Arlington Drunk Driver Accident Attorney

Arlington Drunk Driver Accident Attorney Michael Grossman on Your Legal Options if You’ve Been Hurt in a Drunk Driving Accident

It’s a nightmare come true when anyone’s involved in a drunk driving accident. Statistics show that drunk driving accidents happen to over 30 percent of the country’s population during some part of their lives.

A person dies at the hands of a drunk driver every 45 minutes a day. These incredible statistics help illustrate the incredibly harsh reality of what a drunk driver can do with their selfish, ignorant and reckless behavior. If you’ve been hurt in a Texas drunk driving accident, or have tragically lost a loved one because of a drunk driver’s deplorable behavior, you probably have a strong chance at getting compensated for your injury or loss by filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. However, so many of these people involved in these tragic situations are weary about calling a lawyer, or may not know what steps to take. These victims just don’t know what legal steps to take. For example: do you know that any establishment that provides alcohol may be ruled to give you compensation depending on their part in a Texas drunk driving accident that caused injury or death? The following piece explains Texas dram shop law, along with your choices in the judicial system for getting compensation from a liable party or parties to help you start the recovery process back to a normal life. Arlington drunk driving accident lawyer Michael Grossman provides this information to help you make the best decision about what your next legal steps could potentially be.

Aspects that Make Drunken Driving Accidents Different

Compared to your normal car wrecks, drunk drivers can create significantly more damage that can be found in property damage, severe personal injury, or death resulting from their decisions. That’s why they wind up dealing with harsher penalties, and the damages pursued in drunk driving accident cases tend to be much more significant. When you consider the degree of compensation that’s at stake, an aggressive legal approach is usually needed to make sure the plaintiff gets properly compensated for their injury or loss so they can have the best chance at recovering. Along with that, drunk driving accident cases usually include numerous people who all have some degree of liability for the tragedy, and each individual will have a specific, detailed case mounted against them, making sure they face justice for their part in the drunken driving accident.

Liable Parties in an Arlington Drunk Driving Wreck

The first, and most obvious, suspect in a drunk driving accident is the motorist. Any driver whose behavior leads to an accident that causes injury or death can be found responsible for the victim’s injury or death. That’s because all drivers owe a legal duty to other motorists to ensure their safety while traveling. When such a duty has been broken, causing injury or death, the party at fault can be held accountable for the damages sustained by the victim, whether through a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death lawsuit. That means that even though a driver may be totally sober but still caused an accident that led to injury or loss, they can still be responsible for the wreck. However, when a driver is negligent and intoxicated, there’s a great chance that another party will be responsible, like a bar or a restaurant.

These businesses are deemed vicariously liable for a drunk driving accident if a link can be established showing their negligent actions played a role in the series of events that resulted in the catastrophic drunk driving accident. The law that deals with this is contained in the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code, and is referred to as Texas dram shop law. Establishing a connection between a negligent bar and drunk driving accident can be difficult, especially when it comes to law firms that have little to zero experience in Texas dram shop cases. However, it’s essential to be able to show a connection here because a bar could be found responsible for providing the plaintiff with a set amount of compensation that’s in relation to their part in the accident. With two decades of experience handling Texas dram shop causes of action, Arlington drunken driving accident attorney Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices are equipped to handle a drunk driving accident to see if a negligent business serving alcohol had a part in the drunk driving tragedy.

What Makes a Bar Liable?

Those who don’t know a lot about Texas dram shop law are usually shocked to discover that a bar or restaurant can be deemed vicariously liable for a customer’s choice to drink and drive. It’s often thought that since a bar or restaurant can’t control a customer, then they shouldn’t be found responsible for that individual’s actions after they leave that place. However, there are grounded, logical reasons behind Texas dram shop law and why bars and restaurants are deemed responsible in these cases.

The Bar’s Duties in Serving Alcohol

Texas dram shop law is not a law that’s supposed to lessen the consequences for a drunk driver and their negligent behavior and shift it to a bar or another alcohol-serving establishment. A drunk driver will still be deemed liable for an accident that led to injury or death, no matter if a bar or restaurant played a factor. One example is when a person gets hammered at home, then decides to go out and drive to get a pizza. The purpose of Texas dram shop law is to help protect the public by making sure those businesses take more care of their customers and are more attentive to how alcohol is sold and dispersed.

For example, it’s illegal in Texas to be in public, which covers driving, and have a blood alcohol content level that surpasses .08%. Texas law states that such individuals become a safety hazard to themselves and other citizens nearby, and that person isn’t able to make good choices due to how the blood alcohol content level has influenced them. That’s why Texas dram shop law prohibits a bar or restaurant from over-serving a customer in a way where their BAC is above .08%. If those actions occur and the drunk customer wrecks his or her car, and injuries or death happen, the bar or alcohol establishment could be found partially liable for that wreck. However, over-serving happens for a multitude of reasons, whether it’s a bartender’s drive to increase his tips, to a waiter on a double-shift who’s exhausted and not paying attention the details their customer is getting drunk. But since a drunk customer can’t make a logical, sound decision about their driving ability, another responsible, sound adult is left to accomplish that, which is why Texas dram shop law is in place to make sure these businesses are accountable for their choices that may have played a role in a drunk driving accident. The same kind of liability exists when a bar knows a drunken customer is driving off from their parking lot, or if a business lets minors buy alcohol.

If that kind of vicarious responsibility still doesn’t make sense, let’s consider this situation: If you were having surgery and put out with anesthesia, would the doctor let you going home before the medicine had worn off? A decision like that would be considered extremely irresponsible on the doctor’s part, and could lead to you or others being injured or dying with you in such a drug-induced state. In this case, a doctor would be found vicariously liable for any accident you created. In the same regard, an alcohol-serving establishment can be found responsible if they played a part in a drunk driving accident.

