these elements must be proven in order for the bar owner to be found negligent.  Those elements are:

• Duty of Care – You must show that the bar owed you a duty of care to keep you safe at the establishment.
• Breach of Duty of Care – You must show that the bar breached the duty of care that it owed to you.
• Causation – Was the breach of the duty of care a direct cause of your injuries?
• Damages – You must show that you were damaged by the breach of the duty of care.

If you are able to prove that all four of the above elements are true, you may be able to obtain compensation for your injuries.

What Is Considered Negligent Security?

A bar may have negligent security that could include some or all of the following:

• Total lack of security personnel
• Poor security measures
• No video cameras
• Failure to comply with state security laws
• Failure to protect patrons from foreseeable harm.

Bars and restaurants also must exercise caution in their hiring practices for security personnel. If they bring in people who are unqualified, they may cause harm to patrons. At that point, the business owner also can be held liable for hiring improper security.

For example, there was a personal injury case regarding a Georgia bar fight where the customer suffered a serious brain injury. The bouncers incorrectly attacked him when he merely responded to a minor altercation between two other patrons. This is actually a common reason that bar fights get violent; the more drunk and aggressive a bar fight gets, the more likely it is that a third party will intervene.

In the case described above, the bouncers beat the man and threw him down concrete steps. His head slammed into the pavement, resulting in serious head injuries that have incapacitated him to this day.

Call Us Today To Speak To A Georgia Bar Injury Attorney

If you have been involved in a fight or were otherwise injured while at a bar, give the Mann Law Firm a call today.  We have been fighting for the rights of our clients for over 50 years. Claims of negligence in bars and restaurants usually involve insurance companies.  Attorney David Mann used to work as defense counsel at a large insurance counsel, so he knows the tactics insurance companies use to settle claims for as little payout as possible.  So, give us a call today at (478) 742-3381.