Houston Dram Shop Lawyers

As Houston dram shop lawyers, we know that the crux of your case is to prove that the alcohol provider served alcohol to someone they knew (or should have realized) was inebriated. There are specific types of evidence at play in these cases. Let’s take a look at some examples.

Direct Evidence of Clear Intoxication

Reliable testimony from witnesses and video evidence of obvious intoxication are the best forms of evidence for dram shop cases. In the past, video evidence relied on security footage from the establishment.

Today, there’s the possibility to pull video from social media to show how the driver behaved at the bar.

Circumstantial Evidence

As we comb through different types of documents, testimony, and medical evidence, our Houston dram shop lawyers attempt to turn back the clock and piece together an argument to show obvious intoxication.

Although this relies on inference, it is valuable evidence. In fact, these arguments often perform well in these types of cases.

Amount of Alcohol Consumed

Bar receipts help to show that, given the amount of alcohol consumed, there’s no way for the patron to have been sober by the time they consumed their last drink before getting behind the wheel.

TABC Charts

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has charts that help servers estimate how much alcohol it takes for a patron to get drunk. These charts help show juries how intoxicated people are at the time of a drunk driving accident.

Moreover, every TABC-certified server sees these charts throughout the certification course. That means they have an understanding of when a person is drunk based upon the amount of alcohol they consume.

Changes in Behavior

There are telltale signs to alert servers to cut people off. While this is not technically evidence, it guides witness testimony. This ties back to their TABC training.

Serving Size of Drinks

Bars across Texas boast “Texas-sized” drinks. When they serve these unusually large or strong drinks, it has the potential to lead to rapid intoxication. This makes it a dubious practice concerning their liquor liability.

Returning to the TABC charts, the BAC charts use standard serving sizes. When bars move away from this practice, it makes it more difficult for patrons and servers to track intoxication.

Eyewitness Testimony

When people see the drunk driver before they leave the bar or restaurant, they provide valuable information about how they behaved, what they consumed, etc.

Police Record and Testimony

Generally speaking, juries view the police as objective witnesses. When an accident occurs, their report and testimony show the ties between alcohol consumption and behavior.

Expert Witnesses

At times, Houston dram shop lawyers work with expert witnesses to help juries understand confusing forensic science. Often, medical experts help juries understand the effects of alcohol over time.

Based on the number of drinks serve, they help to show how unlikely it is that a reasonable person would not believe they were overserving a clearly drunk person. For example, a toxicologist is an expert in the science of intoxication. They help juries understand the state of an impaired driver at the time the bartender served their last drink.

Social Media

As we suggested earlier, social media is a source of evidence. People want to show their friends their good times.

Occasionally, this means there’s clear evidence with signs of intoxication. With this, it’s hard for a bar or restaurant to argue that the server wasn’t aware of the clear intoxication. This is especially true when the posts establish a timeline of their intoxication.

Shared Evidence with Law Enforcement

When evidence proves useful for criminal prosecution of the driver whose negligence caused your accident, we share it with the authorities. If this leads to charges, the criminal record helps to serve as evidence of the establishment’s liability as well.

By no means is this list exhaustive. Houston dram shop lawyers are valuable in these cases because they know how to uncover relevant, reliable evidence. Schedule a free consultation to discuss your options with an experienced dram shop attorney.

Dram Shop Liability refers to the legal liability that a commercial seller of alcohol carries for serving alcohol to anyone who is obviously intoxicated. “Dram” refers to the measurement of alcohol, which is why they call them “Dram Shop Acts.”

States enact dram shop laws to place a higher burden on businesses that profit from the sale of alcohol.

Ideally, this means they take precautions as they serve their patrons to prevent drunk driving accidents. Unfortunately, many establishments place profit above liability and safety.