Lewisville Drunk Driver Accident Attorney

Intoxicated Driver Accident Lawyer Michael Grossman on Your Legal Options if You’ve Been Hurt in a Drunk Driving Accident in Flower Mound or Lewisville Texas

Drunk driving accidents truly are real-life nightmares. These nightmares happen to more than 30 percent of the nation’s population during some parts of their lives.

A person dies at the hands of drunk driver approximately every 45 minutes a day. These numbers show the truth about the devastating level of damage that a drunk driver can create their negligent, stupid and selfish actions. If you’ve been hurt in a Lewisville drunk driving wreck, or have lost a family member due to a drunk driver’s negligent actions, you’ll probably have a strong chance at getting compensated for your injury or loss by filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. However, lots of people who’ve dealt with such a horrific accident are usually weary of calling an attorney, or may not know what’s involved in the legal process. Along with that, victim may just not know what their possible options are. For example, do you know that alcohol-serving establishments can be ruled to award you compensation based on their part in a Lewisville drunk driving accident? This article further explains Texas dram shop law, along with your options to legally obtain compensation from a liable party or parties so that you can start focusing on the recovery process. Lewisville drunk driving accident lawyer Michael Grossman provides this information so you can make a wise decision about your next legal steps to take.

The Unique Aspects of Drunken Driving Accidents

Compared to other regular auto accidents, drunk drivers can create a tremendous amount of damage this is usually very obvious in things like damaged property, intense personal injury, or possible death they cause. As a result, these drivers wind up getting hit with far heavier penalties, and the damages pursued in Lewisville drunk driving accident cases will become quite enormous. With such a huge amount of money at stake, aggressive legal action becomes key so that a plaintiff is properly compensated for their injury or loss and can focus on recovering from the accident. Besides that, drunk driving accident cases in Lewisville often have many parties who share responsibility for the wreck, and each individual defendant must have a specific case developed against them, holding them liable for their negligence in the Flower Mound drunken driving accident.

Liable Parties in a Lewisville Drunk Driving Wreck

The first probable suspect in a Lewisville drunk driving accident is the motorist. Any motorist whose negligence leads to an accident resulting in injury or death can be held responsible for the victim’s injury or death. This is the case because every driver owes a legal duty to fellow motorists to ensure their safety while on the road. When that legal duty has been broken, and causes injury or death, then the responsible party can be held liable for the damages caused by the victim, either by a personal injury lawsuit or a wrongful death lawsuit. So what that means is the negligent driver didn’t have to specifically be intoxicated but still caused an accident leading to injury or loss, they could still be held responsible for the accident. However, when a negligent driver is intoxicated, there’s a strong chance that extra parties will be ruled liable in groups like alcohol-serving establishments such as bars or restaurants.

These businesses are found vicariously liable for a Lewisville drunken driving accident if a link can be made showing how the negligent behavior led to the series of events that resulted in the Lewisville drunk driving wreck. The law that pertains to this issue is included in the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code and is referred to as the Texas dram shop law. Establishing a connection between a negligent bar and a Lewisville drunk driving accident can be tough, especially for firms that aren’t used to working Texas dram shop cases. However, establishing a connection in these cases is critical since a negligent alcohol-serving establishment will then be ruled to award a plaintiff a specific amount of compensation in proportion to their role in the accident. With two decades of experience working Texas dram shop cases, Flower Mound drunk driving accident attorney Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices are equipped to investigate a Flower Mound drunk driving accident so they can figure out whether or not a negligent entity may have played a role in the Lewisville drunk driving wreck.

Why is the Bar Liable?

Lots of people unfamiliar with Texas dram shop law are shocked to discover that a bar or restaurant can be ruled vicariously liable for another person’s choice to drink and drive. People think that since an alcohol-serving establishment can’t control a patron, then they shouldn’t be held responsible for that customer’s decisions once they leave to go home. However, there are logical reasons about Texas dram shop law and why bars and restaurants are responsible in these cases.

