How Do I Know How Much My First-Party Texas Dram Shop Case Is Worth?
First-Party Dram Shop Cases: Determining Your Case's Value It may seem crass to think about financial compensation at all while you're still recovering from the consequences of a serious accident. But you deserve to have the resources you'll need to try to put the pieces back together in your life, and those responsible for your...
How Does Litigating a First-Party Texas Dram Shop Case Work?
First-Party Dram Shop Case: Litigating The Case The final stage of a first-party dram shop case is, by far, the longest. Cases can last more than a year in what we call litigation. This is simply the legal term for filing your case with the court and pushing it through to a (usually successful) resolution....
How Do I Preserve My Right To Sue in a First-Party Texas Dram Shop Case?
Step 1 of a First-Party Dram Shop Case - Preserve Your Right to Sue When you have something that's important and valuable, you do what's necessary to protect it. Whether it's a family heirloom, a baseball card collection, or a piece of jewelry, you take steps to keep it from getting damaged. The same thing...
How Do You Identify the Defendant in a First-Party Dram Shop Case?
In order to have a dram shop case, you first need to identify who the bar is. In most personal injury or wrongful death cases, it's not terribly difficult to determine the negligent defendant's identity. We simply obtain the defendant's name from the police report, or the client tells us who the wrongdoer was, and...
What Evidence Do I Need to Win My Texas First-Party Dram Shop Case?
Evidence Needed to Win Texas First-Party Dram Shop Cases Many people who are familiar with dram shop law may assume that it only allows for claims in which a drunk driver kills or injures someone else after being over-served, but these third-party claims aren't the only types recognized in Texas. When a bar has served...
What Is a First-Party Texas Dram Shop Case?
Overview of first-party dram shop cases under Texas law: When you first hear about dram shop law, you may think that it's intended only to compensate victims and family members who are injured by drunk drivers who are over-served. However, the law also allows for drunk drivers (or families of the deceased) who were over-served...
Who Is Considered a Recipient Under the Texas Dram Shop Act?
Under the Texas Dram Shop Act, Who Is A "Recipient"? In order to be successful in a dram shop case, your attorney will have to prove that the person who caused the accident was a "recipient" of alcohol, who was improperly served by a bar, restaurant, or other provider. Where things get tricky is that...
Who Is Considered a Provider Under the Texas Dram Shop Act?
Under the Texas Dram Shop Act, the term "provider" has a specific legal meaning. As with any cause of action, a dram shop claim has certain components --or "elements"-- your attorney must prove in order for your claim to be valid. In order for the person or business who furnished the alcohol that led to...
What Does Obvious Intoxication Mean?
Under Texas dram shop law, an alcohol provider can be sued when they continue serving drinks to an obviously intoxicated customer. But what exactly is obvious intoxication? Answer: A customer is obviously intoxicated when there are ANY signs that indicate they are intoxicated. The legal significance of obvious intoxication is that an alcohol provider breaks...
How Much Alcohol is Too Much?
How Much Alcohol Is "Too Much" According To The Law In Texas? Everyone knows that it's perfectly legal for adults to purchase alcohol at bars and restaurants. Everyone also knows that when too much is consumed people become dangerous on the roads and elsewhere. So, where's the "line"? When does alcohol service go from acceptable...
What Are the Civil & Criminal Penalties for Bars & Restaurants in Texas?
When Bars Break The Law, The TABC Can Punish Them Elsewhere on this site, we've covered extensively how Texas law allows drunk driving accident victims to sue bars and restaurants provided that the establishment served a patron who was obviously intoxicated. Such lawsuits discourage bars from breaking the rules by taking the profit out of...
How Did Attorney Keith Purdue Turned Loss Into a Source of Motivation?
In his own words, Attorney Keith Purdue talks about his personal loss and why he is passionate about Dram Shop lawsuits. I'm privileged to be a part of Grossman Law Offices, and our law firm has filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of those injured or wrongly killed by drunk drivers, which I passionately feel is...
What Were the 2014 Drunk Driving Accident Statistics in Texas?
Texas Drunk Driving Accident Statistics Drunk driving accidents are stunningly common in Texas. Unfortunately, the Lone Star State leads the country in the number of DUIs each year. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) there were 3,039 fatalities on Texas roadways in 2014. In general, 65,539 serious injury crashes occurred in Texas in...