Man whose arm was blown off by beer keg sues brewery

An Australian bartender who had his arm blown off by an over pressurised beer keg is suing the Bar Beach Bowling Club and Carlton & United Breweries for damages, claiming that they failed in their duty of care.

Credit: Facebook

As reported by The Telegraph, Jye Parker lost his left arm when a beer keg exploded at the Bar Beach Bowling Club Newcastle, New South Wales, in 2014.

Parker, who lived next door to the Club and was 23 at the time, was asked to help a member of staff set up the keg after they had been unable, according to the statement of claim.

“[Mr Parker] inspected the keg and formed the opinion that one of the hoses connected to the [gas] bottle may have been blocked,” the statement of claim reads.

“[Mr Parker] used a shifting spanner to remove a fitting from the gas bottle, disconnected the hose and installed a second hose.

“[Mr Parker] then reconnected the hose to the gas bottle and tested the system.”

Shortly after, the beer keg exploded, seriously injuring Mr Parker, who woke from an induced coma the next day to find that his left arm had been amputated.

Parker has since launched legal action in the NSW Supreme Court against both the club, and the beer supplier, Carlton & United Breweries, claiming that the beer keg exploded as a result of being “over-pressurised” due to a lack of required equipment.

The claim filed in the Supreme Court alleges that Carlton & United Breweries supplied Bar Beach Bowling Club a “party keg beer dispensing system” without any pressure regulating device – a risk of harm he says was foreseeable.

He claims both the brewery and the club were negligent, the brewery for supplying a keg without the correct equipment, and the club for allowing Parker to set up the keg in the first place.

In reply, lawyers for Bar Beach Bowling & Sporting Club have filed a defence which claims Mr Parker was “very experienced” at setting up party beer keg dispensing systems and should have known that a pressure regulating device was required.

“If [Mr Parker] has suffered injury loss and damage as alleged, which is not admitted, then such injury loss and damage was caused by [Mr Parker’s] own negligence,” Bar Beach Bowling Club’s defence states. “The plaintiff failed to take reasonable care for his own safety.”

Carlton United meanwhile claims it supplied the club with a keg and cooler box, but was advised that the club would source its own gas bottle, gas lead hoses and pressure regulating system.

The case will be heard in the Sydney Supreme Court next month.