Dram Shop Liability Lawsuit Against an Atlantic City Casino
Dram shop liability may sound like a made-up term, but it is a real legal concept, and it might be applicable in your personal injury case. A dram is a unit of measurement for liquids, and in the 19th century, liquor stores and saloons used to set their drink prices by charging a certain amount per dram of alcoholic beverage. A dram is about 3.6 milliliters, about one sip of booze. Drunk driving became a problem around the time that the 18th amendment shut down all the dram shops, but even though the dram shops of the old days have become bars, clubs, and lounges, the dangers of drunk driving remain. Establishments that sell alcoholic beverages have a legal duty not to continue serving alcohol to patrons who are noticeably too intoxicated to drive. Anyone that a drunk driver injures after getting drunk at the bar has the right to sue the bar for dram shop liability, including the drunk driver himself or herself. The same rules apply as for other premises liability cases. To find out more about seeking compensation from the bar where the drunk driver who injured you got drunk, contact a South Jersey auto accident lawyer.
Drunk Driver Struck Parked Car and Killed Child
One night in June 2023, Edward Johnston consumed alcohol at several establishments in Atlantic City, including Boogie Nights at the Tropicana Casino and Ducktown Tavern. After leaving the bars, he drove erratically at excessive speed. According to court documents, he was going 107 miles per hour when he struck a parked car in Absecon. The car was parked next to White Horse Pike, and the adults who had been in the car were fishing nearby. Their eight-year-old son Javier Velez was asleep in the backseat. He died of injuries sustained in the accident.
Johnston, 25, is facing criminal charges for DUI resulting in death. If convicted, he could face a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
Javier’s family has filed a dram shop liability lawsuit against the bars where Johnston drank on the night of Javier’s death. They have a chance of prevailing in their case even if Johnston does not get a criminal conviction.
The plaintiffs allege that the employees of Boogie Nights were not counting how many alcoholic beverages Johnston was drinking, which bar employees are supposed to do. They allege that, by the time he left Boogie Nights, his blood alcohol content (BAC) must have been twice the legal limit. They allege this based on the number of drinks security camera footage from the bar shows him drinking within the timespan that it records. They also allege that about half an hour of footage is missing from the video entered into evidence by the defendants; in other words, Johnston could have been even more intoxicated than the video shows.
Contact Monaco Law About Drunk Driving Accidents
Contact Monaco Law PC in Marlton, New Jersey to discuss your dram shop liability case. Joseph Monaco is a New Jersey and Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer serving Atlantic County, Burlington County, Cape May County, Camden County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Ocean County, Salem County and all of South Jersey.
Source:
6abc.com/post/javier-velez-death-family-boy-killed-dui-crash-announces-lawsuit-ac-casino-tavern/16679989/
