A family can sue a bar for a wrongful death caused by a drunk driver if there is evidence that the bar illegally served alcohol to the driver prior to the car accident. This is called a dram shop claim, and it is meant to hold bar owners accountable when their illegal behavior causes severe injury and death.
For civil tort claims (which is what a wrongful death claim is), there are generally 4 elements: 1) a duty, 2) a breach of that duty, 3) causation (the breach caused the claimed harm) and 4) damages. Bar owners have a duty to the public to not serve alcohol illegally, for example, to an obviously inebriated person. They breach that duty by doing so. The question that generally prevents settlement in these cases is causation. Was the driver drunk from the alcohol served at the bar or did he drink the alcohol that put him over the legal limit after leaving the bar?
What we do in these kinds of cases is hire specialists to help reconstruct the time before the crash and the crash itself. We also take measures to find witnesses who saw the driver drinking at the bar.
When a commercial truck is involved, the family may have claims against the driver, the trucking or construction company, and a bar, restaurant or other establishment that served alcohol to the driver.
For example, your daughter is riding a motorcycle, slowing down for a construction zone. An intoxicated semi-truck driver is behind her, and he does not slow down in time. He runs her over, and she tragically does not survive.
Our lawyers help families in Minnesota get answers, compensation and justice. They have recovered millions of dollars for families like yours. You can contact our law firm for a free consultation with one of our lead lawyers for these cases: Fred Pritzker or Eric Hageman.
