Ontario's Michael John Brown has filed a lawsuit against Earls Restaurant (Whistler) Ltd. alleging that it served him so much alcohol in February 2011 that he was "grossly intoxicated."
Brown contends that he was so drunk that he attempted to walk on the guard rail of a small bridge and promptly fell to the road below.
He believes that employees or agents of the Earls restaurant in Whistler were negligent in over-serving him booze on the night of the accident.
Some of the 15 injuries that Brown lists in his August 15 notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court are:
- fractures of the skull;
- a complex fracture of the pelvis;
- a compound fracture of the left hand
- a traverse process fracture of the L5 vertebrae; and
- headaches.
"As a further result of the accident and the negligence of the defendants and/or breach of statutory duty, the plaintiff has suffered, and continues to suffer, loss of income and income earning capacity," Brown notes in his claim.
Brown claims that Earls staff permitted him to enter the restaurant when he was already intoxicated to the point where it should have been obvious.
Those employees allowed him to remain in the restaurant when he was clearly drunk within sight of the staff and interior security cameras, Brown alleges. They then sold him alcoholic drinks, thereby feeding him "up to and beyond the point of gross intoxication," he claims.
Some of the alleged Earls employee failures include:
- not monitoring Brown's alcohol consumption;
- not ensuring that, when Brown left, he was in a condition to look after himself; and
- not calling for assistance of a sober and responsible person or persons to ensure Brown's safety.
He seeks general and special damages, costs and interest.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
