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Strip Club Forced To Pay For Stripper's Drunk Driving Choice

samsung1
Ohio
(MYFOX NATIONAL) – An ex-stripper in Birmingham, Ala., was awarded $100,000 from her former employer -- a strip club called The Furnace -- for allowing her to drive home drunk, reports the Birmingham News .

Patsy Hamaker filed a lawsuit against The Furnace in 2007 after they had failed to stop her from driving home after she had participated in on-the-job drinking.

On Oct. 17, 2007, "Tessa" (Hamaker’s stage name) drank enough to bring her blood alcohol level to more than three times the legal limit. She drove home that night and was involved in a car accident on the interstate that resulted in injuries including a broken back and broken nose.

Court documents state that Hamaker says she can no longer work as a result of her injuries. Her lawsuit asked for $1.2 million, but she was only awarded the $100,000 to cover her medical expenses.

Employees of The Furnace testified in court that they did try to stop Hamaker from driving home multiple times that night, and that they even took her keys, but she used a spare set to drive home; however, they were unable to produce the second set as proof.

Hamaker testified during the trial that the club encouraged on-the-job drinking, and that part of her job was to sell as many drinks as she could.

Members of Sex Trade Advocacy and Research (STAR) in Toronto, Canada, published a report describing the work environment of strip clubs as very dangerous.

The report said, “Clubs may encourage dancers to drink with customers as part of their entertainment function. Excessive alcohol use may contribute to sexual harassment and assault on the part of customers and/or willingness on the part of dancers to move beyond the boundaries they have set for themselves. Beyond these immediate effects, there are longer term physical and mental health consequences of substance use and abuse.”

Lawyers for the club argued that the club gives the dancers the option of non-alcoholic and diluted drinks to avoid getting intoxicated. Jennifer Etheridge, the club's owner, testified to this fact.

Davis Whittelsey, an attorney for The Furnace, said, “Bottom line is she got herself drunk, had a terrible wreck and wants someone else to pay for it.”

http://www.foxcharlotte.com/dpps/news/dp…

5 comments

  • Dudester
    •
    15 years ago
    One would think that clubs would have an absolutely solid, chiseled in stone, harshly enforced, policy on this.

    I work for a company with a really annoying, pain in the ass, safety program. Being immersed in it I see flaws in workplaces with no safety programs whatsoever. Strip clubs should look into this kind of thing and re-evaluate things, like shoes, alcohol consumption, security cameras (lobby, main floor, parking lots), metal detectors, and inhouse life saving devices (i.e. AED's).

    Proof of a safety program enhances their protection from nonsense lawsuits.
  • potheadpl
    •
    15 years ago
    Do the shooter girls carry non-alcoholic shooters? If not, then the "we encourage non-alcoholic choice" argument is weak. I've watched guys buying mulitiple shooters for the gorgeous girls at the local clubs.

  • the_id
    •
    15 years ago
    Every club that I've been to that employs shotgirls gives them a row of fake shots. However, not every club I've been to employs shotgirls. Most clubs will give half strength drinks to dancers if they have to hustle drinks, and there is always the option to have fake drinks. I waited tables at a club where they would give a breathalyzer test to any employee that they suspected was over the limit. If you didn't hand your keys over, you were fired. If your car disappeared inexplicably before the managers left, they would check cameras. If you had driven away (spare keys and all), you were fired. It was a protocol consistently applied, and therefore taken seriously by all employees.
  • casualguy
    •
    15 years ago
    If a club encourages on the job drinking, I see them as responsible too. Saying non alcoholic drinks are encouraged doesn't mean squat in my opinion if you still encourage drinking among employees. I know of some strip clubs that do not or at least did not allow drinking among dancers. The strip club is lucky more money wasn't awarded.
  • casualguy
    •
    15 years ago
    I sometimes wonder if a club can be found accountable for customers drinking if they have signs posted like 2 drink minimum required. If it was up to me, I would say yes.
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