On August 7, 2026, a Clark County, Nevada jury returned a verdict of $56.5 million for Omar Alrabadi, a U.S. Navy veteran who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being beaten unconscious at a restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip. The jury found Caesars Entertainment and Three Amigos Restaurant Group, the operator of Chayo Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Bar, equally responsible. It assigned no fault to Alrabadi.
The case is a powerful reminder of something many people never think about when they walk into a restaurant, bar, hotel, or entertainment venue: as a paying guest, you are owed reasonable protection. When a business fails to provide it, and someone is seriously hurt as a result, the law calls it negligent security. This verdict shows how seriously a jury can take that failure.
What Happened That Night
In 2021, Alrabadi, who served eight years in the U.S. Navy, was out with a group at Chayo, located on the LINQ Promenade. According to court reporting, a confrontation developed between his group and two other men. Chayo’s security staff confronted Alrabadi’s group inside the restaurant and forcibly removed them.
Security experts for the plaintiff testified that Alrabadi was non-violent throughout and was trying to flee. His attorneys argued that security staff pushed him toward two men who had connections to the bouncers. The fight spilled outside, and Alrabadi was punched and knocked unconscious. His attorneys described a violent final blow to his head that fractured his skull and caused bleeding throughout his brain. Medical experts testified that the bleeding came very close to being fatal.
What happened next became a central part of the case. According to the plaintiff’s attorneys, the head of Chayo’s security testified that he never called 911, even after seeing Alrabadi unconscious in a doorway. Police arrived roughly fourteen minutes later, and the lawsuit alleged that security officers told them they had no knowledge of an altercation. The two men who attacked Alrabadi have never been identified.
The Evidence the Jury Saw
Surveillance video played a major role at trial. Jurors saw footage in which Alrabadi and his cousins appear to be forcibly removed from the restaurant. They also saw footage that, according to the plaintiff’s attorneys, showed the attackers acting familiar with Chayo’s security staff, including embracing and shaking hands after the beating while Alrabadi lay motionless.
The plaintiff’s attorneys also argued that the defendants failed to preserve evidence. They alleged that more than a thousand surveillance videos were withheld, and they pushed for punitive damages over claims that records and footage were destroyed. According to the plaintiff’s lead attorney, the judge allowed the jury to infer that the missing evidence would have been unfavorable to Caesars and Chayo.
Testimony also addressed the setting itself. Plaintiff’s attorneys described the area as one of the Strip’s highest-traffic corridors, with roughly 11,000 calls for service logged in the five years before the attack. The plaintiff’s experts included Dr. Bennett Omalu, the forensic neuropathologist known for identifying CTE in football players.
A Defense That Blamed the Victim
The defendants did not accept responsibility. Instead, they argued that Alrabadi was partly to blame for his own injuries, a defense known as comparative negligence. It is one of the most common strategies in injury cases, and it is often used to reduce what an injured person can recover.
The jury rejected it entirely. After a three-week trial before Judge Jasmin Lilly-Spells in Clark County’s Eighth Judicial District Court, jurors assigned zero percent of the fault to Alrabadi and found that the defendants were negligent in the training and supervision of their security personnel.
Breaking Down the Verdict
The verdict totaled $56,500,000.96. It included $15 million in past damages and $41.5 million in future damages, a reflection of how long the consequences of a brain injury can last. Alrabadi has said the injury still affects him every day, five years after the attack, and it ended his Navy career.
Responsibility was divided evenly. Caesars Entertainment and Three Amigos Restaurant Group were each assigned 50 percent, which means Caesars was positioned to pay more than $28 million of the verdict. Reporting indicates the defendants may appeal, so the verdict is not necessarily the final word.
One detail stands out for anyone who has ever faced an insurance company’s settlement offer. According to reporting on the case, a settlement offer of $5 million was on the table before trial. The jury’s verdict was more than eleven times that figure. An early offer is not a measure of what a case is worth.
The Long-Term Cost of a Brain Injury
The size of the future damages award, $41.5 million, reflects something that is easy to overlook. A traumatic brain injury is not a single event that ends when the hospital stay does. Depending on severity, brain injuries can bring lasting problems with memory, concentration, mood, sleep, and day-to-day function, and they can limit a person’s ability to work for years or permanently.
In personal injury law, future damages are meant to account for that reality: ongoing medical care, lost earning capacity, and the way an injury changes a person’s life going forward. For Alrabadi, the injury brought an end to his military service. A fair result in a case like this has to look well beyond the first few months of treatment.
Why Cases Like This Take Years
The attack happened in 2021. The lawsuit was filed in 2023. The verdict came in August 2026. That timeline is not unusual for serious injury cases against large companies, which have significant legal resources and often contest every issue, from liability to the extent of the injuries. Clients who understand this at the outset are better prepared for the road ahead, and attorneys who are willing to see a case through to trial can make the difference when a fair settlement is not offered.
What Is Negligent Security?
Negligent security is a type of premises liability claim. Businesses and property owners that invite the public onto their property, including restaurants, bars, hotels, nightclubs, apartment complexes, parking lots, and shopping centers, generally have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to protect the people who are there from foreseeable harm.
What counts as reasonable depends on the circumstances. Courts and juries often look at questions like these: Was violence or crime a known risk at this location? Did the business hire enough security, and was that security properly trained and supervised? Did staff respond appropriately when trouble started, including calling for help and caring for an injured person? And did the failure to take those steps contribute to the injury?
The specific rules, including what an injured person must prove, differ from state to state. That is one more reason to speak with an attorney who knows the law where the injury happened.
What This Case Means for Injury Victims
Several lessons from the Alrabadi verdict apply far beyond Las Vegas.
First, the conduct of security staff matters, not just whether a business has security. Poorly trained or poorly supervised staff can make a dangerous situation worse, and a business can be held responsible for that.
Second, more than one party can be responsible. Here, both the property-level company and the restaurant operator were found liable, each for half. Identifying every responsible party is a key part of building a strong case.
Third, evidence disappears quickly. Surveillance footage, incident reports, and security logs can be overwritten or lost, sometimes in the normal course of business. Because of that, it is important to send formal notice demanding that evidence be preserved as early as possible.
Fourth, expect the defense to point the finger at you. Blaming the injured person is a common tactic. A thorough, well-documented case is the best answer to it.
If You Are Hurt on Someone Else’s Property
If you or a loved one is injured at a restaurant, bar, hotel, or other business open to the public, the steps you take early can shape your case. Get medical attention right away, even if your injuries seem manageable, since head injuries in particular can have effects that are not immediately obvious. Report the incident to the police and ask that a report be made. Write down what happened while it is fresh, and collect names and contact information for any witnesses. Take photographs of the location and your injuries if you can.
Most importantly, do not assume a business will do the right thing on its own. As the Alrabadi case shows, it can take years, a full trial, and a determined legal team to hold a large company accountable.
If you or someone you love has been injured on someone else’s property, CEO Lawyer is here to help. Call us 24/7 at (833) 254-2923 for a free case evaluation.
This article discusses a verdict obtained by another law firm. Results depend on the unique facts of each case, and past outcomes do not guarantee similar results.
