Bars That Over Serve Patrons To Be Partially At Fault If They Drive Drunk

Drunk driving accidents occur every day – Kansas and Missouri are no exceptions to the rule.   In fact, on average, both of these states experience at least one drunk driving accident daily.  Unfortunately, these accidents are not small or inconsequential in magnitude; in terms of consequences, drunk driving accidents generally rank among the most severe.  Point of fact, statistics from 2008 confirm that at least 4 out of every 10 fatal car crashes in the state of Kansas involved some form of alcohol.  Missouri is not much better with 38% of its accidents involving the consumption of alcohol.  

HERE ARE SOME ALARMING STATISTICS ON DRINKING AND DRIVING:
•    Every 2 minutes, a person is hurt as a result of a drunk driving accident.
•    Every 25 minutes, someone loses their life to a drunk driver.
•    1 in every 3 people arrested for drunk driving have previously committed the same crime
•    $114 billion.  That is what US tax payers pay each year to handle drunk driving accidents.
•   72%: the percent of drunk drivers who are never charged for their crime.
•    Around Christmas, almost 40% of car crashes were the result of a drunk driver.
•    54% : the perecnt of car accident deaths that are caused by drunki driving deaths on New Years Eve
•    In 2007, young adults 16 and 20 years old were involved in 1,719 alcohol related crashes
•    Drunk driving is actually the leading cause of death for criminals in the United States of America
•    17,000 people will be victimized by drunk drivers this year
 
But who do we hold for this?  Most obviously, a lot of citizens point the finger at the inebriated, and therefore impaired, driver.  However, lawmakers may be changing this policy.  It takes two to tango, so to speak, and the alcohol had to come from somewhere says a local Kansas City auto accident lawyer.  Lawmakers are now dancing around with the idea of “Dram Shop Law” which would hold establishments that serve alcohol accountable when they provide booze to an individual who is dangerously drunk.  But this type of law would apply to more than just businesses .  In fact, it would apply to persons that host parties where alcohol is served.  That’s right states a Kansas City car crash attorney.  In the future, if you throw a party and one of your drunk friends stumbles out, gets in their car and then crashes, you could be held partially liable.  
 
Not every state has these laws notes a Kansas City auto accident lawyer.  Those that do have Dram Shop Laws outline circumstances under which they are applicable and potential penalties, which often vary extensively from state to state.  When drunk driving accidents are tried as Dram Shop Law Cases, prosecuting attorneys countrywide question the establishment that served the alcohol in order to determine liability.  These are some of the kinds of questions they ask:
 
•    Does the establishment fervently encourage alcohol sales?
•    Are there drink specials that might encourage a customer to drink inordinate amounts of alcohol?
•    If the establishment has a large following and is typically crowded, does that make it harder for the establishment to watch for warning signs?
•    Are employees at the establishment trained to look for warning signs in customers?
•    Do they continue to serve customers who are obviously drunk?
•    Does the establishment stand up to its customers by cutting them off?  Imposing limits?
•    If they do monitor, what procedures do they use to monitor?
•    If a customer claims to have a designated driver, does the establishment let the customer continue to drink after they are visibly inebriated?
 
In a notable case regarding Dram Shop Law, a two year old Arizona girl was involved in a drunk driving accident wherein her neck broke upon impact and she became a quadriplegic as a result.  But her survival and crippling injury remind all of us of the immense consequences of drunk driving.  The man who took away the ability to move her arms and legs was Daniel Lanzaro, returning from a New York Giants football game with approximately sixteen beers in his system.  With a BAC of .266, he struck the vehicle that the little girl was a passenger in head-on.  What makes this a Dram Shop case is that the stadium policy for the New York Giants is to not sell more than 2 beers to each customer at a time during games.  But Lanzaro’s food and beverage attendant–a man who worked for Aramark–had received a ten dollar tip and proceeded to serve him six beers at sixteen ounces each.  But that ten dollar tip would not help afterwards when both Aramark and Lanzaro were found guilty.  Both men were later found guilty, and Lanzaro and Aramark were charged with collective sum of $60 million in punitive damages.  Additionally, Aramark was charged $75 million more in punitive damages on top of the first amount.