Woman's leg gashed to the bone in 'terrible accident' at Christchurch bar

Wednesday, 28 November 2018

Bar owner Gregor Ferguson says a new staff member failed to follow protocol, causing the injury.

Bleeding profusely on the dance floor and limping to an ambulance was not what Alicia Loose envisioned when she agreed to sober drive her friends on a night out in Christchurch.

Christchurch student Alicia Loose was dancing in Baretta bar, on St Asaph St, in the early hours of Sunday morning, when a staff member carrying a black rubbish bag full of glass 'rubbed' against the back of her leg.

'I didn't think much of it … then it rubbed up against my leg I looked down and it just felt like a paper cut but then I could see a lot of blood and bone.'

As the blood started to gush 'everywhere', startled patrons swooped in to help stop the bleeding, Loose said.

'Patrons started wrapping up my leg and thigh because they thought I was going to lose too much blood.'

Bar owner Gregor Ferguson said a new staff member failed to follow protocol when he took a rubbish bag, which was filled with shards of broken glass, out of the large bin behind the bar and carried it through the premises to empty elsewhere.

'Rigid rules' dictated staff should 'empty the whole bin, not take the bag' to prevent accidents, he said.

'One little mistake was made and there was a terrible accident. It's horrible, I look at those photos [of Loose's injury] and I wanna be sick but I can't take it back. I can't make it better. I feel awful about it.'

Loose said she limped out of the bar with the help of friends and patrons.

Alicia Loose has a 5-centimetre-long cut on her leg after a 'terrible, horrible accident' at a Christchurch bar.

Ferguson said five staff members swooped in to help the injured woman immediately. He said footage of the accident showed several staff members and an off-duty medic helping Loose. She was 'never kicked out' and was never left unattended, he said.

Loose had to have 10 internal stitches and nearly 20 staples put on the wound. The day after the incident, her family contacted the bar for a response.

'My mum contacted the bar and their response was that it was an accident, these things happen, and there was nothing they could do.'

Ferguson said he took 'about half a day' to get back to the family as he was in Queenstown when the incident happened. The complaint was the first against a staff member in seven years of operation, he said.

Loose said after posting about the incident on Facebook, a Baretta staff member rang her to apologise and offered financial help. Ferguson said he and the family he had been in regular communication and he thought it would come to an amicable solution.

Loose hoped by publicising the incident it would encourage bars to better prepare for dealing with similar situations.

'I'm hoping better processes will be in place so nobody else has to go through this at any bar in Christchurch.

'Thank you to all the people that did help me … they were a huge help – without them I wouldn't have known what to do.'

Ferguson said strict protocols were already in place and an internal investigation was under way, but he would reiterate safety concerns to all staff.