Grand Prairie Drunk Driver Accident Attorney

Dram Shop Attorney Michael Grossman on Your Options if You’ve Been Hurt in a Grand Prairie Drunken Driving Accident

Nightmares become reality whenever a drunk driver causes an accident. These nightmares, in fact, happen to more than 30 percent of Americans in their lifetimes.

According to statistics, someone dies at the hands of a drunk driver approximately every 45 minutes a day. Numbers like these illustrate the harsh reality that occurs with the carnage brought on by a drunk driver and their careless, ignorant actions. If you’ve been hurt in a Grand Prairie drunk driving wreck, or have lost a family member because of a drunk’s abhorrent behavior, you’ll probably have the chance to pursue compensation for your traumatic loss by filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. Unfortunately, many citizens who’ve been effected by such an awful thing usually are nervous about calling a lawyer, or is unaware about the steps to take. They also may have no clue what their options really are in the legal world. For example: Did you know that any establishment serving alcohol could be forced to give you compensation depending on their part in a Grand Prairie drunk driving accident that caused your injury or loss? This article further explains Texas dram shop law, along with your choices in look into getting compensation from those responsible so you’ll have the chance to focus on your healing more. Grand Prairie drunk driving accident lawyer Michael Grossman is providing this resource so you have the ability to make better choices about the next legal steps to take.

The Unique Aspects of Drunken Driving Accidents

Unlike regular car accidents, drunk motorists can cause a catastrophic amount of damage which can be evident in property damage, lifelong personal injuries and often times death. That’s why these motorists eventually find themselves looking at much more serious consequences, and the damages that plaintiffs pursue will usually be enormous. With so much compensation being looked at, it’s usually smart to have an aggressive legal gameplan to make sure the plaintiff gets proper assistance so they can have as good a chance as possible to heal from their wreck. Besides that, drunk driving cases usually involve numerous individuals or groups who will have various degrees of liability in the accident, and each defendant will have their own case developed against them to make sure they’re held responsible for their part in the drunk driving accident.

Liable Parties in a Grand Prairie Drunk Driving Wreck

The first person you’ll probably pinpoint in a drunk driving wreck is the motorist. Anyone whose negligent behavior led to someone being injured or dying can be ruled liable for that person’s injury or fatality. The reason is that every driver owes a legal duty to fellow motorists to make sure they’re safe while driving. When these duties are broken, and someone is injured or dies, then whoever is responsible can be held accountable for the damages the victim has sustained, whether that’s through a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death lawsuit. What that means is that even if that driver wasn’t drunk but still acted negligently and caused a wreck, which led to someone being hurt, they would still be ruled liable. But if you’re talking about a motorist who was intoxicated, there’s usually a strong chance that someone else was partially liable, like a bar or restaurant that served them the alcohol.

The law states that these businesses can be found “vicariously liable” which simply means the plaintiff can show a link between them over-serving the motorist and that eventually resulting in the drunk driving accident. This is further explained in detail in the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code in what’s called the Texas dram shop law. Establishing a connection between a negligent bar and a drunk driving wreck can be taxing, especially when inexperienced law firms are involved that have never worked Texas dram shop cases. However, it’s critical to show these connections because a business that was deemed negligent could then have to give the plaintiff a specific amount of compensation that’s proportionate to their role in the accident. With two decades of experience in Texas dram shop cases, Grand Prairie drunk driving accident attorney Michael Grossman and his group at Grossman Law Offices are equipped to work a drunk driving accident and determine if an alcohol-serving establishment played a role in the accident that occurred.

Why is the Bar Liable?

Individuals who don’t know much about the Texas dram shop law usually are shocked when they are told a bar or restaurant can be ruled vicariously liable for someone’s decision to drink and drive. Most think that since that establishment isn’t able to control that customer’s choices, then there’s no reason why they should be responsible for what they do after they pay their bill and leave. But there’s plenty of logic to the Texas dram shop law and why these establishments are found liable in these situations.

The Bar’s Responsibilities in Serving Alcohol

Texas dram shop law isn’t in place to lessen the consequences for a drunk driver and their actions and pile it all on a bar or restaurant. That motorist is still going to be liable for a wreck that led to someone being injured or dying, regardless of the role a bar or restaurant may have played. That’s the case whenever someone gets plastered at home, then decides to go down the street for some fast food. The purpose of Texas dram shop law is to help keep the public safe by making sure those establishments serving alcohol take better care of their customers and are more attentive to alcohol sales.

When in public, including driving, Texas law states it’s illegal for anyone to have a blood alcohol content level that exceeds .08%. The law says those individuals become a safety risk, both to themselves and others near them, and that individual is deemed unable to make proper decisions due to the affects of the blood alcohol content level. That’s why Texas dram shop law says a bar or restaurant can’t over-serve a customer and allow their BAC to pass the .08 mark. If this does happen and that customer causes an accident that leads to injury or loss of life, that establishment can be found partially liable for that wreck. The downside is that over-serving happens for a multitude of reasons, whether it’s a bartender wanting more tips or a waiter being exhausted and not paying attention to the signs their customer is getting drunk. It’s key to know that since that drunk individual can’t make right choices about their ability to drive, those choices are then given to someone who is responsible. That’s why Texas dram shop law seeks to hold unethical alcohol-serving businesses accountable for their decisions that played a part in a Grand Prairie drunk driving wreck. The same form of liability is in place if a bar knows a customer is drunk and allows them to leave the premises, or if they let minors buy alcohol.

Did You Know?

