“Hey, can I get some service?” is a typical phrase someone hears while in a bar on a Friday. In fact, many pub and dance club patrons have to struggle to order a drink during weekend nights. In the hustle and bustle of the scene, bar tenders pour beverage after beverage with little else on their mind. This picture sets the scene for the Mississippi dram shop law to impact a civil lawsuit case.
What Is the Dram Shop Law
The dram shop law is a Mississippi statute that effects the outcome and liability of a civil lawsuit case involving DUIs. The statute says that any business that serves or sells alcohol to someone who is “visibly intoxicated” can be held partially responsible for DUI-related injuries that he or she causes. Let’s put this in a scenario.
Say that there is a business called The Bar which serves and sells alcohol. One of its patrons, Man A, is drinking at the bar and is clearly drunk. His speech is slurred, he can’t stand up straight, and he is shouting incoherently at the server. At this point, if The Bar serves him another drink, they are opening themselves up to the possibility of being liable for injuries should Man A injure someone else in a DUI accident.
As Mississippi is a comparative negligence state, the percentage of liability put on a business under the dram shop law is dependent on the surrounding circumstances of the accident and the service of alcohol.
Injured in a DUI? We Can Help!
If you were injured in a DUI crash, Richard Schwartz & Associates Injury Lawyer can help! We look at the big picture of a case to ensure that liability falls on the right people.
