Pub not liable for injuries door staff caused

JD Wetherspoon is not responsible for injuries a man sustained when two security guards restrained him at a Surrey pub, the High Court has ruled.

A lower court awarded Stephanus Bernardus Burger over £71,000 in damages in 2023 after finding the pub chain was vicariously liable for his injuries, sustained at The Rodboro Buildings in Guildford in 2018.

JD Wetherspoon challenged the decision, saying the security guards' employer Risk Solutions BG Limited is an independent contractor.

In a ruling on Wednesday, Mr Justice Sweeting ruled the original judge was wrong to find the pub company liable for the actions of the door staff.

"The fact that security is integral to the operation of a pub or that the security staff have to co-operate with other staff does not transform the relationship with an external security provider into one akin to employment," the judge said.

He did not state whether or not JD Wetherspoon would have to pay damages as a result of his ruling.

The High Court heard in March that Mr Burger required emergency surgery and a three-night hospital stay after the incident.

Mr Burger's barrister Lia Moses said in written submissions that door staff "engaged with and refused entry to Mr Burger" during the incident, with the judge finding "that two guards jumped on Mr Burger's back".

Ms Moses added that JD Wetherspoon should be held "tly vicariously liable" and that the security guards' relationship with the company was "akin to employment".

Johnathan Payne, for the pub chain, said in written submissions that the lower court found it was "an unprovoked and cowardly attack on a man walking away from the pub" and "a vendetta for Mr Burger's rude and insulting behaviour".

But he told the court that JD Wetherspoon and Risk Solutions were "totally separate businesses and operating in that capacity", and that the former "had no control and took no part in what happened".

Risk Solutions was not represented at the hearing.

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