How a "safe alcohol sales consultant" can help your dram shop case:

Dram shop cases are not won by simply showing a bar sold alcohol to a patron and the patron later had an accident. Instead, it must be proved that the bar behaved negligently. We must be able to place fault on the bar because its employees and management did something actually wrong.

Below, we'll talk about how a safe alcohol sales consultant can aid in that process.

Questions Answered on This Page:

• What exactly is a safe alcohol sales consultant?
• Why do I need a safe alcohol sales consultant in my dram shop case?
• How can the testimony of a safe alcohol sales consultant impact my Texas dram shop case?

Why we need the testimony of a safe alcohol sales consultant.

Alcohol providers are governed by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission ("TABC"), which is in charge of making regulations for any business that sells alcohol. You don't need to be a specialist to know, for example, that a bar selling six beers to a minor isn't allowed under Texas law. However, the regulations can be both complicated and a little vague. Safe alcohol sales specialists know these regulations and proper business practices well---and may have even played a role in crafting them for the Texas Legislature.

In other words, these consultants can help cut through all of the legalese and explain to the jury how a responsible bar should comply with regulations, and how the bar in question did not, if that's the case.

But the regulations are just the start. The law requires all of us---individuals and companies alike---to be held to a "reasonable person" standard. For example, there aren't laws per se against focusing too much on your phone or radio and accidentally driving into the back of another car. However, the law would naturally determine that a reasonable person wouldn't do such a thing and hold you liable. With bars, it's the same principle. Would a reasonable manager or employee of a bar have behaved a certain way? In cases where it's disputed, a safe alcohol sales expert can help show the jury what the bar or restaurant did wrong.

Examples of when a safe alcohol sales consultant was useful:

Below are some examples from cases our firm has handled that demonstrate how helpful a safe alcohol sales consultant can be in a Teas dram shop case..

• In another case, the bar didn't use "jiggers" to measure out drinks. Some of the bartenders testified that they sometimes "over-poured" liquor drinks as a result. No regulations require jiggers, but they're generally considered much safer to prevent accidental over-service of alcohol, according to our consultant.
• In virtually all of our cases, we request the bar's employee manual. In it, there are supposed to be policies and procedures about the proper way to sell alcohol. However, without fail, our expert can point out the many holes in the procedures they do have, OR, show the many rules and regulations they don't.

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Lots of people with nice resumes claim to be "experts" in the proper service of alcohol. Well, most aren't. In fact, they may have worked for the TABC for a couple of years or even been a manager of a huge restaurant empire's alcohol-compliance program. But that doesn't mean that they can testify in court about what the bar or restaurant did incorrectly in your case. Further, experts must be able to testify in court about what their opinions are in a convincing and thoughtful manner, which is in itself a specialty. Our witnesses will be cross-examined to the hilt about what they are claiming, and someone who folds up under pressure or doesn't have a proper understanding of the facts will hurt your case.

It's taken us countless hours over the last few decades to find the alcohol sales consultants who know the rules, will accurately and honestly assess the particulars of your case, and then be able to relate that information under extreme pressure. We know that these cases can be won or lost on the testimony of expert witnesses, which is why we've taken so many pains in finding the reliable ones.

Don't trust your case to a lawyer who doesn't have our experience with Texas dram shop cases. Call us at (855) 326-0000 whenever it is most convenient for you.

Other articles about Texas dram shop cases that may be helpful:

• Social Hosts and Texas Dram Shop Law
• What Evidence Do I Need to Win my Texas Liquor Liability Case?
• For Attorney Keith Purdue, Dram Shop Cases Are Personal