Man blames bar for injuries from fight

CHARLESTON - A Kanawha County man is suing Elk River Tavern after he claims it was negligent in allowing him to sustain injuries.

Keith Linville Hawk and John Doe, an employee of Elk River, were also named as defendants in the suit.

On May 5, the defendants owed Joel A. Straight a duty of care not to injury him and further to provide him with a safe environment and access to emergency services, according to a complaint filed Nov. 7 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Straight claims Hawk assaulted and battered him and caused him injuries while he was inside Elk River Tavern.

The defendants' actions and/or inactions resulting in Straight's damages were taken with such reckless indifference to the safety of others, according to the suit.

Straight is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. He is being represented by William C. Forbes and W. Jesse Forbes of the Forbes Law Offices PLLC.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Charles E. King.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 13-C-2095