How much alcohol a person consumes is their own personal choice, liquor stores, bars and clubs, however, do have a legal obligation to limit the amount of alcohol consumed by their clientele. If a person is visibly intoxicated then it\’s the responsibility of the establishment serving the alcoholic beverages to not supply them with more alcohol.
However in many cases establishments selling alcohol will serve a person who\’s already visibly intoxicated with more alcohol, which invariably results in a DUI/DWI incident several hours later. In fact more than 10,000 innocent people die on American roads each year in drink driving related accidents – or to give you a bit more perspective that\’s roughly 2 people per hour, every single day of the year.
If you\’ve been involved in an accident involving an intoxicated person you can not only initiate a personal injury claim to recover medical and other costs from them, but you can also pursue a secondary claim against the establishment which served the person who injured you more alcohol than was sensible – this is called a dram shop claim. The term dram shop came from the practice of selling gin (in measures called \”drams\”) from illegal pubs in the United Kingdom in the 1800s. It\’s now used as something of an umbrella term for claiming against any business, or even private individual, who allowed an intoxicated person to drink more alcohol than was safe or sensible.
In most cases dram shop claims are against bars and clubs which serve alcohol on a regular basis, but the limitation for claiming for damages extends beyond just bars and clubs, including the following:
- Restaurants
- Social clubs
- Private parties
- Public events
Basically if you\’ve been injured by a person under the influence of alcohol you can claim against whoever served that person any alcoholic beverages prior to the accident – this includes any establishment which illegally sold or supplied alcohol too.
Dram shop laws do vary from state to state, although some form of liquor liability law exists in most states of the Union. The biggest issue with pursuing a claim of this kind is that you need to engage the services of an attorney with dram shop claim experience immediately after the accident happens – it\’s critical to gather evidence as soon after the accident occurred as is possible. This can help prove exactly where the defendant was served the alcohol, at what time and by whom.
There is a statute of limitations on the dram shop claim element of any personal injury case, so the longer you delay taking appropriate action the sooner the statute of limitations will run out. Plus as we mentioned above time is of the essence when it comes to gathering evidence relating to the case.
Winning any dram shop claim can be difficult for even the most experienced of attorneys, which is why it\’s so important that you only hire a legal team which has proven and existing experience in not only fighting but winning dram shop claims. Remember that dram shop claims are quite serious, usually resulting in serious injury or wrongful death, so getting the best legal advice you can is a sensible move.