You or a loved one has been seriously injured by a drunk driver. However, the drunk driver has no money to pay for your medical bills. Perhaps, he had no insurance on his vehicle—it was probably canceled due to his past of drinking and driving. What do you do? At the Scott Ray Law Firm, we believe that a prompt and through investigation is necessary. That drunk driver obtained the alcohol from somewhere. It is very likely that he got drunk at a bar. In Oklahoma, it is illegal for a bar, club, restaurant or other business to sell alcohol to someone that is visibly intoxicated. Unfortunately, bars make their money by selling alcohol. The more booze they sell, the more money they make. Someone that is “buzzed” is even more interested in buying another drink. If the bar sells alcohol to that visibly drunk person and that person leaves the bar and causes a car crash, the drunk driver is responsible. The bar is also responsible because it should not have served the alcohol to the drunk person. Had the bar not sold the booze to the intoxicated individual, that person may not have been so careless to drive while drunk and may not have caused the crash.
Frequently, people will go to several bars and drink getting progressively more intoxicated. Each of those bars are responsible for the crash if they served the individual when he was visibly intoxicated. These cases are call Dram Shop cases. We have handled Dram Shop cases where the policy of the bar was to serve anyone alcohol that asks for it regardless of how drunk they are. More alcohol sold equals more profits. Bars don’t like to tell a paying customer that they can’t sell them anymore alcohol. The drunk usually gets mad. Perhaps makes a scene. Other customers get uncomfortable and leave causing more lost profits. Thus, bars take the easy path—the more profitable path—and serve that extra two or six or twelve extra drinks to the already drunk patron. As mentioned in our Crashes Caused by Drunk Drivers article, alcohol impaired drivers kill 29 people every day in this county[1]. Bars, clubs, restaurants and other businesses are responsible for many of those deaths. Profits cannot be placed before people.
Crashes caused by drunk drivers should never happen. If you or a loved one has been injured by a drunk driver, don’t call the drunk’s insurance company, call the Scott Ray Law Firm at 580-248-5557. Get the compensation you deserve for the injuries that were so needlessly caused by the drunk driver.
[1] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts 2016 data: alcohol-impaired driving. U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC; 2017 Available at: https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812450
