A Monmouth County jury awarded $1.5 million on Nov 18 to a restaurant patron for a head injury he suffered in a brawl with a security guard. At the Windmill Restaurant in Long Branch in the wee hours of Dec 15, 2002, the guard took Kevin Barry, outside and threw him to the ground when a cook said he was trying to steal a hot dog. Barry says another patron pushed him toward the counter.
He sued the restaurant's owner for negligently supervising the bouncer, Alberto Dellavalle. Barry suffered facial fractures, memory loss and other health effects and was let go from his job as a trading assistant at Smith Barney, though the employer said the firing was due to problems existing before the incident. Gill says Barry had a blood-alcohol content of .17 percent when treated at the hospital, which the defense extrapolated to be .20 percent at the restaurant. The defense also contended that Barry's cognitive problems were pre-existing, which Gill says he disputed.
The jury awarded $775,000 for pain and suffering, $39,000 for medical expenses, $89,000 for past lost wages and $608,000 for future lost wages. The restaurant's primary carrier Royal and Sun Alliance, paid $1 million and Fireman's Fund the rest.
- Charles Toutant, New Jersey Law Journal
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