When you have been injured in a car accident due to the fault of the other driver, you can obtain compensation for your injuries from that driver. Additionally, if they crashed into you because they were drunk, you may be able to obtain compensation from the restaurant or bar that sold and served the alcohol. In order to do this, you will need to prove that the bar or restaurant over-served an obviously intoxicated person.
What is Obvious Intoxication?
In order to hold a provider of alcohol liable, you must prove that they over-served an obviously intoxicated person. The policy behind this law is the idea that if a bar keeps serving alcohol to someone who is already clearly drunk, that person can become a danger to themselves and others. Therefore, the alcohol provider shares the responsibility for any accident they cause.
Much like a doctor or hospital is responsible for finding you safe transportation home if you are still under the influence of medication or anesthesia from your medical visit, an alcohol provider has a duty to not over serve an obviously intoxicated patron.
Signs of intoxication include but are not limited to:
change in the ability to talk (slurred speech, loud speech, boasting, argumentative, rambling conversations); loss of ability to balance or walk, slow response to questions, Loss of any motor functions, Blood shot, and glassy eyes; the list goes on.
How Does The Bonneau Law Firm Prove That Someone is Obviously Intoxicated?
Obviously, the bar is not going to tell on themselves. A well thought out investigation plan must be executed in order to establish, from an objective standpoint, that an ordinary prudent bar owner would have known that the person was intoxicated. Such evidence includes but is not limited to obtaining the receipts and bar tabs for the time period in question to find out what kind of alcohol was served, how much was served and during what time frame the alcohol was sold and served. Also, the observation by other customers and employees that state that the patron was showing the signs of obvious intoxication mentioned above and that he was still served after becoming obviously intoxicated. It is also relevant if the provider has been shown to have over-served obviously intoxicated patrons in the past because this will establish that they have an unwritten policy to over-serve patrons. Many times former employees will testify that management indirectly encouraged the over serving of alcohol in order to increase profits. This evidence begins and ends with an investigation plan that is tailored to the specific case, and executed in a manner that admissible evidence is secured.
Proving that a provider over-served an obviously intoxicated patron can be very difficult, especially without the help of a lawyer. The Dallas drunk driving accident lawyers at The Bonneau Law Firm have over eighteen years of experience and have helped thousands of victims with their personal injury case.
For all of our cases, we have the resources to uncover all of the evidence that is needed in order to establish that the person in question was obviously intoxicated when they were over-served by the bar or restaurant. We will use this evidence to hold the defendants accountable for their actions and to help you obtain the compensation that you deserve. If you have been injured in a drunk driver accident, you should call Hunt Bonneau for a free consultation at (972) 325-1100.