This question is directed at the several lawyers we have who are regulars on this board. 

If, as has been reported, Boo was sucker punched while trying to break up a fight outside the bar, would he have legal grounds for a civil suit against the Courtside employee who knocked him to the ground?  I realize that there are several versions of what happened that night floating around.  My question is directed strictly at the scenario mentioned above.  Treat it as a hypothetical.  Thanks.

I'm not a personal injury attorney, but generally speaking I believe the answer would be yes.  Whenever someone makes unauthorized contact with you, resulting in an injury, you can potentially file suit for the tort of battery. 

But having a legal basis to file suit doesn't necessarily mean you'll win.  There are potential issues of self-defense (was the defendant reasonably fearful of being attacked), assumption of the risk (was the possibility of inadvertently getting hit obvious to one entering the scuffle, even in a peace-keeping role), etc., any of which could limit or bar any recovery.  Ultimately, if such a case went to trial, it would come down to how the jury viewed the facts.

C Money, don't tell OCF that I may be correct on something, he really hates that

Don't worry OCF, I have been in the civil litigation battles more than some attorneys.

From the evidence that's come out so far, I don't think this is much of an air-tight case for anyone, including Boo. There's way too much inconsistency in facts, and no highly credible report.

Meaning not only could Boo have a hypothetical case against the Courtside employee, as you ask in your initial post, but one against Courtside (a business with much deeper pockets).

I am also not a personal injury lawyer, and in fact I have dropped my Bar membership to inactive. I agree with the opinions above of C Money and Flomo, and the one by JCW, too. Yes, you can sue for anything, but whether you win or not is another story. Yes, I think that they can sue the Bar as well as the individual because of the nature of his job, but perhaps also potentially for negligence in hiring him, if he has a history of violence. In the end it will come down to who the judge or jury believes - was Boo an active participant, or just trying to break things up? Was the bouncer the aggressor, or acting in self defense?

I would also point out that the Bar almost certainly has a type of insurance known as "Medical Payments" which will pay the medical bills of persons injured on the premises without regards to liability, so even without a determination of liability by the bar, their insurance might pay the Medical bills. I'm not sure about that, though.

To be honest, I would be surprised if that guy still has a job today. As others have commented, it is one thing to the bouncer to be involved in activities inside the bar, but quite another for him to go out into the parking lot and get into a fight. I've never seen a bouncer that do that.

Edit - I also agree that if Boo wanted to sue, it should be the bar, not the employee, for the reasons mentioned above - the employee may have no money, but the Bar certainly does, and has insurance.

The employer or employers are almost always filed in the initial suit, one reason is you may get a quick couple of grand to get dismissed, the other is business have pockets, and the attorneys will let the judge decide who can be sued and who can not be sued, and it cost you no more money to sue 5 people as it does 2 people.  Unless of course you get nailed on filing a frivilous lawsuit and have to pay damages and legal fees to all of those you sued and that does happen.

Charges have absolutely nothing to do with a civil suit.

Just kills you that we agree doesn't it