Can a victim of a dui wreck sue the bar that served the alcohol?

Question

My daughter was involved in a wreck where the person at fault had just left a bar and had a blood alcohol level of .23. Can we sue the bar that served the guy drinks?

Answer 1

in some states, yes you can check with an attorney

Answer 2

no i dont think so, you can sue the guy that got behind the wheel and drove drunk.  

Answer 3

  In these days and times anyone can sue anyone else for anything. I don,t know if this would be productive or not but I'm inclined to doubt it.

Answer 4

my sister is a bartender in california. the loophole is did the bar "knowingly serve an obviously intoxicated person" if they did, yes the victim can sue

with a .23 i would say that they did knowingly serve him.

Answer 5

In some states yes in some states no.

In the case of yes it is usually too hard to prove because it has to be proven where the last drink was served, who served it to him (the driver) and to make matters even harder to prove, you have to prove that the last person who served the last drink to him KNEW he was drunk and this means you would have to prove that the last bar tender heard the guy say he is drunk, or he would have to have heard him slur his speech, or perhaps seen him stagger around etc. So really unless the guy said "I'm drunk!" or "I'm wasted" or could be seen staggering or  some such with a lot of witnesses it is going to be very hard to prove.

Also, since they survive on tips it is not likely that a bar tender is going to be inclined to "rat out" one of his customers. (Not saying that this is right just telling you the truth.)

In a nut shell unless the guy had clearly visable signs of being drunk it is going to be very hard to prove.

You may want to call an attorney but I am guessing most will not take such a case.

Sorry to tell you all this. It is not right but I am telling you the truth.

Even though some states have such laws most of the time the fault is placed on the drinker and not the bar itself unless he was served while very obviously drunk.