Woman sues Bengaluru pub after flaming shot burns face

BENGALURU: A 28-year-old woman, who suffered burns on her face after she was served a flame-based alcoholic drink by a Bengaluru pub, has won the legal battle and a compensation of Rs 74,000.
The woman from Akshayanagar visited Communiti, a pub-cum-diner, on Residency Road on the evening of February 15, 2019 with three of her friends. While drinking at the place, she alleged that a staffer encouraged her to order Sambuca Shots, an alcoholic drink that is lit up with fire before consumption. Taking the advice, she ordered one and the drink was made and poured into her mouth. But during the process, she suffered burns on the left side of her mouth and was taken to a hospital by her friends and a pub staffer. She was treated as an outpatient and discharged soon.
Following treatment, she lodged a complaint on November 13, 2019 with Bangalore Urban 2nd Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Shantinagar against the pub, demanding a compensation of over Rs 20 lakh, claiming that the accident was caused due to the negligence of its staffer. The woman’s lawyer presented the case with records, including her medical information and travel details for the treatment. Countering the case, the attorney of Communiti said her claims were false and she had ordered the flame-base drink on her free will and burnt herself in the process of consuming it and no employee of theirs was at fault for the accident.
The judges of the consumer forum noted that the woman was taken to the hospital by a staffer from the pub and her claim holds strength as the manager of the establishment wasn’t an eyewitness to the event and the staff member present wasn’t clearly examined. Moreover, the woman has produced records for the treatment taken and had even approached police soon after the incident .
On October 1, the judges ruled that Communiti must pay the woman Rs 74,000 — Rs 4,000 towards her medical expenses, Rs 10,000 for her transportation and incidental expenses apart from Rs 50,000 as compensation for causing the accident and Rs 10,000 towards her court expenses, within 60 days of the order.