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Dram Shop and Liquor Liability

When you sustain injuries which are due, even in part, to the involvement of alcohol, ask a lawyer at Pritzker | Olsen, P.A. , to examine your case to decide whether a dram shop claim should be pursued.  FREE CASE EVALUATION >> 

Car AccidentBelow, Pritzker | Olsen, P.A., a premier Minnesota law firm, answers questions about dram shop claims.  When a dram shop is at fault for an injury, our lawyers know how to fight for fair compensation, including pain and suffering and punitive damages.  The firm has recovered numerous settlements and verdicts in excess of $1,000,000 for clients and Fred Pritzker, Elliot Olsen and Eric Hageman have been named Minnesota Super Lawyers by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine.

When is there a Dram Shop Claim?
A dram shop claim often represents one component of a vehicular accident case or an assault case.

Dram Shop Claim in an Auto Accident Case. Very often, it is part of an auto accident case involving a DUI or DWI.  For example, if you were injured by a drunk driver to whom a liquor store sold alcohol when he or she was obviously intoxicated, your dram shop claim would be against that liquor store.

One American dies every 30 minutes in an alcohol-related traffic crash, meaning that drunk driving shows its face in 41 percent of the country’s traffic fatalities.  Three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives.  When the illegal sale of alcohol plays a role in an alcohol-related accident, most states call it a “dram shop” case.

Dram Shop Claim in an Assault Case. Cases involving injuries due to assaults can also contain a dram shop component.  Let’s say a bar continued to serve a patron after he or she became intoxicated and belligerent.  Later that evening, you are injured as a bystander when a fight breaks out involving that over-served patron.  Here, your dram shop case would be against the bar that continued to illegally sell liquor when it should have simply done what the law requires:  cut the patron off.

What is a Dram Shop?
In 18th Century England, thousands of so-called “gin-shops” sold homemade gin by the dram (about a spoonful).  When the King of England decided to tax the sale of gin, these “dram shops” quickly went underground in an effort to avoid paying taxes.  Today’s legal system considers any establishment selling liquor illegally as a modern day equivalent of these “dram shops” of the 1700’s.

Furthermore, the law holds these establishments responsible for the dangerous actions of an intoxicated person when they have illegally sold liquor to that person.  In addition to bars and liquor stores, these establishments can include restaurants, social clubs, and even private events where liquor is sold.

When are Dram Shops Liable?
Generally, dram shops are liable when they have violated a law or regulation in the state where the liquor was served. While selling liquor to an obviously intoxicated customer represents the most common dram shop violation, the illegal sale of intoxicating beverages can take other forms, such as:

  • Selling liquor without a license to do so;
  • Selling liquor after hours; or
  • Selling liquor to a minor.

Our lawyers can help you determine if a dram shop violation played a role in your car accident.  Dram shop laws vary state by state.  While a few states impose no dram shop liability or restrict that liability to cases involving sales to minors or known alcoholics, most states do recognize some form of dram shop liability.

How Will Pritzker | Olsen, P.A. Protect My Rights?
In order to protect your rights, we act quickly when pursuing a dram shop case.  Verifying the obvious intoxication of a patron often relies on the eyewitness testimony of employees and other patrons who were present.  By locating and interviewing these witnesses quickly, we avoid potentially losing track of the witnesses as well as the possible blurring of memory as time passes.

The statute of limitations governing the dram shop portion of an accident case can differ from those that apply to the rest of the case.  If a dram shop claim is not made within that time frame, you can potentially lose the right to pursue the claim at all.

To contact Pritzker | Olsen, P.A. about a potential dram shop claim, call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900, e-mail Fred Pritzker at info@pritzkerlaw.com or fill in our online-consultation form.

We are a national law firm and represent clients throughout Minnesota and the United States.  Our offices are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Read more about Minnesota personal injury lawyer Fred Pritzker .


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