Keg explosion at NYC bar injures school teacher: lawsuit

A true bar fiasco.

An exploding keg at a New York City bar allegedly left an unsuspecting school teacher with severe injuries, according to a recently filed lawsuit.  

Steven Garrand was enjoying an evening at a Hamilton Heights bar — ironically called Bar Fiasco — in October 2022 when the booze barrel allegedly blasted on the second floor.

The 42-year-old, an elementary physical education teacher, is demanding unspecified damages stemming from the alcoholic debacle. 

The keg allegedly exploded and injured Steven Garrand. Lari Jarnefelt – stock.adobe.com

Bar Fiasco, which boasts craft beer and natural wines, and Garrand’s attorney did not immediately return requests for comment.

Injury — and in extreme cases, death — by keg isn’t as uncommon as one may think.

A Brazilian man named Gilson do Nascimento, 43, died at his own birthday party in 2021 while trying to fix a malfunctioning keg. 

The beer dispenser blew up – causing sharp metal shards to hit his head. 

Ben Harris, an employee at Redhook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was killed while pressure-cleaning a plastic keg that exploded in 2012. 

The brewery’s parent company, Craft Brew Alliance, was subsequently slammed with $63,500 in OSHA fines, according to NPR. 

Years later, Harris’ family was awarded a whopping $1.2 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. 

The bar did not return a request for comment. J.C. Rice for NY Post

In 2006, a keg exploded after being hurled into a bonfire in Milford, Connecticut – killing 22-year-old Sean Caselli and injuring seven others when sharp metal shards shot through the air, News Channel 10 reported. 

William Orlosky was working as the grounds manager of a Long Island country club in 1971 when he was flung 150 feet into the air while pumping gas into a keg, per The New York Times.

Police at the time said Orlosky, 31, died from severe head injuries.