Cinco de Mayo parties are not just held in Mexico, as they are becoming increasingly popular here in Texas as well. These parties often include lots of Mexican food, games, dancing and alcoholic beverages, making them a common place for injuries to occur. When people are injured at a Cinco de Mayo party, they often wonder whether or not the host can be held responsible. Here in the Lone Star State, the answer is almost always “yes.”

Duty of Care

Party hosts have a duty to provide a safe environment for their guests to enjoy themselves in. Unfortunately, while planning a Cinco de Mayo party, few people stop to consider the combination of lighting, alcohol and activity that could heighten the risk for injuries to occur. A few of the things that could cause an injury at one of these festivities include:

• poor lighting
• improper supervision during games or activities
• guests that are overly intoxicated
• overcrowding that leads to crushes, slips or falls
• food poisoning due to improperly prepared food
• party facilities that are not well maintained

Types of Injuries

At a Cinco de Mayo party, guests can suffer everything from broken bones to concussions whenever the host fails to plan for safety. Sometimes these injuries are rather minor, but other times, they could require medical attention. In some cases, partygoers will even have to take time off from work, or may become hospitalized or require surgery in order to fix the problem.

Determining Liability

Liability in cases such as these is normally established by the presence of a formal invitation to an event, which can be either written or verbal. Even if the injured party does not have a formal invitation, the host can still be liable if an invitation was implied. For example, if the victim was a guest of another person who had a formal invitation, yet was not asked to leave, an invitation to attend could then be implied. As such, hosts can even be held liable for damages to so-called “party crashers.”

Making a Case

After a Cinco de Mayo injury, it is important to gather information from any witnesses that might have observed an accident. If possible, pictures should also be taken in order to prove that there were unsafe conditions. These things will go a long way toward proving a party host was negligent in the event the matter needs to be settled in a court of law.

After you have taken photographs and gotten your injuries checked out in a hospital, then next step is to contact a personal injury attorney. This is important because it’s very difficult to fight a case without a knowledgeable legal professional on your side. Schedule a free case evaluation today by calling 713-222-1222.

*Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net