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Adult club might be liable in fatal Pennsylvania car crash

Pennsylvania is one of 43 states and the District of Columbia that impose some form of liability on the person or establishment that serves alcohol to a customer who is intoxicated and subsequently has an accident that injures them or others. These laws are referred to as “dram shop” laws and derive their name from establishments that sold gin by the spoonful to patrons in England in the 1700s.

A strip club in Northeast Philadelphia where drinks were dispensed by the shot to patrons is being blamed for the death of a 46-year-old man. According to RTT News, the man spent four hours drinking at the bar before leaving. He crashed his car and died less than a mile from the bar. The driver had a blood alcohol content level of 0.19 percent. The state legal limit for intoxication is only 0.08 percent.

Pennsylvania dram shop law

A lawsuit against the club cites Pennsylvania’s dram shop law as the basis for holding the bartenders liable for serving drinks to an intoxicated customer. The statute, Pennsylvania Liquor Code Section 4-497, exempts a bar or other business that dispenses alcohol from liability for damages caused by a customer away from the bar or business. This exemption does not apply if the establishment serves a customer who is, according to the statute, “visibly intoxicated.”

Signs of visible intoxication

A bartender or other person serving alcohol at a bar or club must be aware of the physical condition of a customer before an alcoholic beverage is served. Typical signs of intoxication might include:

  • Glassy, bloodshot eyes
  • Slurred speech
  • Difficulty walking or standing without swaying or stumbling
  • Drowsiness
  • Being loud or disruptive

It is the responsibility of the person serving the drinks to be aware of the customer’s condition. If the server believes the customer is intoxicated, then the dram shop law prohibits the establishment from continuing to sell that person drinks.

Liability for damages

Proving a personal injury case under the dram shop law requires evidence that alcohol was sold to a visibly intoxicated person and that the intoxication was the proximate cause of the accident and the injuries to the customer or to a third-party victim.

How can an attorney help?

It can be difficult to prove a connection between an intoxicated driver and the bar, club or restaurant that served that person drinks. A personal injury attorney might be able to help an injured person prove that the bartender, waiter or server knew that the customer was visibly intoxicated and continued to serve drinks.

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