201205.29
0

Compensation for Lack of Club Security Paid to Singer

A nightclub singer, who was shot an injured in an unprovoked attack after finishing his performance, has been awarded 673,000 dollars in compensation for lack of club security by a court in Washington.

Jamel Williams (26) from Baltimore in Maryland had been performing at The Island Cafe Restaurant and Bar in Washington D.C. on March 15, 2008. After finishing his performance, and while speaking with friends, an unidentified man entered the bar, approached Jamel and fired one gunshot. The bullet went through Jamel´s hand and lodged in his head, where it remains due to the risk of having it removed.

Jamel alleged that the nightclub had been negligent and responsible for his injuries by failing to provide adequate security to prevent the attacker from entering the club and attacking him. In his claim for lack of club security compensation, Jamel claimed that the nightclub had received notice of the likelihood of violence due to multiple violent crimes which had been committed in the vicinity in the recent past.

At the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Judge Craig Iscoe made an ex-parte ruling in favour of Jamel, and awarded him 650,000 dollars in general damages for the pain and suffering he had experienced at the time of the shooting, with a further 23,172 dollars in special damages compensation for lack of club security to cover his medical costs.

201204.27
0

School Bully Injury Compensation Claim Settled Against School

A school district in New Jersey has agreed to pay 4.2 million dollars in school bully injury compensation after allegedly failing to comply with State anti-bullying laws and protect one of its students from the threat of injury.

Sawyer Rosenstein of Woodland Park, New Jersey, was just twelve years of age in May 2006 when a known bully at the Eric Smith Middle School punched him in the abdomen, causing a clot to develop in the artery that supplies blood to the spine and paralysing Sawyer from the waist down.

In a subsequent claim for school bully injury compensation against the Ramsey School District, Sawyer´s parents alleged that his attacker had a history of violent tendencies and cited an incident that had occurred a year earlier when the bully had punched another student in the face on the school bus.

They claimed that school officials kept no record of the incident nor subjected the boy to any discipline, and supported their allegations with an email that had been sent to Sawyer´s guidance counsellor just three months before the attack asking for help to deal with the bullying he was already experiencing.

In the email Sawyer wrote “I would like to let you know that the bullying has increased. I would like to figure out some coping mechanisms to deal with these situations, and I would just like to put this on file so if something happens again, we can show that there was past bullying situations.”

After months of negotiations, the 4.2 million dollar settlement of Sawyer´s school bully injury compensation claim was made in an out-of-court agreement without admission of liability. Sawyer now attends Syracuse University where he is a freshman majoring in communication.

201201.18
0

Pub Licensee Awarded Compensation for Personal Assault

A pub licensee, who sustained injuries to her face when she refused a customer entrance to her bar, has been awarded 500 pounds in personal injury damages following a hearing at Kirkaldy Sheriff Court.

The Court heard how Agnes Gallagher of the Greenside Hotel in Leslie, Fife, had seen Leala Brownlie of Glenrothes, Fife, being sick outside the hotel premises at approximately 9.15pm on the night of March 26 2011. Assuming that her sickness was due to an excess of alcohol, Agnes refused to allow Brownlie to return into the hotel bar.

After a heated discussion, the assault on the pub licensee followed, with Agnes sustaining cuts and bruises to her face and damage to two of her teeth which needed dental treatment to repair them. The assailant left the premises, but Agnes was able to track her down on Facebook where – the Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard – Brownlie had posted that she gave the landlady of the Greenside a good kicking.

Sheriff James Williamson heard that Brownlie admitted assault but, in her defence, had previously been of good character and regretted the incident. Acknowledging that a custodial sentence would have been inappropriate in the circumstances, Sheriff Williamson ordered Brownlie to pay Agnes 500 pounds in personal injury damages.