One other fact is that bars, restaurants and other establishments serving alcohol can’t use the stupid defense with these situations, since each place, if they want to legally serve alcohol, must have attained a liquor license through the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. To maintain this license, the business must follow stringent rules pertaining to alcohol distribution and serving that the law has established. Along with that, bartenders, servers and other workers at these businesses must take classes that help them learn about the signs of intoxication and that state what their legal obligations are in serving their customers. With that in mind, those who give alcohol to a patron legally can’t say they were unaware of the law when it comes to Texas dram shop law.

Restaurants and bars must also post written guidelines that deal with monitoring customers’ consumption of alcohol, which include detailed records about the amount and kind of alcohol that’s being purchased. Some good ways to keep track of alcohol sales include tally sheets, having glasses or coasters with certain colors, or sometimes even gestures, while on their watch. Besides that, bars or restaurants must also have a plan set up for handling drunk customers. A lot of times, the manager can defuse the situation, including the stop of service to them, and by giving them food (which can help soak up the booze) or a ride home through a cab or taxi service. The latter involves making sure they get in the cab and leave safely. In those situations where customers sneak their own alcohol into a restaurant, such as through a flask, the manager can make sure that alcohol is removed from the customer.

What are the Signs of Intoxication?

Servers and bartenders must be knowledgeable about how to spot the signs of intoxication and carefully watch their customers to make sure they aren’t over-served and become intoxicated. Some signs are pretty apparent, like slurred speech, thought patterns that don’t add up, drowsiness, sudden aggressiveness, or other obvious actions. However, some customers can hold their liquor, and it will be nearly impossible to figure out if they’re drunk when in reality they’re trashed. In those cases, a waiter needs to keep good record of how many drinks they’ve had, knowing that customer may be drunk even if they don’t look like it. The normal formula used for drunkenness is that one individual shouldn’t be given more than two pints of beer an hour, two glasses of win, or one shot if liquor or a liquor-based cocktail. If these standards are exceeded, chances are high that customer is going to go over the legal .08% blood alcohol content level.

Do Texas Dram Shop Laws Seek All Compensation from the Bar or Restaurant?

Texas dram shop law isn’t designed to get the entirety of the compensation for a plaintiff’s suit from the poor choices of a bar or restaurant. Dram shop is there and makes sure these businesses are held partially liable for a drunk driving wreck, giving the victim a chance to get compensation from the drunk motorist and the business that may have over-served them and contributed to the accident. Each defendant will then be liable for providing compensation to a plaintiff based on their degree of liability in the drunk driving accident. Let’s say a plaintiff has $1 million in damages, and a bar is ruled liable for 10 percent of that amount. Then the bar would only have to pay out $100,000 to the victim, and the drunk driver, if left to cover the remaining 90 percent, would then have to shell out $900,000. If legal action was only pursued against the bar, then the compensation would be far below what could help cover the damages a victim is dealing with. Besides that, the bar or restaurant would never be found 100 percent liable, and so they wouldn’t have to worry about paying 100 percent of the compensation, since the business wasn’t completely responsible for the wreck. Texas dram shop law isn’t established to make a bar totally accountable for a drunk driving accident, but it is meant to hold defendants accountable for their role in causing an injury-related or drunk driving fatality.

What Does Proximate Cause Mean?

In Arlington drunk driving accidents, the phrase “proximate cause” is used regularly. That phrase involves a defendant that didn’t directly cause an accident to take place, but was part of it happening. In drunk driving wrecks in Arlington, a proximate cause is something like an alcohol-serving establishment that’s found negligent. Other proximate causes may range from third parties that factored into an accident, like makers of a poorly working seatbelt. If an outside party like that played a part in an accident that led to an injury or fatality, then that proximate cause will likely wind up as another defendant alongside the one that directly caused the accident to take place.

What is the Safe Harbor Defense?

When an alcohol-serving establishment is deemed as a potential liable party in an Arlington drunk driving accident, a defense team representing the bar or restaurant will probably turn to the safe harbor defense. In order for that tactic to be successful, the defense must be able to show that business followed all Texas state guidelines concerning the sale of alcohol on their premises. If it’s proven, then the bar or establishment is provided safe harbor and will likely not be open to a lawsuit. However, the same defense teams that represent negligent bars and restaurants will also know about the safe harbor defense and will try and get a jury to believe they followed all the rules - when they actually didn’t - in hopes of getting a wrongful death claim turned down. In these scenarios, it’s critical for the success of your Arlington drunk driving accident case to have the assistance and expertise of a drunk driving accident lawyer like Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices to conduct a strong investigation to figure out who’s responsible and hold them accountable for their actions.

Arlington Drunken Driver Accident Attorney Michael Grossman Can Help You Get Fair Compensation from All Liable Parties

Figuring out who all was liable in an Arlington drunken driving accident will be challenging for novice law firms, but Grossman Law Offices has been working dram shop cases for 20 years. With that kind of experience, we’re usually able to figure out if an alcohol-serving establishment has any degree of liability in regards to a drunk driving accident. Along with that, if not business was part of a drunk driving tragedy, we’ll work make sure anyone else who was at fault is brought to justice to help you get the best compensation possible for your injury or loss that came from a drunk driving accident.

Call us toll free at 1-855-326-0000 for a free legal consultation and to discover what your choices are in beginning the recovery process. Besides getting compensation for your damages, you’ll also be investing in making sure those who behaved in a negligent way are held responsible so drunk driving accidents like these don’t harm anyone else.