Weekend plans usually start on Tuesdays. You text your squad to see what everyone’s doing. By Thursday, the plans have taken shape.
Those plans could mean a meet-up at the Monkey Loft, Vue Lounge, Massive, or any one of the other amazing nightclub venues found around Seattle. The hope is always for a safe, fun night with your crew.
But what if something goes wrong?
What if you find yourself in a classic, “wrong place, wrong time” situation and end up in an ER because of an assault? It doesn’t matter if you tried to break up a fight or someone started something with you that ended in a physical confrontation. The bottom line is that you’ve been hurt and now you’re facing medical bills and lost wages.
Who should pay for those bills?
If you’ve been assaulted at a business, you might have two viable paths for securing compensation. You can file a claim against the person who directly assaulted you.
Additionally, you could file a claim against the business where the assault took place.
Yes, there are many scenarios where a business can be held liable for an assault that took place on the premises. To understand those options, it would help to speak with a Seattle negligent security lawyer. An attorney who has directly worked on these types of claims will be in the best position to provide you with an understanding of all your legal options to pursue a remedy.
The Legal Basis for Business Liability After an Assault
It might seem like an overreach to go after a business where an assault took place.
After all, if someone directly assaulted you, they should be responsible for compensating you for any losses. However, you need to consider the circumstances leading up to the assault and ask whether the business could have prevented it.
Here’s what you need to consider for the basis of a business liability after an assault.
Negligent Security
Every business has an obligation to provide a safe environment for people who legally enter the property. Negligent security is a form of premises liability in which owners fail to take basic safety steps to provide that safe environment. For instance, at an apartment building, broken door locks can provide entry to someone who shouldn’t be there and who goes on to assault you.
At a nightclub, bar, or music venue, trained security guards should be present to defuse potentially dangerous situations. When a business owner fails in those obligations, they can be held liable for the assault.
Foreseeability
The legal test of whether a business knew or should have known that a crime might happen, often based on prior local incidents, high crime rates, or ignored threats.
For example, if a bar owner has dealt with unruly customers, they should know those customers might return. If a business maintains a parking lot in a high-crime area, they should also know there is a risk of an assault and take proactive measures to prevent the assault.
Vicarious Liability / Respondeat Superior
Suppose an overzealous bouncer is the one who assaulted you. You could hold a company responsible when an employee commits an assault while actively performing their job duties.
Direct Institutional Negligence
When a business engages in poor hiring practices, it can also be considered negligent.
This can happen if they don’t conduct a background check to weed out someone who might have already been engaged in assaults. Inadequate training is another issue.
A security guard should know how to recognize the signs of escalation that can lead to an assault. Training should also include intervention techniques to help break up a fight before it gets out of control. Without that proper training, people can get hurt, and the business owner can be held accountable.
Challenges in Pursuing a Claim Against a Property Owner
When you assert that a business owner is liable for an assault that took place on their property, you can anticipate serious pushback. That often begins with placing all blame for the incident on the perpetrator. There is some logic to that argument.
However, a skilled attorney can counter it by pointing out potential failings, such as negligent security and improper hiring.
The business owner can also use Washington’s comparative fault rule. This can allow them to try to shift partial blame to you. Although you can still be awarded compensation with partial blame, that amount will be reduced by the amount of blame you’re assigned.
With an assault, the owner could assert that you provoked the assault.
A business owner could also point out that they did hire security guards, but those guards can’t be everywhere at once. The counter is whether the guards were properly trained and whether there were enough of them. Ideally, there should be one guard for every 50 patrons, and those guards should constantly circulate through the venue.
How to Start Your Recovery Process After a Violent Incident
The recovery process after assault begins with a thorough physical exam. You need to have your medical needs tended to in order to understand the full scope of your injuries. While you’re seeing a doctor, the Seattle police might be opening an investigation into the assault.
Charges could be filed, and the person who assaulted you can be arrested. Although that is important to carry out, your personal injury claim is not tied to the outcome of any criminal charges.
At this point, you should also reach out to the Law Offices of Justin R. Boland, PLLC.
We have helped many Seattle residents who have been the victim of an assault. We understand what it takes to hold a business owner accountable. The evidence we gather will go beyond witness statements. We’ll thoroughly investigate the property’s history and the owner’s hiring practices.
It’s also important to move swiftly to collect evidence such as surveillance footage that might be deleted. All of this goes on while you stay focused on your recovery.
If you’ve been assaulted at a business, you need to know your options for pursuing a remedy.
Call our office to schedule a free consultation to get your questions answered.
