QUESTION
Can I sue the night club that let my minor daughter in if she was injured?
Asked on Dec 18th, 2011 on Personal Injury - North Carolina
More details to this question:
My 19 year old daughter was let into a 21 and up nightclub and served. She was also hurt at the bar and required 7 staples in her foot after someones drinking glass broke and she stepped on it.
19 ANSWERS
General Practice Attorney serving Indianapolis, IN
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Broad Law Firm, LLC
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In Indiana, you could certainly pursue a claim against the nightclub. However, the fact that your daughter was underage when she entered the establishment would likely be considered comparative fault on her part. In addition, if she entered with a fake or "borrowed" identification of some sort, she probably would be saddled with the majority of fault for the incident. You best course of action, since it does not sound as if her injuries are all that major, would be to contact the nightclub's insurance company and see if they carry Medical Payment coverage. If so, medical payments for injuries that occur on the premises regardless of fault or liability are covered.
Answered on Jul 08th, 2013 at 1:20 AM
Possibly. Would need to more details to say for sure.
Answered on Jul 08th, 2013 at 1:20 AM
Steven D. Dunnings
Maybe, how intoxicated was she?
Answered on Jul 02nd, 2013 at 10:01 PM
Criminal Law Attorney serving Worcester, MA
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Gregory Casale, Attorney at Law
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You most likely can sue.
Answered on Jul 02nd, 2013 at 2:44 AM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Montrose, NY
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Law Office of Jared Altman
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Yes, possibly.
Answered on Jun 02nd, 2013 at 8:43 PM
Automobile Negligence Attorney serving Orlando, FL
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Kelaher Law Offices, P.A.
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Not just for letting her in, but if you can prove she was served intoxicating liquors and her intoxication led to injuries, then I would recommend hiring a lawyer.
Answered on Jan 12th, 2012 at 1:09 PM
Appellate Practice Attorney serving Bloomfield Hills, MI
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Law Office of William L. Spern
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In Michigan, our daughter can sue but her recovery may reduces by her separate negligence or barred if she was intoxicated when the injuries occurred.
Answered on Jan 12th, 2012 at 11:52 AM
You can sue them but the issues involved with a minor being in a nightclub have less to do with this claim than does how long the glass was on the floor and did your daughter know it or should she have known it was there. If she was drinking that will complicate her testimony and interfere with her credibility on the issue of whether she did or should have observed to glass in a way to protect herself. You are probably better off just filing a complaint with whatever agency issued the liquor license along with the police who should be making sure under aged drinkers aren't in the bar.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 6:48 PM
Motor Vehicle Accidents Attorney serving Lincoln, NE
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Lapin Law Offices
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First, assuming your daughter was 19 at the time of her injury, you cannot sue for your daughter's injuries. At age 19, she has reached the age of "majority" and would have to bring a lawsuit on her own behalf. Second, with regard to your daughter being let into the "night club" that is possibly a criminal matter, not a civil one. In addition, the club, assuming alcohol was being served, could face sanctions from the Liquor Control Commission for letting in a 19 year old. The issue is how your daughter was let into the club. Was she carded? Third, as to your daughter's foot injury, she could sue the club for her injuries. Whether she would win a case against the club depends on a number of items. The most important are: How long was the broken glass on the floor before your stepped on the glass? Did the club know about the broken glass? If the club knew about the glass, how much time elapsed from the time the glass was broken until your daughter was injured? If they did not know about the glass, how often did they inspect the club for items such as broken glass? Did you daughter have any knowledge of the glass being broken before she was injured? Your daughter's best chance of winning a lawsuit against the bar is if the glass was on the floor for a long time, the club knew about the broken glass for a long enough time for them to have cleaned it up and your daughter did not know the glass was there until after she was injured.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 6:39 PM
Serving your underage daughter was a criminal act for which only the state can press charges. Only your daughter can sue the nightclub. She is an adult assumed to be competent and not subject to a guardianship. As such, you do not have legal standing to sue on her behalf. To prevail in a civil suit for her injury she will have to prove to a preponderance of the evidence that some act of the nightclub or one of its agents was the direct (proximate) cause of the injury. There are a number of potential theories the most likely of which based on some form of negligence. She should consult with a personal injury attorney about the merits of her case.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 6:32 PM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Spanish Fork, UT
