CLEVELAND — The FOX 8 I TEAM has found a lawsuit filed over a fall inside a popular warehouse district bar which left a young woman with permanent injuries.
The lawsuit has been filed against the owners of the club called Spirits on behalf of the parents of 20-year-old Megan Keefe.
Investigators say on St. Patrick’s Day, Keefe fell from a second floor balcony. The suit says she hit her head on a granite counter; she suffered permanent injuries, and she can no longer take care of herself.
Attorney Craig Bashein wrote in the complaint that Spirits “…had…knowledge that the…railings….were in a hazardous, dangerous and/or defective condition and…did nothing…”
Video shot inside the bar right after the incident shows a staff member apparently dragging Megan Keefe outside. Bashein also referred to that writing, “These unreasonable and negligent actions…caused an aggravation and/or worsening of Megan’s already catastrophic fall-related injuries…”
The I TEAM also recently showed you a bouncer at Spirits went to prison. He shot and wounded a man outside.
When we went there for comment Monday afternoon, we found the front door wide open.
The city has told us the club fixed fire code violations found after the St. Patrick’s Day fall. However, Spirits still faces a citation from state agents for serving alcohol to the young woman who fell since she was underage. Meantime, Cleveland Police have been doing a criminal investigation.
A man at Spirits referred us to a lawyer for the bar. John N. Neal e-mailed a statement saying:
“Spirits Cleveland has not been served with any lawsuit, nor have I been provided with a copy of any Complaint. As such, we cannot give any specific statement in response other than to remind that claims made in any Complaint are allegations only, not facts. Spirits Cleveland will respond according to legal process. That legal process will involve the taking of evidence from people who were present on the day in question. We anticipate this will shed light on what occurred in a more reliable and complete fashion than the information publically reported to date.”
Bashein wrote in the lawsuit, medical bills for Megan Keefe are soaring into the millions of dollars.
