BridgePort Brewing introduces Tilikum Orange Line IPA

A man who broke his neck, fractured his skull and is now brain damaged from a fistfight outside a Bend bar is suing PTC, Inc. -- which is the corporation that owns the bar -- for more than $2.6 million. pint glass cutout

(Randy L. Rasmussen/File photo/The Oregonian)

A 31-year-old man beaten up outside a Bend bar is now suing the bar claiming it allowed him to get so drunk that he couldn't resist getting into a fistfight with his friend.

Lee Works' $2.6 million lawsuit is rare. By far, most injured people who sue bars allege that the bars served too much alcohol to others -- and not to themselves.

That said, Works also is suing Bond Street Grill for allegedly over-serving the friend, who ended up fracturing Works' skull and causing him permanent brain damage.

Case law setting the groundwork for such a claim stretches back to the late 1960s, said Tim Williams, a Bend lawyer representing Works.

It's based on the premise that bars can be held liable if they keep serving alcohol to people, allowing them to become extremely drunk, because it's foreseeable that bad things could happen, Williams said.

An hour after the fight, Works had a blood alcohol level of .23 percent, Williams said Friday. That's nearly three times the legal limit for driving. There's no record of the blood alcohol level of Works' friend, he said.

According to the suit filed in Deschutes County Circuit Court last week, Works was among a group of friends who met at the Astro Lounge in downtown Bend on the evening of Oct. 1, 2014. One of those friends, 29-year-old Chauncey Day, was kicked out of the lounge after he became visibly drunk and combative, the suit alleges.

Works, Day and two other friends then went across the street to the Bond Street Grill, where an employee or employees continued to serve Works and Day, the suit says.

Failing to cut off "visibly intoxicated" people is against Oregon law and can jeopardize an establishment's liquor license with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. It also opens up a business to potential liability -- most commonly when a drunken driver hurts or kills someone after being served at a bar.

The lawsuit claims Day became so belligerent that he threw a pint glass at the wall, shattering it and cutting a 25-year-old customer in the face. The bar staff then asked Works, who had previously worked as a bouncer there, to remove Day, the suit says.

Works ended up pushing his friend out the front door and the fight ensued, the suit states.

Works' suit claims that Bond Street Grill should have known that continuing to serve him while inebriated would diminish his judgment and he would be more easily provoked by his friend's physical and verbal taunts. The bar also is at fault for asking Works to remove Day, the suit contends.

The Deschutes County District Attorney's Office reviewed police reports before deciding not to criminally prosecute Day "because several witnesses saw Works shoving (Day) first," wrote Deputy District Attorney Katie Clason in her case notes.

The DA's office, however, did go forward with criminal charges against Day for the facial injury to the customer from the shattered pint glass. Day was acquitted after a trial.

Reached by The Oregonian/OregonLive, Day said Works had grabbed his arm, causing the pint glass to go flying and injure the woman. Day said Works was upset with him about his decision to ask one of his roommates to move out. The roommate was Works' friend, Day said.

Day said he wasn't drunk that evening, but that Works was extremely intoxicated.

He never intended to hurt Works and considered him a "really good friend," Day said.

"I was just protecting myself," Day said. "It was a bad situation. ... It screwed up his life and it screwed up my life for a while."

Works' lawsuit lists only the corporation -- PTC Inc. -- that owned the Bond Street Grill as a defendant. The owner couldn't be reached for comment.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission didn't sanction the Bond Street Grill. The standard of proof necessary typically relies on a video showing the over-service or an admission from a bartender or waiter, agency spokeswoman Christie Scott said.

Less two weeks after the fight, the Bond Street Grill surrendered its liquor license, but Scott couldn't say why. It's now closed.

Works doesn't intend to sue Day because both men mutually entered into the fight, said Williams, Works' attorney.

Two years after the fight, Works, now 33, suffers long-term memory loss and trouble retaining short-term memories, the suit says. The left half of his face is paralyzed, he can't smile and his left eyelid droops. He uses a hearing aid in one of his ears.

The suit seeks $223,000 for past medical expenses, $50,000 for future medical expenses, $900,000 in lost earning capacity and $1.5 million for pain and suffering.

Read

.

-- Aimee Green

503-294-5119