WA state personal injury/tort law, seeking damages from bar where injuries were sustained

Thanks for using Avvo. I am Josh King, General Counsel for Avvo. Because we are receiving so many questions right now, it may take longer for some of our loyal Avvo lawyers to get back to you. In the meantime, I wanted to offer some preliminary help. Please keep in mind that I am not a WA lawyer, and to get a definitive answer on this you should consult a top Avvo-rated lawyer in your area.

It sounds like you won't be able to track any of the bar patrons down (and even if you did, they may well be judgment-proof - i.e., not able to pay). That leaves the bar, and I suspect this would be an uphill battle on both liability (depends on the facts, but the bar wasn't necessarily at fault) and damages - your medical bills aren't likely very high, and while you could theoretically get pain and suffering damages, this doesn't sound like the kind of case a lot of personal injury lawyers will be interested in. Still, try talking to a few of them and see what they have to say - see link below.

I think you may have a valid claim against the bar for, at the very least, payment of your medical expenses. As a patron of the bar you are a "business invitee." This means that the bar owes you a high duty of care. If there was anything that they could have done to prevent you from being injured (i.e. not overserve the customer, anticipate the fight and ask the people to leave, or anything else) and they failed to take steps to protect you, they will be responsible for your damages. A scar on a face, i.e. disfigurement, is very damaging. You should speak to a personal injury attorney.

Get a lawyer who handles these kind of tickets in your neck of the woods. It may cost but he should be able to help.

It sounds like this was not your fault. In fact is sounds like it was someone’s intentional act and the bar was itself involved in causing the outcome. As a tactical matter there is only upside in making a claim, against the bar, for the wrongs you have suffered.

You should meet with a WA lawyer. He can help you frame your claim start gathering the necessary evidence and help you determent if a lawsuit is appropriate.