A Bartender Is Suing Multiple Vancouver Pubs After He Had 19 Drinks, Fell & Got A Head Injury

A bartender who drank more than a dozen alcoholic drinks in one night and then suffered a head injury when he fell on a sidewalk is now suing multiple bars in downtown Vancouver.

Over a four-hour drinking session on August 23, 2016, Bradley Roger Johnson consumed 19 drinks — some of which contained double measures of liquor — before falling and being left with a "serious" injury, according to a B.C. Supreme Court decision on April 22.

The lawsuit is a personal injury action, and Johnson is making claims against companies and individuals who he alleges served him "excessive amounts of alcohol."

The night of the injury

Johnson's night started at the bar where he worked, called Kingston. Court documents said he drank two double vodka sodas after he got off work.

He then went to Studio Lounge and Nightclub where he drank two shots of whiskey and two ciders.

Next, he visited Relish the Pub, where he had four more ciders, a double vodka soda, and a shot of whiskey. By the time he left Relish the Pub it was about 2:15 a.m., the decision said.

Finally, he ended the night at The Roxy Cabaret where he claims to have been served three double vodka sodas, three shots of whiskey and one "unidentified shot," while he was "visibly intoxicated," the decision said.

Johnson claims that after leaving Roxy in the early morning, on August 24, 2016, he "fell and suffered a head injury while severely intoxicated."

The lawsuit

In 2018, Johnson first filed the claim, only naming Roxy and some of its employees as the defendants.

Roxy then filed a response to the claim in 2019, pleading that Johnson's intoxication was "a result of alcohol he consumed at Kingston, Studio and Relish, prior to his arrival at Roxy."

In 2021, Johnson added Relish and Studio as defendants.

Johnson is now suing The Roxy Cabaret Ltd., Irvin Walkes, Marc Mital, Brian Boissonnault, Jarrad Bolt, Relish the Pub and Mint Palace Holdings, formerly doing business as Studio Lounge and Nightclub.

The April 22 decision also added Kingston as a defendant.

The allegations in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.