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Utah Legal Team
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First, if your daughter was 19 at the of the accident, she is not a minor. The age of majority is 18. However, you daughter may still have a claim if the nightclub as negligent in not cleaning up the glass.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 5:55 PM
Yes, you can on your minor daughter's behalfif the nigfhtclub was negligence and that negligence was the proximate cause of your daughter's injuries. Your daughter and you should consult with a plaintiff's personal injury lawyers for specific legal advice and direction.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 5:30 PM
Personal Injury — Plaintiff Attorney serving Taylor, MI
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Downriver Injury & Auto Law
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She is guilty of "Wrongful conduct" that is prohibited by statute and it is unlikely that a Judge would let the case go forward. You need to consult an attorney.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 3:41 PM
Workers Compensation Law Attorney serving Atlanta, GA
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Rechtman & Spevak
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I dont think your daughters age would bar her lawsuit. The fact may or may not be admitted at trial, depending on the facts & the judge. If the fact is admitted, it may have some bearing on the outcome of the trial. The most important issue is whether the nightclub is negligent (at fault) regarding the injury. Was the broken glass there a long time before it caused injury? Was the hazard in darkness, so that the nightclub would not have knowledge of the hazard? Did the nightclub have an obligation to search for and clean up such hazards in a timely manner? These are some of the questions that appear to be important in the case. Lawsuits against nightclubs are very difficult cases, and you may have difficulty finding an attorney to represent your daughter unless there were significant medical damages, significant lost wages, etc.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 3:41 PM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Charlotte, NC
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Paul Whitfield and Associates P.A.
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Maybe, but there is something called contributory negligence. She was of full age and made her own decision Judges and juries don't care for injuries that occur in bars (practical view)
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 3:40 PM
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Syracuse, NY
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Andrew T. Velonis, P.C.
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You cannot sue because you were not the person who was injured. As for your daughter, she would have to prove that the broken glass had been on the floor for a while and no one bothered to clean it up. If the glass had just been dropped and broken just a few moments before, then the staff did not have a chance to clean it up. If it had been there a while, then an observant bartender or waitress should have seen it and swept it up. Or, if the person who dropped it said to the bartender or waitress "Oops, I dropped my glass and it broke" and some time went by, then they knew about it and failed to take appropriate action.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 3:40 PM
Plaintiff Animal Bites Attorney serving Missoula, MT
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Bulman Law Associates PLLC
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Your daughter can sue the bar for the medical expenses in Justice Court. Call the county courthouse and request the Clerk of the Justice Court. Ask her or him for the forms to fill out. Follow the instructions and be ready to go to court and prove the medical expenses and any lost time from work.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 3:39 PM
Motor Vehicle Accidents and Injuries Attorney serving Fayetteville, NC
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Beaver Courie Law Firm
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At 19 years old, your daughter is not a minor. The age of majority is 18, even though she cannot legally drink alcohol in North Carolina until she is 21. As a result, you do not have a claim. Depending on the precise facts, it is possible that your daughter might have a claim for the injury to her foot. She should consult an attorney who is experienced in premises liability cases.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 3:38 PM
I would suggest that allowing your minor in to the bar is not the proximate cause of her injury. Therefore, I don't think you can "hook" the bar just because they let her in. The bar may be in trouble for allowing a minor in, but it has nothing to do with your daughter's injury. The only way you can hold the bar accountable is if you could prove that the broken glass was on the floor long enough for the owner to discover it and pick it up, but failed to do so.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2012 at 3:38 PM