More than 125 million Americans plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual St. Patrick’s Day Spending Survey. Total spending for the March 17 holiday is expected to reach $4.4 billion based on the U.S. population of people 18 years old and older. With a celebration of that caliber, there are likely more opportunities for preventable accidents, crimes and injuries – and more of a reason for establishments to increase security measures. By providing adequate security and avoiding over-serving alcohol to patrons, businesses are not only doing their part to keep the holiday safe – they could also be avoiding potential liability claims.
Negligent Security
Business owners have a legal duty to protect customers on their premises from unreasonable and foreseeable dangers including criminal attacks. If a parking lot or other area is the site of past violent crimes, for example, owners must take action to try to deter future crimes from occurring.
An injured person is able to bring a negligent security lawsuit based on the duty imposed on property owners to offer reasonable security measures and protect lawful visitors from foreseeable crimes of third parties. Negligent security assumes the crime could have been prevented or at least made less likely by taking appropriate security measures.
Dram Shop
Pennsylvania law provides that establishments that serve alcohol to a visibly intoxicated individual may be held financially responsible for injuries and damages that person causes. Individuals injured in an accident caused by an intoxicated person may be able to file a dram shop claim against businesses that served that person too much alcohol.
To mitigate the risks, businesses should provide employee instruction about enforcing policies to prevent over-serving alcohol to patrons.
Contact Our Firm for Assistance
Contact our lawyers today if you sustained injuries as a result of a business’ negligence in providing security and/or over-serving alcohol to customers. Our highly skilled attorneys have decades of success advocating for those who were harmed, and they can help you secure the compensation to which you may be entitled. This may include compensation for pain and suffering, financial loss, emotional distress and medical expenses.