If you were injured at a Las Vegas nightclub, you may have grounds to bring a lawsuit against the club to recover damages such as medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.
Common situations where the nightclub may be liable include:
- Lack of adequate security – Insufficient staff can lead to catastrophic consequences such as overcrowding and stampedes, especially if there is no one directing patrons where to exit during an emergency.
- Lack of emergency protocols – If a fire breaks out from a dropped candle or an overloaded circuit, the situation can become fatal quickly if the entrances and exits are locked or blocked with debris. Staff should be trained in crowd control and maintain clear entryways at all times.
- Slip-and-fall accidents – It is foreseeable in a nightclub that drinks will be accidentally spilled, and it is arguably negligent if staff fails to frequently surveil the floors and clean up – or cordon off – slippery surfaces. This applies to both the interior of the nightclub as well as the entrance and any exterior areas where patrons can expect to wait on line.
- Cuts and lacerations from broken glass – It is also foreseeable that nightclub patrons will accidentally drop beer bottles. If staff fails to sweep away the glass shards in time, patrons who get cut by the glass can claim the nightclub was negligent.
- Low lighting – Patrons expect that nightclubs will be dim, though this lack of visibility can lead to serious accidents. Insufficiently-lit areas where there are steps, furniture, or other potential hazards can be grounds for a negligence lawsuit.
- Assault and battery by club bouncers or hostile customers – Nightclub staff may overreact and use physical force on patrons who did nothing unlawful. Meanwhile, intoxicated patrons are prone to throw punches and beer bottles if they get upset.
- Discrimination – It is unlawful for nightclub owners to disqualify job applicants or to deny admission to patrons based on protected characteristics such as race.
- Food poisoning – Similar to restaurants, nightclubs that provide food have to abide by strict safety codes. Not only can an outbreak of salmonella, e. coli, norovirus, etc., result in lawsuits – they could cause the nightclub to be shut down for weeks while the venue is sanitized.
- Failure to get medical attention – Nightclub staff should foresee that some patrons will get dehydrated, develop alcohol poisoning, or get into fights, and it is negligence if they fail to intervene and call for medical help quickly.
To help you better understand Nevada law regarding nightclub injuries, our Nevada personal injury lawyers discuss:
Also see our article about getting beaten up for not paying a bar tab in Nevada.
1. Who is liable?
In most cases, Las Vegas nightclub owners or operators are liable for your injuries even if they were offsite at the time of the accident.1
Common scenarios where you can sue a nightclub’s owners are discussed below.
Negligence by employees
The most common cause of Las Vegas nightclub injuries is employee negligence. Under Nevada’s respondeat superior doctrine (also known as vicarious employer liability) a nightclub is liable for injuries caused by employee negligence when:
- The employee was acting within the scope of their employment, and
- The injury was a normal risk of the employer’s business.2
Example: Nightclub patron Sally slips on spilled beer that the staff failed to clean up. Because spilled drinks are a normal risk of serving drinks at a nightclub, the club’s business/property owner can be held responsible for Sally’s injuries.
Intentional wrongful acts by employees
Sometimes a club employee’s actions are not negligent but rather intentional, such as:
- Sexual harassment,
- Sexual assault,
- Assault and battery,
- Defamation,
- Discrimination based on gender, gender identity or sexual orientation,
- False imprisonment, or
- Invasion of privacy.
Under ordinary circumstances, a Nevada employer would not be liable for intentional wrongful acts committed by employees. However, where the wrongful act is an inherent risk of the employee’s job, the employer might nevertheless be held liable for an intentional act.3
Example: A nightclub bouncer asks Xavier to leave for being belligerent. After Xavier refuses, the bouncer punches him. Physical violence is an inherent risk of the bouncer’s job. Accordingly, the nightclub might be liable for Xavier’s injuries if the force was found to be excessive.
