Occasionally, a story in which a man is injured when either a man is caused when “Suki” kicks him in the head, get hit in the eye by a shoe, or in the most recent case; suffered dental damage.  Currently, the Indianapolis Star is reporting that Jake Quagliaroli is suing over “lifelong dental injuries” after a dancer’s shoe flew off during a performance and hit him in the face.  So what happened?  Apparently Jake was sitting about 20 feet from the stage when a shoe hit him in the face chipping his front teeth.  He had to get veneers and temporary caps which will have to be replaced every 10 to 15 years.  He claims that he suffered a battery and that the club was negligent. 

How will Jake Win?

The way that Jake will make the most money (outside of his medical bills), would be to prove that the club was negligent and knew that dancer’s shoes could fly off.  The IndyStar compares this type of injury tot hat of a fan getting hit with a foul ball (this is why most baseball stadiums have netting behind home plate).  If the club’s dancers shoes frequently flew off, whether they injured someone or not, then Jake’s claim is that much stronger.  The reason for this is that those high heels can cause injury, potentially serious injury, if they hit a patron.  If the club knew that this was a frequent occurrence, but did nothing to stop the shoes from flying off, they could be liable. 

Suing For Battery or Assault

One should feel safe when they enter a place of business.  The big question here is whether Jake was the first person to be hit with a flying shoe.   Usually, people think of battery as when someone touches you, punches you, kicks you, etc. it is called a battery.  However, a person’s clothing, vehicle or even smoke from their cigarette could be used to commit battery.   This is in contrast to an assault, which is an act that causes another to apprehend an immediate harmful contact.  However, there doesn’t need to be any actual contact. If there is contact, then there might be a claim for battery.