bar fight

Dealing with Bar Fights: A Guide for Patrons and Owners

Getting caught up in a bar fight can lead to serious legal consequences. As a bar patron, it’s important to know how to avoid confrontations and protect yourself if one breaks out. Bar owners also need to understand their responsibilities for preventing violence and liability issues if fights occur. This guide covers key things patrons and owners should know.

For Bar Patrons: Avoiding Fights

No one goes to a bar wanting to get into a brawl. But alcohol and crowded spaces can sometimes lead to short tempers. As a patron, keep these tips in mind:

• Don’t engage if someone tries to pick a fight. Back away and alert staff.
• Watch out for excess drinking. Know your limits – slurred speech and loss of coordination often lead to poor decisions.
• Don’t contribute to situations. Avoid aggressive language, invading personal space, unwanted contact, etc.
• Leave a situation if it feels unsafe, even if your friends stay.
• Stick up for others being harassed but get help from staff – don’t escalate things.

Sometimes, fights erupt quickly over misunderstandings. Other times, troublemakers come in wanting to start something. Regardless, avoiding participation protects your safety and keeps you out of legal issues.

If a Fight Breaks Out

Say a fight starts near you at a bar. What should you do? Here are smart guidelines:

• Don’t intervene physically – you could get injured or cited.
• Call 911 if weapons get brought out or someone is badly hurt.
• Record videos discreetly if you want evidence, but don’t inflame things.
• Follow instructions from staff for safe evacuation.
• If questioned by police later, stick to the facts.

Attempting to break up fights or continuing to engage with aggressors often backfires. Let the authorities de-escalate and deal with the situation appropriately.

Legal Consequences for Involvement

So what happens legally if you do get involved in a bar fight? Several charges may apply:

Assault

Assault entails physical attacks or threats causing reasonable fear of injury (more details). Bar assault charges often involve throwing drinks, aggressive shoving, or threats with bottles/glasses as weapons. Penalties can include fines up to $1000 and jail time ranging from a few months to several years, depending on severity.

Disorderly Conduct

Disorderly conduct covers reckless behavior disturbing the peace (more details). This might involve aggressive language inciting fights or continuing altercations after police arrive. Fines, community service, and anti-violence classes are common penalties.

Obstruction of Justice

Patrons refusing to disperse after police get called for a bar fight could face obstruction charges. You could also be cited if lies to officers hamper investigation. Obstruction often leads to fines similar to disorderly conduct charges.

For Bar Owners: Preventing Fights

As a bar owner, you want patrons to have fun without endangering themselves or others. Implement these practices to promote safety:

• Enforce capacity limits and have adequate security staff.
• Restrict excessive drinking with policies like drink maximums per customer.
• Separate overly aggressive guests early on and arrange safe transportation.
• Ensure lighting deters fights with few dark corners or obstructed sightlines.
• Report incidents fully to aid police investigations and show your efforts to combat violence.

Also train staff to calmly defuse tensions and handle unruly patrons. The more you do to discourage fights proactively, the less liability you may hold.

Legal Responsibilities

Bars can’t always prevent fights – but they can help limit them. Failure to take reasonable precautions creates negligence liability risks. Lawsuits could allege that inadequate security, overserving alcohol, or poor staff training caused fight injuries.
But bars following best practices above often gain Safe Harbor protections due to their good faith efforts. Plaintiffs must then prove gross negligence to seek damages – a very high legal bar.
In egregious cases like staff assaulting customers though, bars gain no immunity. Proper insurance coverage is still essential even with Safe Harbor laws in your state.

Takeaways for Patrons and Owners

Bar fights endanger everyone and create legal headaches. Patrons should stay calm, avoid escalation, follow staff guidance, and keep physical involvement to a minimum. Bar owners must promote responsible operations and training to limit liability when incidents still occur. Knowing your rights and responsibilities makes everyone safer.