Our DC hookah injury lawyers have decades of experience holding wrongdoers accountable for injuries related to hookah use. At Gelb & Gelb, P.C., we understand the risks associated with hookah. Moreover, we have a demonstrated history of utilizing negligence theories to hold parties liable for injuries when you are hurt due to someone else’s negligence. Our legal team of DC hookah lawyers is dedicated to getting you the compensation you deserve for your injuries. These are complex cases. In many instances, a defense may be able to prove you acted contributorily negligent in causing your injuries. If they are successful in this affirmative defense, you are barred from making a recovery. On the other hand, if you are hurt through no fault of your own, you may have a viable claim. But who injured you?
If it is someone else at the bar, club, or lounge, they may not have the assets to compensate you for your injuries. The question becomes whether we can hold the business liable for the individual’s negligence. In many cases, we can see if the individual is an employee of the establishment and their negligence causes your injury. On the other hand, if it is merely another patron at the hookah lounge, we must examine whether the patron was negligently overserved alcohol or some other negligence theory to hold the lounge responsible.
Hookah is also known as waterpipe or shisha. In Washington, D.C., you must be at least 21 to smoke hookah. This is because the new federal age minimum for all tobacco products in the United States is 21. Hookah, or shisha, is a way to smoke flavored tobacco in a social setting. You may smoke hookah at a hookah lounge, a nightclub, a hotel, or a bar. Hookah consists of a bowl that holds tobacco. The bown is connected to a water base through a long vertical stem, which cools the smoke as it passes through the water before the user inhales it through a hose that works as a mouthpiece. The tobacco in a hookah is known as maassel. This combines tobacco leaves, molasses or honey, and whatever flavor you choose at the hookah lounge.
There are countless examples of hookah injuries that our DC hookah injury lawyers will help you with. The key is to determine whether the defendant acted negligently and whether your injuries warrant pursuing a claim. These cases are sometimes challenging. While many clubs and hookah lounges have security cameras, many do not. In these instances, we may have to rely on witness testimony. And a defense team may easily undermine your credibility if you are already drunk at midnight at a hookah lounge. On the other hand, our hookah accident attorneys have had success in countless cases where hookahs injured our clients in otherwise unimaginable ways. These are severe injuries and require attention from a seasoned lawyer.
Burns from hot coals is a common hookah injury. The key in these cases is establishing negligence by another party. The most common example is when a server, bar back, or some other employee at the hookah lounge negligently spills hot hookah coals on you. When this happens, you may be severely burned. Another way to be burned by hookah is if a piece of the hookah equipment touches your skin. Note that these types of injuries must be worth your time and expense to pursue. You will only be successful in a claim if you were not also negligent in causing your injury. If, for example, a server spilled hot coals on your lap while you were sitting down, minding your own business.
Then, we can prove the server’s negligence against the establishment. Your next step is to get you into treatment to mitigate the immediate scarring to your skin. As painful as burns from hot coals can be, you must also consider long-term effects. Scarring, especially if it is on your face or an easily visible body part like an arm, can cause emotional and psychological trauma, too. These are all things we consider when valuing your case.
While burns from hot coals open up the possibility of a claim, carbon monoxide poisoning is a more difficult claim to pursue. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas. Carbon monoxide can be generated inside a hookah by burning charcoal to heat the tobacco. To keep a hookah safe for use, there must be adequate ventilation. Otherwise, the gas can accumulate in the surrounding air. Due to the odorless nature of carbon monoxide, it is hazardous and deadly. Carbon monoxide will reduce the amount of oxygen that reaches the heart and brain. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can include headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness, and death.
Cuts from broken glass are injuries our DC hookah injury lawyers handle regularly. Unfortunately, this is one reason why hookah continues to injure people in Washington, D.C. In many cases, servers or waitstaff at the hookah lounge will negligently knock over the apparatus while refilling it with whatever it needs to function correctly. Hookahs are cumbersome and can be easy to knock down. However, that does not excuse the tortfeasor from liability for their negligent acts. When you are cut by broken glass from a hookah, it can cause lacerations, puncture wounds, or mere minor scratches. To hookah lounges, we recommend several steps to prevent customers from breaking glass to protect your customers better. Consider the following:
For our DC hookah injury lawyers to prove negligence in a DC hookah injury, we must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the hookah lounge behaved negligently in some manner. For simplicity’s sake, you can also think of this as carelessness. First, we must prove that the establishment owed you a duty. If you are a customer in their lounge, they may owe you some duty. If they breach that duty, and that breach of duty proximately causes your injury, we have negligence. Again, if you are contributorily negligent, even 1% negligent, in causing your injury, you may be unable to recover under DC law.
Remember to take pictures. This is a form of evidence and can help prove negligence at trial. Also, get witness contact information. Your DC hookah injury attorney will contact these witnesses to help build your case. Additionally, speak to an attorney immediately. Once you hire legal counsel, we will send a spoliation of evidence letter to the hookah lounge immediately. This puts the establishment on legal notice that they must preserve evidence—a failure to do so results in a favorable inference made by the jury against the lounge.
If you are injured at one of the hookah lounges on this list or any other hookah lounge in Washington, D.C., contact a hookah injury attorney today.
Our DC hookah injury lawyers stand ready to help. For over 70 years, our attorneys have helped thousands of clients in Washington, D.C. During this time, we have recovered over $150,000,000 for our clients. Contact our office today for a free consultation at (202) 331-7227.
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