The Bar’s Responsibilities in Serving Alcohol

Texas dram shop law isn’t intended to help a drunk driver escape the pressure for their negligence and put it onto a bar or restaurant instead. A drunk driver will still be held liable for an accident leading to injury or death, regardless of a bar or restaurant’s involvement. That’s the case when a person gets intoxicated at home and chooses to go out for a drive following that. However, Texas dram shop law serves to protect the public safety by making sure that alcohol-serving establishments are looking after the well-being of customers and the distribution of alcohol.

For example, it’s against Texas state law to be in public, including behind the wheel, with a blood alcohol content level that surpasses .08%. Texas law states that those individuals become a danger to themselves and others nearby, and that person can’t be entrusted with making smart decisions because of the manner in how the blood alcohol content level has influenced them. That’s why Texas dram shop law doesn’t let a bar or restaurant over-serve a patron and allow their BAC to go over the .08 mark. If that kind of over-serving happens and drunk customer causes a wreck that harms someone, or even results in a fatality, the bar or restaurant could be held somewhat responsible for the accident. Unfortunately, excessive serving happens for a variety of reasons, whether it’s a bartender seeking extra tips to hard-working waiters who are ignoring the obvious signs of a drunk customer. However, since a drunk customer can’t make a logical decision about their driving ability, another responsible adult is left to make that choice, which is why Texas dram shop law exists to hold those negligent alcohol-serving establishments responsible for their decisions that have led to a Lewisville drunk driving accident. The same for of liability exists if a bar knowingly let a drunk customer drive off their parking lot, or if one of those businesses let minors buy alcohol.

If that kind of vicarious responsibility still doesn’t make sense, consider this illustration: What if you had surgery and the doctor gave you anesthesia. Would the doctor then let you drive home before the effects of the anesthesia wore off? A decision like that would be extremely irresponsible on the part of the doctor and could eventually cause harm to your or others, even death, if you drove under such a state as that. In this illustration, the doctor would have been ruled vicariously liable for any accident you may have created. Just like that, an alcohol-serving establishment can be ruled responsible if they’ve played a factor in a Flower Mound drunk driving accident.

Along with that, bars, restaurants and other alcohol-serving establishments can pretend to be oblivious about these matters either, since each of these businesses, if they want to serve alcohol legally, must have obtained a liquor license through the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. To main their certification, the businesses must be compliant with rules and guidelines pertaining to alcohol distribution and sales as established by the state. Bartenders, waiters and servers employed by the businesses must also participate in regular training to learn the signs of drunkenness and are taught about their responsibilities in serving alcohol to patrons. As a result, any individual or business involved in legally providing alcohol to a customer can’t allege they didn’t know anything about Texas dram shop law.

Restaurants and bars also have to maintain written rules about the monitoring of customers’ intake of alcohol, which requires extensive records to be kept about the amount and kind of alcohol consumed at their establishment. Some good ways to track consumption include everything from tally sheets to hand signals, so servers learn what’s being served, and the amount, while they’re on duty. One other key need is for a bar or restaurant to have a familiar way of dealing with drunk individuals. A lot of times the manager will handle the incident quickly, cutting that person off from further drinks, and by giving them food (which soak up the alcohol) or ride home from a cab or taxi, making sure the drunk patron actually gets in the cab and safely leaves the premises. In those moments where customers sneak in their own alcohol, carrying it through flasks for example, the manager has to make sure he or she gets the alcohol from the paying customer.

What are the Signs of Intoxication?

Servers and bartenders have to know all the signs, both big and small, and carefully monitor what patrons are consuming so they can make sure they’re not over-served. Some signs are pretty obvious, like poor speech, nonsensical thought, a surge of drowsiness, suddenly aggressive displays, or other obvious changes in behavior. However, some customers are harder to ready since they’re able to hold their liquor. Those that may look fine are probably intoxicated. When servers encounter people like that, they have to keep track on the quantity of drinks served to a customer, since the customer can still be wasted even if they don’t look like it. The formula that’s most often used here is that one customer can’t be given more than two 20-ounce glasses of beer an hour, or two glasses of wine, or a shot of liquor or one cocktail. If these limits are surpassed, chances are that a patron will eventually go over the .08% blood alcohol content level.