Negligent hiring, retention or supervision
A Las Vegas nightclub might be liable for its own negligence in hiring, retaining or failing to adequately supervise an employee. This typically happens when:
- The club failed to conduct a reasonable background check of an employee,
- The club hired or retained an employee who was unfit for the position or posed a danger to patrons, or
- The club was negligent in supervising, disciplining or training the employee.4
Example: A strip club receives complaints from some of the dancers that the bartender has been sexually harassing them. The club ignores the complaints, and the bartender goes on to sexually assault one of the women. Because the club was on notice of the bartender’s inappropriate sexual conduct, the club is most likely liable for the dancer’s injuries.
Discriminatory policies or practices
Both federal and Nevada laws make it illegal for businesses to discriminate based on gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.
A Las Vegas nightclub might be liable for discriminating against a patron if an employee:
- Provides discounts to just one gender,
- Prevents homosexual or transgender people from entering the nightclub, or
- Otherwise treats a patron differently than other patrons based on their actual or perceived gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.5
Drinks, darkness, and loud music make nightclubs a hotbed for injuries.
2. Damages
If you are injured at a Las Vegas nightclub due to the wrongful acts of the owner, employees, independent contractors, or patrons, you may be entitled to compensatory damages. This includes:
- Medical bills,
- Physical or occupation rehabilitation,
- Lost wages,
- Lost earning capacity,
- Legal fees, and
- Pain and suffering.6
In cases of extreme wrongful behavior, you may even be able to recover punitive damages.
Note if your family member was killed by a nightclub injury, you can sue for wrongful death in pursuit of:
- Loss of support,
- Grief and sorrow,
- Loss of companionship.
Our proactive Las Vegas injury attorneys will go over every detail of your case to make sure you receive compensation for all your damages.
3. Partial fault
Under Nevada’s comparative negligence / shared fault law, you are entitled to recover damages from a nightclub injury if one or more defendants were at least 50% liable for your injuries.7 The amount of your damages will simply be reduced by the extent to which you were liable.
Example: Ronnie pushes another patron off the dance floor, who then punches Ronnie, breaking his nose. The club’s security guard does not see the fight because he is flirting with a customer. Ronnie sues the nightclub, and a jury agrees there was negligent security and values Ronnie’s damages at $10,000. However, the jury determines Ronnie was 40% responsible for starting the fight, so his damages are reduced by 40% to $6,000.
4. Injured by another patron
Las Vegas businesses are not normally liable for the wrongful acts of other customers.
However, nightclubs must exercise reasonable care to prevent injury to their patrons and employees. This includes a duty to provide adequate security and supervision on its premises to minimize the risk of patrons injuring each other. If this duty is breached, the nightclub is negligent.
Example: A bartender sees a male customer pour something into Patricia’s drink while she looks away. The bartender decides it’s none of his business, but later the male leaves with Patricia and rapes her. Since the bartender failed to call security or warn Patricia, the club may be responsible for civil damages for the sexual assault, even though the actual harm was done by another customer.
Serious injuries can result from a simple fall on a slippery dance floor.
Additional reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Danger on the Dance Floor: A Study of Interior Design, Crowding and Aggression in Nightclubs – Criminal Justice Press.
- The Law of Premises Liability in America: Its Past, Present, and Some Considerations for Its Future – Notre Dame Law Review.
- A little nightclub medicine: the healthcare implications of clubbing – Emergency Medicine Journal.
- Premises Liability – Drake Law Review article on how property owners are liable for injuries that occur on their property.
- Can the Submission of a Premises Liability Case Be Simplified – Texas Tech Law Review.
Legal References
- See Humphries v. New York-New York Hotel & Casino, (2017) 133 Nev. 607, 403 P.3d 358.
- See Rockwell v. Sun Harbor Budget Suites (1996) 112 Nev. 1217, 925 P.2d 1175.
- See Wood v. Safeway, Inc., (2005) 121 Nev. 724, 121 P.3d 1026.
- See note 2.
- See Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964.
- See note 1.
- NRS 41.141.
- See Sanchez v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2009) 125 Nev. 818, 221 P.3d 1276.