KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — A Texas man has been awarded US$5.5 million (RM23.3 million) after he filed a suit against a restaurant-cum-bar for overserving him alcohol.

Houston Chronicle reported that Daniel Rawls from Andrews filed the negligent suit on May 17 claiming La Fogata Mexican Grill overserved him which caused him to get injured in an altercation with another customer.

Rawls was awarded a total of US$5.5 million for five claims, including premises liability, negligence and damages arising from foreseeable criminal conduct in the 2019 incident. 

The Andrews County 109th District Court ruled in Rawls’ favor in a default judgment, as the owner of La Fogata did not respond to the suit or attend the hearing. 

The court, however, did not rule on whether Rawls’ claims were true.

According to the suit, Rawls got involved in a fight with another customer Robert Henrickson at the parking lot after drinking at La Fogata on May 21, 2019. 

Rawls had claimed he sustained a head injury during the argument with Henrickson, who had also been drinking heavily.

The lawsuit states La Fogata, its owner Lourdes Galindo and an unknown bartender are responsible for the injury because they allowed the two men to drink excessively and leave the restaurant together. 

The restaurant was also negligent by not calling an ambulance after Rawls was injured.

In the suit, Rawls had claimed that the bartender, identified in the suit as John and/or Jane Doe, was not adequately trained by Galindo to detect when patrons had been overserved. 

Rawls also alleges that Galindo failed to ensure the parking lot didn’t include obstacles "that would pose a tripping or falling hazard to intoxicated patrons”.

Rawls sustained a "serious and debilitating” head injury after he was assaulted by Henrickson and fell over "an uneven parking lot”.