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

Texas dram shop law isn’t established to get 100 percent of the compensation for a plaintiff’s damages just from the alcohol-serving establishment alone. Dram shop law is used to hold these businesses somewhat liable for a Lewisville drunk driving accident, giving a victim the ability to get compensated from both the negligent driver and the alcohol-serving establishment that may contributed to the accident. Each defendant will then be held responsible for possibly awarding compensation to a plaintiff based on their degree of liability in the Lewisville drunk driving accident. For instance, if a plaintiff sustained $1 million in damages, and a bar was ruled 10 percent liable, then the bar would be accountable for providing $100,000 in compensation to the victim. The drunk driver, if accountable for the remaining 90 percent, would then have to foot the $900,000. If legal action was sought against just the bar, then the compensation that could be awarded would probably be far less than what’s able to cover the damages a victim has sustained. You need to know a bar or restaurant will never be found 100 percent liable, and therefore will never be forced to account for 100 percent of the compensation, since the bar or restaurant wasn’t entirely responsible for the Lewisville drunk driving accident. Texas dram shop doesn’t seek to hold a bar entirely accountable for a Flower Mound drunk driving accident, but it is meant to make defendants liable for their part in contributing to an injury-related or fatal drunk driving accident in Flower Mound.

What Does Proximate Cause Mean?

In Lewisville drunk driving accident cases, the term proximate cause is one mentioned quite regularly. Such a term is used with a defendant that doesn’t directly cause an accident, but contributed to an accident. In Flower Mound drunk driving wrecks, a proximate cause is usually a negligent alcohol-serving establishment. Other proximate causes can include third parties that played a role in an accident, like a maker of a safety device that doesn’t perform to standards. If you can show an outside party played a part in an accident that led to injury or death, then that proximate cause will become another defendant, plus the defendant that was the direct cause of the accident.

What is the Safe Harbor Defense?

When an alcohol-serving establishment is deemed to have been a potential liable party in a Lewisville drunk driving accident, a defense counsel for the bar or restaurant will probably turn to the safe harbor defense. In order for that defense to be victorious, the defense team has to be able to show that the alcohol-serving establishment followed all necessary guidelines concerning the sale of alcohol. If that compliance can be shown, then the bar or restaurant is provided safe harbor and won’t be open to a lawsuit. At the same time, though, defense attorneys for negligent bars or restaurants will be aware of the safe harbor defense, and will try to prove that such a business was following the law when the really weren’t so that a personal injury or wrongful death suit can be tossed. In these matters, it’s extremely crucial for the successful outcome of your Lewisville drunk driving accident case to have the assistance of a veteran Lewisville drunk driving accident lawyer like Michael Grossman and his group at Grossman Law Offices to conduct a complete investigation so that all the necessary parties can be found and held responsible for their negligent actions.

Lewisville Drunken Driver Accident Attorney Michael Grossman Can Help You Get Fair Compensation from all Liable Parties

Determining all the liable parties in a Lewisville drunken driving accident can be tough for novice, young law firms, but Grossman Law Offices has two decades of experience in cases pertaining to dram shop causes of action. That’s why we’re able to figure out whether or not an alcohol-serving establishment has any amount of liability in regards to a Lewisville drunk driving accident.

Even if no business was part of a Lewisville drunk driving accident, we’ll work to make sure any additional party faces justice so you can have a strong chance at being fairly compensated for your injury or loss due to a Lewisville drunk driving accident. Call us toll free at 1-855-326-0000 for a free legal consultation to discover what your legal options are so you can begin the recovery process. Along with getting compensation for your damages you’ve sustained, you’ll also be involved in holding negligent parties accountable for their behavior so that drunk driving accidents like that won’t don’t occur again and harm others in the future.