Injured From A Nightclub Bouncer? 3 Things You'll Have To Prove During Your Lawsuit

13 October 2014
 Categories: Law, Articles


When you go to a busy nightclub with your friends, you can expect to have fun, but what if the fun ends in an injury? If you were at a nightclub and a bouncer caused injuries to you while he was trying to stop you from doing something, you may have the right to sue him or the club. If this happened to you, here are three things you will need to prove to win your case.

The Bouncer Went Too Far

Nightclubs are usually legally required to have bouncers working at all times. The job of a bouncer is to stop problems when they occur, and bouncers can do this in several ways when problems arise. Bouncers also have the legal right to:

  • Defend themselves if they are being attacked
  • Use force to remove unruly guests

If you were causing a scene or instigating trouble while you were at the nightclub, the bouncer has the right to ask you to leave the premises. While the bouncer may have used force to get you to leave, there is a line that must not be crossed. The bouncer is not allowed to injure you during this process, but if you ended up with injuries, you might have a case.

When you present your story to a personal injury attorney, the attorney will ask you to retell the story exactly as it happened. If the bouncer went too far while trying to get you to leave, it is possible that you could sue him for hurting you. To prove this, you will need to have eyewitnesses to back your story.

The Incident Left You With Injuries

A second element that must exist with this type of situation is harm. If the incident did not leave you with any injuries, you really do not have a case. On the other hand, if you were left with a broken bone, bruises, or any other type of physical injury, you may have to right to proceed with the case.

Your attorney will ask you for evidence of your injuries, which may include:

  • Pictures of your body and the damage that was done
  • Videotape coverage of the incident
  • Medical bills and reports from your doctor

If the bouncer went too far and you have injuries because of it, you might have an easier time proving and winning the case.

The Responsible Party

Finally, your lawyer will help you decide who is responsible for this. While nightclubs may hire independent bouncers and security companies, this does not automatically mean that the nightclub is not responsible for the damages. If your lawyer believes you have a strong case, he or she may decide to sue both the bouncer and the nightclub.

Cases like this can be difficult though, and here are three reasons why:

  1. The bouncers might not have insurance – if the club hired bouncers off the street, these workers would not have any insurance to cover accidents like this.
  2. The bouncers might fight the claims – bouncers are hired to escort people out, and they will usually fight cases like this with the argument that they were just doing their job.
  3. The nightclub might not want to take responsibility – if the bouncer did not have insurance, the only way you can receive compensation for your injuries might be by suing the nightclub. The nightclub might have signed documents from the bouncers that state that the bouncers take full responsibility for any injuries caused during events like this.

Your lawyer will investigate many things that relate to this case, and one key part of proving fault and responsibility on the part of the nightclub is proving that the nightclub did not take proper precautions when hiring bouncers for their establishment. If the nightclub did not perform background checks on the workers, or hire them through a reputable firm, your lawyer may use this evidence to back up your case.

This type of case is very hard to prove, but a good personal injury attorney from a firm like Cantini Law Group Accident and Disability Lawyers might be able to help you. It will take proving that the bouncer caused injuries to you because of the way he handled the incident, but if you can prove this, you might be able to win the case.


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