An evening at a nightclub can be a fun way to spend time with friends and meet new people. Unfortunately, altercations can occur at nightclubs due to the volatile combination of alcohol, crowded spaces, and heightened emotions. Whether the result of misunderstandings, disputes over space, or unwanted advances, aggressive behavior in these loud and intense environments can lead to dangerous fights.
If you’ve been injured in a nightclub fight in Florida, you may be wondering what to do next. While the person who hurt you is responsible for their actions, the nightclub may be liable too if they failed to take reasonable steps to create a safe environment. At Tomlinson Law Group, our experienced personal injury lawyers will help you fight for compensation for your injuries. Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your case.
Who Is Liable for Bar Fight Injuries?
After an injury in a nightclub fight, you may be dealing with ongoing medical challenges, lost income, and physical and psychological pain and suffering. You can file a claim for compensation, but who is liable for your injuries?
Under Florida law, the nightclub may be liable for your injuries after a fight if the club was negligent about providing security or otherwise limiting the harm of a potential fight. However, you may lose your opportunity to file for compensation if you are found responsible for the fight.
Florida law requires the court to consider the fault of “all persons who contributed to the injury” in a case where the criminal acts of a third party injure a person. That means that the court must assess your responsibility as well as that of the person or persons who injured you and the nightclub where the fight happened.
Under Florida’s comparative fault statute, you cannot sue for compensation if you are more than 50 percent responsible for your own injuries. If you are less than 50 percent responsible, the court can reduce your compensation based on your percentage of fault. For example, if the court decides that your words or actions were 25 percent responsible for causing the altercation that led to your injuries, it will reduce your compensation by 25 percent.
The nightclub’s insurance company may claim that you intentionally provoked or escalated the fight and should not be able to recover compensation. Your attorney will argue that the nightclub’s negligence caused your injuries and entitles you to compensation for your expenses and losses.
Proving the Nightclub’s Negligence
A personal injury claim arising from premises liability is based on the idea that the property owner was negligent in its duty of care toward you. To recover compensation from the nightclub’s insurance company, you must prove:
- You were a customer at the nightclub
- The nightclub knew a fight could happen and someone could be injured
- Nightclub management negligently failed to take reasonable steps to prevent injuries from a fight
- You were injured as a direct result
A customer of a nightclub is an “invitee,” which obligates the nightclub to take steps to guard against any foreseeable dangers. To avoid negligence, the nightclub could have:
- Hired security guards to keep peace in the club
- Bolted tables and chairs to the floor
- Used plastic cups instead of glasses
- Banned patrons known for getting into fights
If the club took reasonable steps to prevent injuries from fights, you may have difficulty proving negligence. However, if the person you were fighting with hit you with a chair or a glass, then you could argue that the nightclub didn’t take the steps it could have taken to prevent your injuries.
If the club didn’t hire enough security guards or only stationed them near the entrance, you could argue that they didn’t take steps that could have prevented the fight from happening. If they kept letting the person who injured you in the club despite a history of starting fights, you could argue that they negligently ignored this person’s history of making trouble.
Florida’s Dram Shop Law
Florida’s dram shop law holds a bar responsible for overserving a drunk patron under only two circumstances:
- The patron was a minor under the age of 21 and should not have been served at all
- The patron was known to be addicted to alcohol
If the person who caused your injuries was under 21 or a known alcoholic, you can use this law to argue that the nightclub was negligent when it served them alcohol. Unlike many other states, Florida does not have a law that holds bars responsible for overserving customers except under these circumstances.
Deadline to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Florida
Florida has a two-year statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits founded on a negligence claim. If you wait longer than two years to file a lawsuit, you lose the right to sue and recover compensation, and the court will throw out any case you file. Make sure to contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after your injury to prevent this from happening.
Contact a Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If you were hurt in a nightclub fight, you deserve compensation. You shouldn’t have to cover your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering when someone else caused your injuries.
You can file a claim with the nightclub’s insurance company, but there’s no guarantee that they will honor your claim unless they feel they have no other choice. In fact, they’re much more likely to blame you for your own injuries by claiming that you were responsible for the fight.
Get the help you need to pursue full compensation for your losses. Contact an experienced Coral Springs, Florida, personal injury attorney at Tomlinson Law Group today to learn more about how we can help hold the liable parties accountable for your injuries and pursue the compensation you need to move forward.