Michael Grossman has been fighting for drunk driver accident victims` rights for over 20 years. Call Mike to discuss your case. 1-855-326-0000

If these examples of vicarious responsibility seem hard to understand, let’s consider another illustration: If you’d just been in surgery and were given anesthesia, do you think your doctor would let you leave and go home before the effects had faded? That would be incredibly responsible on the doctor’s part, and you could wind up hurting someone else or killing another driver if you were operating your car in that condition. In this case, the doctor would be ruled vicariously liable for any accident you could have caused. In that same way, any establishment serving alcohol can be found liable if they contributed to a drunk driving accident.

What’s also key to note is that bars, restaurants or any other establishments that serve alcohol can’t play dumb when it comes to this, since each of these businesses, if they hope to serve alcohol legally, has to obtain a liquor license from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. To maintain this license, each business has to follow specific rules and regulations concerning alcohol serving and distribution that’s been established. Along with that, bartenders, waiters and other workers have to take part in training where they discover the signs of intoxication and are told about what their responsibilities are when it comes to serving alcohol to customers. That’s why anyone or any business that legally sells alcohol to customers can’t feign ignorance about Texas dram shop law.

Establishments like restaurants also have to post rules about observing customers’ alcohol intake, which require meticulous records to be maintained about the amount and kind of alcohol that’s consumed. Some methods used include tally sheets, using glasses and coasters that are color-coded, and gestures, so servers have a way of knowing what’s being sold and how much while they’re working. Along with this, a bar or restaurant needs a game plan for dealing with drunk patrons. A lot of times managers will quickly take charge, telling the customer they’ve been cut off from further drinks and giving them food (which soaks up the booze) or offering a ride home through a cab or taxi service and making sure that individual gets in and leaves safely. In those rare cases when a customer brings their own alcohol to a restaurant, such as with a flask, the manager will make sure the alcohol is taken away from the customer.

What Are the Signs of Intoxication?

Servers and bartenders must be knowledgeable about spotting intoxication and carefully monitor their customers to make sure they haven’t reached that level. Some signs can be easy to see, like slurred speech, nonsensical thought, someone who’s suddenly drowsy, suddenly aggressive behavior or other unusual things that are easy to spot. It gets tricky though when you’re dealing with customers that can hold their liquor and won’t show any signs of being drunk when in fact they’re at that point. When this happens, waiters have to track how many drinks that person’s had, since that person can still be drunk despite not showing the obvious signs. The formula that’s most often used is that one individual shouldn’t be given more than two pints of beer an hour, two glasses of wine, or a shot of liquor or one liquor-based cocktail. If these quantities are ignored, chances are that customer will surpass the legal .08% blood alcohol content level.

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

Texas dram shop isn’t intended to seek the entirety of a plaintiff’s damages from the bar or restaurant that over-served the drunk driver. Dram shop law is there to make sure these businesses are held partially liable for a drunk driving accident, thereby giving a plaintiff the chance to get compensated from both the drunk driver and business that played a part in the accident. Each defendant will then face the chance of having to compensate the plaintiff for their degree of liability in a drunk driving accident. Let’s say a plaintiff has sustained $1 million in damages and a judge rules a bar is 10 percent liable. That bar would then only have to worry about awarding $100,000 to the victim and the drunk driver would then be on the hook for the remaining 90 percent, which would be $900,000. If there was just legal action filed against the bar, then the compensation would be far smaller than what’s necessary to assist with the damages the victim is facing. It’s also key to realize that a bar or restaurant will never have to award 100 percent of compensation, since that business wasn’t totally responsible for the incident. Texas dram shop law isn’t in place to put all the responsibility for a drunk driving accident on the shoulders of a bar, but it does exist to make sure defendants face justice for their part in a Grand Prairie drunk driving fatality or injury.

What Does Proximate Cause Mean?

In Grand Prairie drunk driving accidents, the term “proximate cause” is one that is often used. This phrase is used for a defendant that’s not a main cause of a wreck, but had a part in it. When you’re talking about drunk driving wrecks, a proximate cause is usually something like a negligent alcohol-serving establishment. Other proximate causes can range from third parties that played a role in a wreck like a manufacturer or faulty safety device. If another business is shown to have been a factor in a Grand Prairie drunk driving accident, then they will probably become a proximate cause and join the defendant that caused the accident as an additional defendant.

What is the Safe Harbor Defense?

When any business serving alcohol is deemed as a potential liable party in a Grand Prairie drunk driving accident, a defense attorney for that establishment will probably turn to the safe harbor defense. For that to work, the defense attorney has to show that the business in question adhered to Texas state law when it comes to serving alcohol. If it can be shown they were compliant, then that business is given safe harbor and won’t be prone to a lawsuit. However, defense attorneys representing negligent bars and other alcohol-serving establishments know about this tactic as well, and will try to prove their client followed the law as well when they really didn’t just so a personal injury or wrongful death claim can be tossed out. When this occurs, it’s critical if you want to emerge successful to have the assistance of a qualified Grand Prairie drunk driving accident lawyer like Michael Grossman and his army at Grossman Law Offices to conduct a detailed investigation so anyone responsible can be located and held accountable for their actions.

Grand Prairie Drunken Driver Accident Attorney Michael Grossman Can Help You Seek Fair Compensation from All Liable Parties

Young inexperience law firms could get overwhelmed trying to gather all the parties that contributed to a Grand Prairie drunk driving accident, but Grossman Law Offices has been working dram shop causes of action for two decades. That’s why we’re usually able to discover if an alcohol-serving establishment had any part in a drunk driving accident. If we discover no party like that played a role in your accident, we’ll do our best to find if anyone else played a role in your accident so you can have a greater chance at more compensation for your injury or loss following a drunk driving accident. We can be reached toll free at 1-855-326-0000.

Call for a free legal consultation and to see what your choices are so you can truly begin to move forward. Along with getting compensated for your damages, you’ll also have the chance to hold those negligent accountable for their actions, which will help make sure these incidents aren’t repeated again in the future.