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Dram Shop Case Attorneys in Columbia, SC
Dram Shop Lawyer: Our Legal Team is Ready to Help Victims in Columbia, SC and the Midlands of South Carolina
South Carolina Dram Shop laws can make a business liable for providing alcohol to a minor or to a person who is clearly intoxicated if that person causes injury, death or property damage in an alcohol related accident. South Carolina Dram Shop laws differ from other injury cases in that they impose liability on a third party (person selling or giving out the alcohol) rather than the individual driver or owner that may have caused the car crash. This does not mean that the person that caused the accident is not held liable. The intoxicated driver is still responsible for any harm caused. The Dram Shop laws establish liability in addition to the intoxicated drivers liability.
Dram Shop Liability
In addition to Dram Shop laws, similar liability can be extended to people who provide alcohol to minors or intoxicated persons in a social setting. This is referred to as social host liability .
An example is a patron at a bar. If someone is at a bar for a significant period of time and they have ordered numerous drinks, begin slurring their words, become glassy eyed and fall down when they try to walk, and then are still served again, the bar is serving someone that is visibly intoxicated. This person then leaves and crashes into a car as they are driving home. The injured party in the car crash can sue the bar for continuing to serve a person who is visibly intoxicated. A similar scenario would apply for a minor.
South Carolina law also imposes liability for a social host setting in addition to a business that serves alcohol. However, the social host liability is focused on serving an underage person who then becomes impaired and causes an accident. In South Carolina, the legal drinking age is 21, so if a social host serves a minor, they could be sued for the damages caused by the intoxicated minor. The issue of visibly intoxicated adults is not generally part of social host liability in South Carolina, as it is in other Dram Shop cases.
If your injury or a loved ones death was caused by one of the many unfortunate drunk driving accidents that occur in Columbia, Lexington, or another area in the Midlands of South Carolina, hiring a qualified attorney right away can be the key to favorably resolving your case. Our legal team can help to determine whether the drunk driver was enabled by being over served when the driver was clearly intoxicated. Your attorneys job is to fight for you in court and hold accountable those who caused your injury or your loved ones death, and the legal team at Best & Flatt are ready to help.
Verdicts & Settlements
$300,000
Car Versus Horse Accident
Our client ran into a horse which got loose from adjoining property. Our claim was that the horse owner was negligent in failing to keep the horse confined, including improper fencing. Client sustained significant injuries to the spine. A settlement of $300,000 plus future payments of $2,000/month for lifetime was achieved.
$3.2 Million
Premises Liability/Wrongful Death
A man was killed due to a hazardous condition created by a major corporation and supplier. He left behind two adult children. The case was resolved at mediation for $3.2 million.
$300,000
Workers Compensation
Our client had a head injury following a concussion at work. She had some orthopedic complaints as well. An IME procured by defense counsel indicated she had a very limited impairment and was fully able to work. We were able to obtain a statement from the primary treating physician indicating that she was totally and permanently disabled due to organic brain injury. Recovery after mediation was $300,000.
$1 Million
Car Accidents
Our two clients, a husband and wife, were hit by a drunk driver. Both of them spent weeks in the hospital with multiple surgeries. The at-fault driver had fairly low coverage, but the clients had good under insured motorist coverage. Total recovery was $1 million, which was the combined policy limits.
$500,000
Dram Shop/Wrongful Death
Two minors procured alcohol from a package store and became intoxicated. Later that evening they ran off the road and were killed in a one-car accident. Suit was filed and extensive discovery conducted. Major issues of comparative negligence were raised. The case settled prior to trial for $500,000.
$600,000
Insurance/Personal Injuries
A man was seriously injured while driving a work truck. At issue was how many policies of under insured motorist coverage he could stack, or accumulate. They were business policies, and he owned the business. The insurer took the position that the business was the insured, not the man, and that he could not stack policies. Case settled while in litigation in federal court for $600,000.
$550,000
Dram Shop/Wrongful Death
Our clients sister was killed after a night of drinking at a local establishment when the driver she was riding with, while intoxicated, crashed into another car. Major issues of comparative negligence were raised. Sum total of recovery between car insurance and tavern liability (dram shop) was $550,000.
$500,000
Medical Malpractice/Wrongful Death
A man presented to his family physician with various symptoms and test results indicating cardiac disease. He was let go with no substantial treatment. Shortly afterward he died of a heart attack. Case was settled with the insurance company for the practice group in the amount of $500,000.
$495,000
Slip & Fall/Brain Injury
Our client slipped and fell on a foreign substance in a local grocery store. It was alleged that the grocer either caused or had notice of the substance, and that our client sustained permanent brain injury following a concussion. A lawsuit was filed, and voluminous discovery was conducted, including multiple depositions of medical providers and fact witnesses. The defense denied being at fault and denied the extent of the injuries. The case settled at mediation for $495,000.
$200,000
Workers Compensation
Our client had a herniated disk following a work-related injury. He had fusion surgery by a neurosurgeon. Our contention was that he was permanently and totally disabled. Recovery was $200,000.
Any result we may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.