A NYC keg explosion at a Hamilton Heights bar has led to a lawsuit after a school teacher said he suffered severe injuries when a beer keg allegedly burst inside Bar Fiasco in October 2022. Steven Garrand, 42, is seeking unspecified damages over the incident, according to the filing.
Garrand, an elementary physical education teacher, was at the bar for an evening out when the keg allegedly exploded on the second floor. Bar Fiasco advertises craft beer and natural wines. The bar did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Garrand’s attorney also did not immediately return requests for comment.
The case puts a sharp spotlight on the dangers tied to pressurized beverage containers, which can turn violent when they fail. The complaint says the explosion caused serious harm, and the lawsuit now seeks compensation for the injuries Garrand says followed. The bar’s name has drawn attention because the incident happened at a place that markets itself around drinks and nightlife, yet the alleged blast turned a routine outing into a legal fight.
While the New York lawsuit centers on Garrand’s claims, keg accidents have caused deadly consequences in other cases over the years. A Brazilian man, Gilson do Nascimento, died in 2021 at his own birthday party while trying to repair a faulty keg. In that case, the beer dispenser exploded and sent metal fragments into his head. In 2012, Ben Harris, an employee at Redhook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, died while pressure-cleaning a plastic keg that blew apart. His employer later faced OSHA fines, and his family later received a $1.2 million wrongful death award.
