The leaves are crunching, and the weather is growing colder: as fall approaches, so does the magical holiday season of family time and giving. You may have planned a few celebrations for yourself this Thanksgiving – or, as a venue owner, you might even be hosting these celebrations yourself.

Whether you own a bar, pub, nightclub, or any other venue serving up Thanksgiving-themed nights with a side of alcohol, you need to be aware of the consequences and precautions you must take in these instances.

Unfortunately, Thanksgiving triggers many drunk individuals to take to the roads, sometimes bringing about disastrous consequences when it comes to being irresponsible behind the wheel. If your venue is situated in a Dram Shop state, you could be held liable for alcohol-related accidents. So, this is why we’ll cover liquor liability and everything you need to know about dram shop law in this article. Read on to prepare yourself and your business for Thanksgiving this year!

Liquor liability

As a business owner, you should be well aware of where your venue stands with liquor liability. This type of insurance can protect your company if you sell, distribute, or serve alcoholic beverages. Liquor liability insurance can cover these types of claims even if you have served alcohol to intoxicated individuals who go on to create physical injury or property damage.

Dram shop law

Dram shop law’s name derives from Britain’s 18th-century method of measuring out alcohol, in which three-quarters of a teaspoon was used and named ‘dram’. Dram shops refer to the drinking venues that served alcoholic beverages at the time, such as pubs, taverns, and bars. Nowadays, this includes other organizations such as liquor stores and eateries.

As a responsible business owner, you’ll know by now that it is your duty to keep customers as safe as you can. Serving intoxicated individuals more alcohol can have severe consequences regarding bodily harm and property damage, meaning that dram shop laws enable these people to claim some compensation from the business in question.

However, the Dram Shop Act statutes differ in different states in the US, meaning that you should research your business’ specific location to see where you stand with these types of laws. Cases against alcohol venues are often challenging to prove, but it’s still worth doing what you can to protect yourself and your company.

In third-party dram shop scenarios, victims of drunk customers could possibly sue the business that served the customer in question. Liability verdicts typically look at reckless or violent behavior, intentional misconduct, and negligence laws.

Depending on where you are located, dram shop laws additionally enable drinkers to bring a case against a venue that sold or served them alcohol in first-party litigation. In this type of scenario, an individual can sue the alcohol-serving company if they have received injuries from their drunken state.  

Are there any cases when businesses aren’t subject to dram shop law?

Venues other than restaurants or bars where alcohol is able to be bought are not subject to dram shop laws. After all, dram shop rules and regulations only apply to venues that have a license which enables them to sell alcoholic beverages that can then be consumed on-site. Therefore, this doesn’t apply to places where alcohol is bought and then consumed in different areas, such as liquor stores and grocery stores. Furthermore, whilst social hosts who give alcohol to somebody under the legal drinking age could be criminally liable if an injury is caused, dram shop laws do not apply in these cases.

Liability and dram shop law

As mentioned already, proving liability can be extremely tough for any third-party victim. Indeed, it can sometimes be challenging for bartenders to know if a customer will hop in front of a steering wheel or notice a customer’s specific drunkenness level. Therefore, victims must prove that a company sold alcoholic beverages to a person who is clearly intoxicated and who triggered the accident. They also must prove that the company’s actions caused the individual’s drunken state.

Thus, as a business owner, it is integral to train your employees to help them identify visibly intoxicated customers and underage individuals. Features of these people may include balance loss, coordination loss, slurred words, aggressive behaviour, emotional behavior, and bloodshot eyes. From identifying them, the employees should be trained not to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to these types of people.

Why do dram shop laws exist?

Dram shop laws are in place because they have the power to decrease accidents such as car crashes in relation to alcohol consumption. They have raised significant awareness of the impact of illegal alcohol consumption and over-serving alcoholic beverages. The laws currently intend to encourage businesses like yours to sell and serve alcohol responsibly, ensuring you can minimize disastrous consequences – especially during the busy holiday season.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. Hopefully, you are now more aware of where you and your business stand when it comes to serving, selling, and distributing alcoholic beverages all year round. This is particularly in busy periods, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It would be best to never underestimate the devastation drunk driving can cause. As an issue that needs to be taken more seriously, businesses like yours can help move approaches in the right direction by being aware of how you can sell your alcohol safely. By doing this, you can help protect your business as well as your customers, all whilst delivering an epic Thanksgiving-themed party or event. It’s time to do business right!