Alabama businesses that serve alcohol need to be aware of the laws that go along with it. Simply getting a liquor license is difficult enough and running any kind of a business is a challenge without concern about accusations that the establishment was somehow complicit in a drunk driving incident and will be subject to a lawsuit because of it. These are known as “dram shop” laws and when there is a case related to it, having a strong law firm to provide defense can be make or break.
No one wants to see another person injured or killed in a drunk driving accident. However, dram shop laws can be damaging to business and commercial entities. With dram shop laws, the victim or the victim’s family can file a claim against the establishment to blame them for an intoxicated customer’s actions. The term dram shop comes from 18th Century England. Civil lawsuits are used to get compensation against the establishment for the actions of the customer. There have been cases in the past where major awards have been given against companies, so this is a concern all businesses should think about when they serve alcohol.
With dram shop lawsuits, there are certain aspects that must be proven. For example, there must be proof that the alcohol was sold by that business to the DUI driver; there must be the proof that injuries came about; there must be a proximate cause between the alcohol being sold and the incident; and one of the causes must have been intoxication. Only seven states in the union do not have dram shop laws. Alabama allows for dram shop lawsuits.
For a business or commercial entity that is being accused of complicity in a DUI incident and is facing a dram shop lawsuit, a law firm that has extensive experience in a wide variety of business and commercial cases and understands how to defend these allegations is a must. That is the first call to make when dealing with a dram shop lawsuit.
