People Get Hurt When Restaurants and Bars Overserve Alcohol

Adults who drink alcohol are supposed to moderate how much they drink before they go out and drive. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. People who drink too much and drive can be held accountable if they hurt or injure someone else. But what about the bars and restaurants that purposely over serve to get better sales and tips? There are laws in place for those establishments that abuse alcohol sales and endanger the lives of other people.

Specifically, Texas allows lawsuits to be filed pursuant to the Texas Dram Shop Act. Where bars and restaurants that are licensed to sell alcohol serve alcohol to a person who is clearly intoxicated, and that person is then allowed to drive and causes an injury or car wreck, the bar or restaurant may be held legally responsible for that harm or damage. If the bar or restaurant is encouraging alcohol sales and advertising drink specials, they may be encouraging their employees to sell dangerous amount of alcohol to customers. It is the responsibility of these bars and restaurants to properly train and supervise their staff to identify signs of intoxication and to ensure all staff members serving alcohol have been through a Texas approved training program.

It is important to remember that evidence in Dram Shop cases, such as bar employees, surveillance video, and neutral eyewitnesses, may disappear if you do not act quickly after you or someone you know has been injured or killed as the result of a drunk driver that was overserved alcohol. You need an attorney experienced with dram shop laws by your side to help you navigate them in order to get the justice you deserve. Contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling 713-231-9360or 713-222-7211 for a free consultation.