Are Illinois Bars Required to Have Security Guards?
A night out on the town with your squad can mean many things. It might be all about hitting the dance floor at Spybar or the Tunnel, taking in some blues at Kingston Mines or Rosa’s, or checking out your favorite band at Thalia Hall or Salt Shed.
The focus for these excursions is really about what you’re going to wear, who you’re meeting up with, and whether you’re driving or taking an Uber.
What you might not be thinking about is how safe the place you’re going to is.
That’s because you depend on the premises to provide adequate security. What happens if they drop the ball? When you’re going out in a crowd, you want to make sure that the crowd will be kept under control. The bad news is that Illinois bars are not universally required to have security guards.
The good news is that local municipalities can often mandate that specific venues deploy reasonable safety measures, depending on the venue’s size and liquor license requirements.
If you get hurt at a club, bar, or other venue, it might be due to negligent security.
That becomes an actionable cause to bring to an experienced Chicago negligent security lawyer. An attorney who has worked on these types of claims will be able to size up the merits of your case and present you with the options to get covered for any damages you suffered from the incident.
Before your claim can be filed, it will help you to understand the boundaries of the law as it pertains to security.
Local Chicago and Illinois Municipal Security Ordinances
Let’s start with the basics. Under the Illinois Premises Liability Act, all business owners have a legal obligation to protect patrons from foreseeable harm.
That doesn’t automatically mean that bars need to hire security guards. However, they need to intervene in any escalating fights. If there are repeated incidents of fighting, it is clear that this is foreseeable harm that security guards need to address.
If a security guard is hired, they must obtain a Permanent Employee Registration Card (PERC) from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Security guards also must undergo Beverage Alcohol Sellers and Servers Training (BASSET).
A venue can have security guards, but if they are not properly trained and certified, there could be liability issues.
The Role of Premises Liability in Bar Safety
If you are injured at a bar or club, the establishment’s owners can be held legally and financially responsible for negligence. Liability issues come into play with the following issues:
Negligent Security
Bar and nightclub owners must take reasonable measures to protect guests from foreseeable third-party violence. That includes such things as fights inside or outside the parking lot. This is where the issue of foreseeability comes into play. If the bar has a history of violent acts, the owner would be considered negligent if they don’t hire guards, install security cameras, or train their staff to de-escalate conflicts.
The owners can also be held liable if their employees use excessive force, commit battery, or fail to intervene when a patron is in danger.
Slip, Trip, and Fall Hazards
Premises liability issues can also include slip and fall hazards that aren’t cleaned. Bars are highly prone to spills and slick floors. If the staff doesn’t immediately clean up those spills or warn customers about the hazard, they can be held liable if someone gets hurt.
When it can be clearly established that the owner or staff were negligent, you increase your chances of prevailing with your claim.
How the Illinois Dram Shop Act Affects Your Case
You might not be familiar with the Illinois Dram Shop Act, but it can become a crucial element in a personal injury claim. That includes a car accident that involves a drunk driver.
The law holds that you can pursue a compensation claim against the bar that sold liquor to an intoxicated person who went on to cause you harm. Unlike general negligence, you do not need to prove that the owner of the bar or their staff acted recklessly or knew the patron was intoxicated.
You simply must prove that they served alcohol, that the alcohol contributed to the intoxication, and that the intoxication caused your injury.
There is also a damage cap applied by the Illinois Comptroller for any dram shop claim.
The maximum amount you can recover is $110,503 for “loss of means of support” and $90,411 for personal injury or property damage.
Keep in mind that the Dram Shop Act only applies to anyone who is a licensed commercial liquor vendor. Anyone who is hosting a private party generally cannot be held liable unless they provide alcohol to a minor.
Why You Need the Support of a Negligent Security Attorney
If you’ve been injured at a bar or club, you are entitled to seek compensation under the premises liability laws. That is not without challenges. Owners of these premises are fully prepared to defend against those charges.
They will frequently argue that any danger you encountered was “open and obvious.” If you were hurt because of a hazard like a spill, it might be because they didn’t have time to clean up the spill. They might also simply say that what happened to you was entirely unforeseeable. These are all tactics that can be knocked down with the right legal advocate.
The experienced attorneys at Thomas Law Offices have taken the lead on many premises liability and negligent security claims.
We’re aware of the laws and know how to apply them to our clients’ claims. We also know how important it is to calculate the genuine cost of damages. We want to ensure that our clients receive the maximum benefits to which they are entitled. That can involve pursuing claims against multiple parties. We’ll go where the evidence leads us.
If you’ve been injured while out at a bar, club, or venue, you don’t have to take on the financial burdens. Call to set up a free case evaluation to discuss what should happen next.
