Strip Club Shooting In Atlanta…Again

People know Atlanta as a strip club mecca and have for a long, long time.  Anyone who lives in Atlanta, and a whole lot of people who visit, knows what the city thinks about its high-heeled rump shakers.  Sadly, though, strip club shooting is a frequent enough occurrence that we are not surprised when we hear about it.

Bad Start for Atlanta Strip Clubs in 2018

Barely into 2018, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that a man got shot while in the parking lot of a midtown strip club.  As a personal injury lawyer, I know one question that needs to be answered is whether security was adequate at the strip club.  In other words, given the inherent danger we know to exist at strip clubs, was enough security in place.  Certainly, this latest victim will want answers.

I must confess that for a period of time in my career, I represented a well-known strip club in Atlanta.  So I know, firsthand, what strip clubs need to do to protect their customs.  I also know that they all too often don’t do what’s right.  This is why, despite knowing it’s not the safest place, one cannot blame the victim.–

Are Strip Clubs Responsible

As consumers, we have a reasonable expectation of safety.  We know that businesses can’t guarantee our safety.  But we also know that they need to take reasonable steps when the environment is dangerous.  If they don’t, they must at least warn customers about the dangers.  Especially in their parking lots.

Too often, strip club shootings occur because there is an insufficient security presence in the parking lot.  How often do you hear about strip club shootings that occur inside the strip club?  Not very.  That’s because the clubs do a good job of protecting their most valuable assets—the dancers—inside the club.  Well, premises liability and negligent security law demand that business protect their customers in the parking lot as they protect their workers inside.  Sadly, many do not.

When the victim of a strip club shooting survives, he or she has the right to hire a lawyer to investigate the security at the club.  In the unfortunate circumstance where the victim does not survive, his or her family has the right to seek counsel.  I firmly believe lawsuits are the greatest avenue we have to compel safety.  And that’s by hitting businesses where it hurts: in the bank account.  Strip clubs, like any business, want to protect their wallets. Lawsuits teach them to do that by making sure customers are safe and, therefore, won’t have reason to sue them.

If you have been the victim of a strip club shooting in Atlanta or anywhere in Georgia, call us at The Dixon Firm or complete the form below to see if we can help you.