There has been a large number of lawsuits in the food and beverage and related entertainment aspects of the industry, which contributes to higher premises and liability insurance costs in our experience as a bar and nightclub expert. This has also limited availability of certain carriers who insure what is perceived as much higher risk businesses. One particular area are the slips and falls, collisions and other injuries that are caused by the sound and lighting equipment used by live bands, disc jockeys, and other performers during specials events, parties and routine night club operations. These injuries may be a result of some microphone cord improperly strewn across traffic areas causing someone to trip and amplifiers not properly positioned on a stage and falling down on an unsuspecting customer. Or, it may a piece of lighting that doesn’t get secured adequately and ends up toppling down on to a crowd of party revelers. Nightclub scene Added to this equipment causing a hazard, is the typical atmosphere of a night time entertainment venue in bars and clubs, where lighting can be extremely low and visibility poor because of tight walk way areas and the conjestion of crowds of people in many different levels. Many a bar and nightclub expert will advise that this only makes the equipment less noticeable and more susceptible to not being seen easily until it’s too late. Still, there are some simple tips to remember in our experience as a bar and nightclub expert and include a) Insure that all entertainers position and locate their equipment away from customer traffic patterns and secure it properly, such as the amplifiers, cords, booms, lighting and its individual assemblies, b) where possible use wireless microphones, headsets and other amplified speakers and related equipment, and c) always insure someone on the part of the bar and nightclub is aware of the safety issues and inspects the premises prior to any performances, etc.
