A tradesman has had his life turned upside down courtesy of a devastating hit by a security guard outside the pub, after he was evicted.
On 3 May 2024 an intoxicated 37-year-old man from Grovedale was asked to leave the Grovedale Hotel, eventually requiring some persuasion by four security guards.
Outside, CCTV filmed the man arguing to be allowed back in and he was talking to another guard when one of the bouncers, James Cahill, snatched the back of the patron’s head and executed a quick strike to the man’s face with either his fist or elbow.
According to witnesses the man was out cold, collapsing onto the pavement and striking his head.
He was transported to Geelong hospital in an induced coma before later being rushed to The Alfred specialist hospital in Melbourne.
The man suffered multiple facial fractures, traumatic brain injury and two bleeds on the brain with permanent brain scarring, a skull base fracture and subdural haematomas. He spent three days in intensive care and has permanently lost his sense of smell and suffers episodes of vertigo.
He is also fighting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and experiences panic attacks and uncontrollable emotions. He says he has lost who he was – his independence, confidence and freedom and explains he feels he is in “danger mode all the time”.
The 46-year-old bouncer from Armstrong Creek was arrested and charged over the attack, to face Geelong Magistrates Court.
Cahill pleaded guilty to a single charge of recklessly causing injury. He was convicted but managed to avoid jail time, instead given an 18-month community corrections order requiring 350 hours of unpaid community work.
After two years recovery the unnamed victim is now suing over lost earnings and medical expenses, lawyers for his defence filing documents in the Supreme Court in August.
The plaintiff claims Regional Security Services Australia P/L, which employed Cahill, failed in its duties to perform adequate pre-employment screening, such as references or history of aggression and criminal complaint, and to provide sufficient training.
Operators of the Hotel, Warrenwood P/L, are accused of failing in their security requirements by not using guards who were competent and properly trained, and by not having a system of management to assess issues and avoid violence.
The historic Grovedale Hotel was established in 1859 and in 2023 was recipient of the AHA National award for Regional Hotel of the Year.
The Hotel assisted police with investigations, and a spokesperson stated Cahill had been stood down, noting that security contractors have “clear policies and protocols to follow when engaging with patrons”.
While grateful he survived the ordeal, the troubled man says is now living a “lifelong sentence”.
Victoria and NSW have laws around so-called ‘one punch’ or ‘coward punch’ assaults that stipulate if an offender strikes someone, without warning, causing their death, they are guilty of manslaughter and will receive a mandatory sentence, with statutory non-parole period.
Although Victoria introduced the law in 2014, research by Monash University found few offenders have been sentenced under the legislation.
The former Grovedale electrician noted that even if the attack does not kill someone, it can still “change the trajectory of your life forever”.
