A New Jersey man who participated in a marathon session of a popular bar game and later suffered serious injuries in a car accident had his lawsuit against the tavern where he was playing thrown out.

According to court documents, in June 2009, then 22-year-old Alan B. took part in a beer pong tournament that he had signed up to play in with friends at the NYC bar Wicked Willy's. For those unfamiliar with beer pong, it is a bar game in which players on opposite sides of a table attempt to bounce a ping-pong ball into cups of beer located in front of their opponent. The opposing player is then required to drink the cups of beer in which the ball lands.

Alan B. proceeded to play the game with friends for three and a half hours, and took a bus back to New Jersey when he finally finished.

Unfortunately, after he exited the bus in New Jersey, he attempted to cross a busy highway and was struck by a car traveling 50 miles-per-hour. He suffered serious injuries that required multiple surgeries, including a lacerated liver, broken bones and tears in both knees.

Four hours after leaving the bar, medical personnel measured Alan B.'s blood alcohol content nearly to be .26 -- more than four times the legal driving limit in New York.

Alan B. eventually filed a lawsuit against Wicked Willy's, alleging that the tavern "organized, created, designed and set up" a beer pong tournament and failed to properly monitor participants to ensure that they weren't becoming overly inebriated.

However, in an opinion released just yesterday, a Manhattan Supreme Court justice dismissed Alan B.'s lawsuit.

"Despite the game tables, cups and alcohol [the] defendant bar made available to plaintiff and other bar patrons without serving the alcohol or monitoring its consumption, plaintiff voluntarily engaged in the drinking game" and "consumed alcohol to the point of diminished capacity."

The judge went on to rule that 1) those who play beer pong do so at their own risk 2) the tavern had no duty to monitor participants in the beer pong tournament and 3) the tavern had no duty to warn participants of the risks of consuming alcohol as part of the beer pong tournament.

Alan B.'s attorney indicated that he will ask the judge to reconsider.

If you or your child has been seriously hurt in a car accident, or because of the negligent or reckless actions of another, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced attorney who can answer your questions and explain your rights.

This post was provided for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice. Names have been withheld to protect the identity of the accused.

Stay tuned for more from our Newburgh, New York personal injury blog ...

Source:

The New York Post, "It's a slam dunk" Feb. 7, 2012