Drivers under the influence of alcohol claim the lives of more than 10,000 people per year and cause life-altering injury to many more. While families who lose a loved one may have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim and injury victims may be able to seek compensation in a personal injury lawsuit, it is not uncommon that someone who has displayed a pattern of DUI violations will be driving on a suspended driver’s license, which means the driver will not have auto insurance.
Although sometimes a drunken driver will have assets like a home against which you may be able to enforce a personal injury or wrongful death judgment or settlement, many intoxicated drivers are “judgment proof.” Judgment proof is a term used to refer to those who have no insurance, assets or other means from which they can satisfy a civil liability claim.
When an alcohol impaired driver lacks the ability to pay a financial recovery by a motor vehicle accident victim, other sources for satisfying the judgment must be identified. Sometimes another driver with insurance may have played some role in causing the collision. The municipality, county or state may share liability if the roadway was not designed in a safe manner or the public entity failed to maintain or repair hazards that it should have been aware existed and posed an unreasonable risk of harm. A driver may even have a claim against his own insurance policy if he elected uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage.
However, there is another responsible party that may provide a better option for recovery if the driver that caused the collision was impaired by alcohol. The bar, restaurant or other business that sells alcoholic beverages to consumers to be consumed on the premises may be liable for a car accident involving a patron in certain situations.
Missouri Revised Statutes § 537.053.2 (the dram shop law) imposes liability on those who serve alcohol to those who the seller knew or should have known were under 21 or “visibly intoxicated.” The statute indicates that visible intoxication refers to a person who is so intoxicated that alcohol impairment is evidenced by uncoordinated physical movement or “significant physical dysfunction.” Unlike a DUI prosecution, a blood alcohol test that indicates that the driver is over the .08 BAC level for legal intoxication does not necessarily establish that the patron was “visibly intoxicated,” under the statute, but the effects of this level of intoxication may be offered as evidence along with other evidence. If the patron produced a driver’s license or other valid form of official state or federal ID card, this will generally be a defense to serving an underage patron.
Dram shop claims can be hard to prove in Missouri because it can be difficult to produce enough evidence to prevail on such a claim. The dram shop statute imposes a “clear and convincing” evidentiary standard on the issue of whether the business knew or should have known the patron was visibly intoxicated. This is a more difficult standard to meet than the normal preponderance of the evidence standard that applies in most civil lawsuits for personal injury and wrongful death.
When someone is injured by a drunken driver, it is important to seek legal advice and representation promptly so that critical evidence to meet this high evidentiary standard can be gathered. Some of the types of behavior that might indicate visible intoxication include:
- Loud and boisterous behavior
- Type of alcoholic beverage and number of drinks consumed
- Slurred speech
- Watery red eyes
- Lack of coordination (tripping, stumbling or falling)
- Unsteady gait
When an investigation is conducted promptly, critical evidence may be preserved, such as surveillance video, witness accounts (other patrons or employees), credit card receipts, copies of customer checks, cell phone video and more. We may also use a toxicologist to conduct ‘back calculations” that will use a patron’s BAC level at the time of the collision to determine the BAC at the time the patron was served. The toxicologist also can testify to how the patron’s BAC level would have impacted his demeanor, appearance and behavior.
If you or someone you love is injured or a family member dies in a Missouri drunken driving accident, we urge you to contact us if you have questions. Our experienced Missouri DUI car accident injury attorneys at Hubbard & Kurtz, LLP work diligently to obtain financial compensation for our clients’ injuries so contact us toll free at (877) 535-1163 to see how we can help!