Dram Shop Act Cases – When Improper Service of Alcohol Results in Injury or Death

 

For more than twenty (20) years since having obtained our first seven-figure verdict in a Dram Shop Act case (in 2003), the attorneys at MANEY | GORDON Trial Lawyers have continued to enjoy success for our clients and families injured or killed as a result of improper service of alcohol by restaurants, bars, taverns, pubs, clubs, homeowners, and package and liquor stores. When irresponsible furnishing of alcohol is harmful, legal remedy may be available. 

 

In 2011, Attorney Jack Gordon achieved the highest multi-million-dollar award in the State of Florida for improper service of alcohol to a minor resulting in a catastrophic single vehicle automobile accident. Attorney Gordon was named in the 2014 Florida Verdicts Hall of Fame for garnering an Eight Million Dollar ($8,000,000.00) result in a Dram Shop case. MANEY | GORDON Trial Lawyers has since continued to obtained multi-million dollar results on a nearly annual basis in these cases.

                         .                       

The team at MANEY | GORDON Trial Lawyers has prosecuted multiple multi-million dollar Dram Shop claims and our attorneys have served as co-counsel with dozens of lawyers throughout the state of Florida to hold irresponsible vendors accountable for improperly serving alcohol.

 

Dram shop laws are statutes pertaining to bars, taverns and other establishments where alcohol is served. In Florida, these laws are set forth under Florida Statute § 768.125. These laws apply in personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits in which an injured party (or a family member) seeks accountability from the establishment responsible for selling alcohol to an individual whose careless, alcohol-related behavior causes harm.

In most cases in Florida, an alcohol or liquor business cannot be sued or held liable. In § 768.125, Florida law provides: “A person who sells or furnishes alcoholic beverages to a person of lawful drinking age shall NOT thereby become liable for injury or damage caused by or resulting from the intoxication of such person.” The law does, however, provide a very limited scope within which a claimant can prosecute claims for damages against an establishment that serves alcohol to a customer whose subsequent intoxication brings harm, injury or death. The two exceptions are set forth in Florida Statute section 768.125:

Liability for injury or damage resulting from intoxication.—A person who sells or furnishes alcoholic beverages to a person of lawful drinking age shall not thereby become liable for injury or damage caused by or resulting from the intoxication of such person, except that a person who willfully and unlawfully sells or furnishes alcoholic beverages to a person who is not of lawful drinking age or who knowingly serves a person habitually addicted to the use of any or all alcoholic beverages may become liable for injury or damage caused by or resulting from the intoxication of such minor or person.

So the two (2) exceptional circumstances are:

Serving a Minor – if the establishment sells alcohol to a patron who is under 21, the business can be held legally liable in a personal injury or wrongful death suit.

Serving a “Habitually Addicted” Person – if the customer has a history of difficulties with drinking alcohol, and the establishment is, or should have been, aware of such difficulties, that business may be held legally liable for any injuries resulting from that guest’s intoxication.

Dram shop liability can be quite challenging for claimants to prove. Often, underage drinking occurs accidentally (on the part of the dispenser) and habitually addicted people usually hide their “drinking problems” or alcoholism. Dram shops, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and liquor stands invariably assert defenses to allegations of improper service such as suggesting that the minor provided a fraudulent or “fake” I.D., and falsely misrepresented their age, or that there is insufficient evidence to prove the patron was a known habitual drunkard or alcoholic.

Florida statute favors the businesses that serve alcohol as the law does not penalize the continued service of liquor, beer, wine or alcohol to any patron, even if that patron is clearly drunk. An establishment (including owner, bartender, cocktail server, or host) cannot be held liable merely for continuing to serve an “over-served” person.

As in other circumstances of negligently caused injuries or death, cases based on dram shop law must be filed in Florida before the statute of limitations expiration date. In Florida, as of March 2023, this means that your injury case based upon improper service of booze must be officially filed within 2 years of the date of injury.

So please feel free to contact us at MANEY | GORDON Trial Lawyers should you suspect injury or death has occurred as a result of the improper service of alcohol—whether beer, wine, liquor, cocktails, or shots.

And, PLEASE, drink responsibly.