A drunk driving or DUI/DWI sentence could be the primary thing that comes to mind whencontemplating of the results of driving under the influence. Drunk driving or intoxication often results inharm to the person drinking and to others, alongside property damage. If you provide alcohol to someone who brings about property damage and injuries, you may experience a civil lawsuit for money damages.
Find out the issues and risks of providing alcohol.
Sources of Liability for Alcohol Providers
Several kinds of alcohol providers may be responsible for the acts of an intoxicated person. Providers include vendors, such as night clubs, dining places and retailers. Also included are social hosts, bosses and fraternities.
In the past, alcohol providers often weren’t held responsible by courts for an intoxicated person’s actions. Many states then passed dram shop laws. These laws place liability on some alcohol companies for damages caused by intoxicated people. Today, most states have a dram shop law, but coverage differs. Dram shop laws tend to differ on the elements of:
• Who can be found liable for injuries and damages for providing alcohol
• What damages an injured person can seek
• Whether relief under the dram shop law is the only relief allowed
The remedy allowed under a dram shop law may be exclusive. This means that lawsuits based on other legal theories, such as negligence, might be barred.
Minors and Third Party Liability
Liability of a vendor or a social host can depend upon whether the intoxicated person is an adult or a minor. Providing minors with alcohol can be the basis for negligence claims. A plaintiff in a lawsuit would try to show negligence through a breach of duty of care by furnishing alcohol to a minor. In doing so, it was presumed or foreseeable that intoxication, property damage and/or injuries would result.
Based on the state, companies selling alcohol to a minor may very well be treated in a different way than social hosts. By way of example, the convenience store owner compared with the host of party at home. Liability for selling or supplying alcohol to minors can be based on violations of laws, regulations or local ordinances against underage drinking.
Other Providers of Alcohol
Employers can be sued for damages that result from supplying alcohol to an employee, or to someone in the role of a social host. Employers can be liable for an employee’s actions under the doctrine of respondeat superior. This can include instances when an employee is on the job, or when his actions are within the scope of his employment. Examples include company events or business meetings.
College fraternities are often sued after supplying alcohol at parties and their members or party guests cause accidents and injuries. A plaintiff may seek to hold a fraternity liable as a social host. Another basis for liability is the tort theory of premises liability. The claim is that the fraternity failed to keep its premises reasonably safe during a party at which alcohol was served.
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