You may get odd looks if you go to a bar and ask for a dram of whiskey, but any experienced personal injury attorney would recognize this old-fashioned term for an eighth of an ounce of liquor because of dram shop laws. In brief, these laws allow dram shops, which sell alcohol for consumption on site, to be held legally liable for injuries caused by patrons whom they have overserved or whom they legally should not have served at all due to their age.
If you were hurt in a traffic accident caused by a drunk driver or by an intoxicated customer inside a bar or restaurant, you may have grounds to file a civil suit against the business that provided the intoxicated person with too much to drink. However, dram shop laws are not easy to navigate if you are unfamiliar with the intricacies of Arizona civil law, so you will want the help of a seasoned Tucson dram shop lawyer from Phillips Law Group.
Holding Property Owners Liable for Over-serving Someone
Importantly, alcohol-serving establishments are not automatically liable under Arizona’s dram shop laws for every negligent act someone commits after being served alcohol at that establishment. However, under Arizona Revised Statutes §4-311, owners of businesses categorized as dram shops can be held liable for injuries caused by someone who they continued to serve alcohol to despite knowing they were obviously intoxicated. They can also be held liable for injuries caused by people under the age of 21 to whom they served any amount of alcohol.
Furthermore, Arizona Revised Statutes §4-301 imposes civil liability on social hosts who, while inside their own private residence or other type of property, provide alcohol to people under the age of 21 who then go on to injure someone else due to their intoxication. That said, social host liability does not extend to adult guests who become severely impaired by alcohol on that host’s property, as a Tucson dram shop attorney can explain in more detail.
Recovering Fairly for All Available Damages
Intoxicated people can cause very serious injuries to many people around them under the right circumstances, especially if they end up driving a multi-ton motor vehicle. Due to this, it can be important when filing a dram shop lawsuit to account for both short- and long-term consequences of an accident an overserved person caused. This can include:
- Emergency medical bills and expected future care costs
- Physical pain and discomfort
- Personal property damage, including vehicle repair and replacement costs if applicable
- Psychological trauma and distress
- Lost working capacity and work earnings
- Decline in quality of life
Working with a skilled dram shop lawyer in Tucson can be crucial. An attorney can help identify and assign a fair value to every form of harm from a particular injury. They can also help file the strongest possible claim within the deadline set by the statute of limitations for personal injury cases, which typically falls two years after the injury occurred.
Contact a Dram Shop Attorney for Assistance in Tucson
Dram shop litigation can be complex on both legal and personal levels, particularly if the person you are filing suit against is a local community member or a close friend. However, if someone’s irresponsible provision of alcohol to a minor or to an extremely drunk person led to you being seriously injured, civil compensation may represent your best chance of recovering your losses.
You have support available from a Tucson dram shop lawyer with whatever litigation you wish to pursue. Call Phillips Law Group today to discuss your options during a free, no-obligation consultation.
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