Bars Accused of Overserving Violent Man
Broken Eye Socket
A lawsuit filed by a woman whose eye was fractured after an altercation in a bar was dismissed by a Yamhill County judge in Portland.
Talisha Blevins brought the $794,000 lawsuit against the Cabana Club after she suffered a fractured eye socket from being punched by a man in the club. Blevins claimed the bar was partially responsible for her injuries because employees had served the visibly drunken man.
Bars Accused of Overserving Violent Man
According to Blevins, the Cabana Club, located on NE Third Street, was one of two bars that served alcohol to Patrick Allen Reimer despite his visible drunken condition.
An account of the event described in the probable-cause affidavit filed by the Yamhil District Attorney stated that Reimer had tried to fight Blevins’ boyfriend outside of the bar. The incident escalated and resulted in Reimer punching Blevins in the eye, breaking her eye socket. Reimer pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree assault and was given a three year sentence in prison.
As a result of the event and Blevins’ belief the bars were responsible, she filed a lawsuit against the Cabana Club and the other bar – Jae’s Landing – for allegedly overserving someone who later hurt her. She sought from the Cabana Club $44,000 for medical bills and an additional $750,000 in pain and suffering. Jae’s Landing settled with Blevins’ for an undisclosed amount of money.
Plaintiff’s Case Dismissed
On the third day of trial, an attorney for the Cabana Club asked for a dismissal of the case and received it. According to the judge, Blevins hadn’t proven her case and the bartender who served Reimer had no idea he’d commit a crime as a result of his intoxication.
In addition to the club, Blevins also sued Reimer. The judge sided with her in this case, calling Reimer “100 percent responsible” for her injuries. However, since Reimer is in prison for the crime, it’s unclear how he will afford to pay the damages.
We have successfully represented people assaulted on the premises of bars, restaurants and strip clubs.
In one case, our client was thrown through a bakery plate glass window by bar bouncers on steroids. Our client was badly cut in the incident. When the police arrived, the bar bouncers said our client vandalized the window in a fit of rage after being ejected from the bar. Our client denied the allegations, but was arrested by the police. When we obtained the bakery’s security camera footage, it showed the bar bouncer throwing our client through the window. We provided the video to the police and they dropped all charges against our client and arrested the bar bouncers for filing a false report. We then sued the bar and found out that the bouncers had criminal records for past assaults. The bar’s insurance company paid us a lot of money to settle the case.
In another case, we sued a strip club when the bouncer punched our client in the face and nearly killed him. The bouncer fled the scene and was later arrested and convicted for assault. Our client had to have multiple reconstructive facial surgeries. The dispute that lead to the assault was caused when the stripper or bartender attempted to steal our client’s cell phone when he went to the bathroom. Our client created a disturbance when he realized that the stripper or bartender took his phone. After our client started yelling and saying he was going to call the cops, they gave him his cell phone back and kicked him out of the strip club. When the bouncer was outside, our client called him a “douche bag” and that lead to the assault. The strip club said our client initiated the confrontation, so we asked them to produce their surveillance footage from outdoor cameras. The strip club lawyers told us that the cameras “malfunctioned” and did not capture the incident. The strip club insurance company paid us a lot of money to settle our claims.
In another case, we represented a man who was assaulted in an upscale Philadelphia bar and restaurant. Aggressive panhandlers would enter the bar on weekends and try to get people in the bar to cough up $10 or $20 to them. Our client came to the defense of a friend being panhandled and he got punched in the face. He lost two teeth. We sued the bar and they settled with us, after we obtained 911 call records and police records showing that the bar management knew of this ongoing problem and did not hire security to address it.
An establishment that knowingly puts you at risk could be to be blame if you are injured in an altercation. If you think you have a case, you should hire a lawyer with experience in these cases and a track record of success. We know the ins and outs of these cases and how to win them. For more information or to discuss a specific situation with us, contact us at 888-897-5377. There is no fee for consult and everything is confidential
