A Washington court has upheld a $14 million award against the bar and bartender that served a patron who later left the bar and caused a fatal accident. Under a state dram shop law, bars can be liable to victims for “negligent overservice”, by serving alcohol to visibly intoxicated patrons who later injure others.
The bartender was the girlfriend of the drunk driver, Hawkeye Kinkaid, who was killed in the crash. The other car’s driver and all of its passengers were injured, included a 7-year old who was left a paraplegic. It was estimated that Kinkaid drank the quivalent of 21 12-ounce beers or 30 ounces of 80-proof alcohol and had a blood alcohol content of .32 at the time of the collision. At issue on appeal was whether the plaintiff needed to provide specific “point-in-time” evidence that Kinkaid seemed drunk when the bartender served him. However, the Washington Supreme Court disagreed, since the bartender admitted to others that Kinkaid seemed too tipsy to drive and eventually refused to serve him any more alcohol.
Source: http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/14-million-DUI-award-restored-in-Washington-state
Tags: dram shop law, DUI
