Atlanta Injury Lawyer Mark Link answers these most important questions and discusses Dram Shop laws.
Were you hit by a drunk driver?
Do you need a lawyer to represent you?
Answer:
Being an attorney who has represented clients injured in drunk driving cases, the sad answer to this question is yes you should retain an attorney in your drunk and driving case. My perspective is admittedly biased but consider the 5 following facts, of 34 Random Facts About Drunk Driving and drunk driving cases.
- Drunk driving causes approximately one-third of all traffic fatalities in the United States.
- During the year 2007, alcohol-impaired driving was involved in the deaths of nearly 13,000 Americans.
- On average, someone in the U.S. is killed by a drunk driver every 40 minutes.
- Roughly three in every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related collision at some point in their life.
- Over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics in 2007. This number is less than 1% of the 159 million self-reported episodes of drunk driving in that year.
Who served the drunk driver alcohol?
Often the question arises in a drunk and riving accident of who served the drunk driver the impairing alcohol. Without a proper investigation this can be difficult to determine and even more difficult to prove. In Florida, a state with liberal laws regarding restaurants serving alcohol, it is up to a lawyer to prove the restaurant “willfully served a habitual drinker”. Read Suit says Clearwater Beach bar responsible for severed leg for more information about this case.
“Our investigation has revealed that Joshua West was served an inordinate amount of alcohol at Shephard’s on the night of the incident and that they had actual knowledge he was driving because their employees escorted him to his car,” said Hall’s attorney, Tom Carey.
West fled after he struck Hall, who was standing outside his Safety Harbor apartment. Pinellas deputies found West a short distance away. Hall suffered multiple injuries, including a severed left leg and shattered pelvis.
In another drunk and driving case cited here in Georgia:
2004 Ga. App. LEXIS 644,*;266 Ga. App. 426;
597 S.E.2d 410;2004 Fulton County D. Rep. 1429
WILLBANKS et al. v. SUGARLOAF CAFE, INC.
On April 11, 2000, Jennifer Leigh Phillips, while visibly intoxicated after being served with alcohol at Buffalo’s Cafe, had a collision with the car occupied by Willbanks and Lawrence. The evidence gives rise to the inference that, while in a visibly intoxicated state, Phillips was served alcohol at Buffalo’s Cafe and that she was driving while intoxicated at the time of the collision. Phillips was convicted of drunk driving in causing the serious injuries.
Willbanks and Lawrence sued Phillips and Buffalo’s Cafe for negligence under the Dram Shop Act. n1 Buffalo’s Cafe moved for summary judgment, which was granted.
Both of these cases cite “Dram shop” laws. Your Atlanta injury lawyer should be intimately familiar with the implication any “Dram Shop” law plays in your drunk driving case. It is up to your attorney to investigate, or have someone investigate, the amount of liability related to the establishment that served a drunk driver.
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