Did you know that it is illegal to drive in Texas if alcohol is impairing your ability to drive, even if your blood alcohol concentration is less than the legal limit? For those 21 and over, a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher means you are legally intoxicated. Anyone under 21 cannot have even a minimal amount of alcohol detected in their systems.
When a drunk driver causes a car accident, injury victims may be able to recover compensation from that driver, holding them responsible for their negligence. But what about the people or establishments that provided the alcohol? In some cases, the Texas Dram Shop Act makes it possible to recover compensation from these parties. Working with a personal injury attorney in El Paso can ensure that all liable parties will be held accountable.
Why Choose Cal Mundell Injury Law as Your El Paso Dram Shop Lawyer?
As an El Paso-born attorney, Cal Mundell became a staunch advocate for injury victims after beginning his career on the other side—defending insurance companies and large corporations. This gives him a unique insight into what it takes to make a compelling claim. Cal Mundell Injury Law brings the following advantages to your dram shop liability claim:
- A free case consultation and no upfront fees, instead, you pay nothing for legal representation until after your attorney recovers your compensation
- A personalized strategy to recover the maximum compensation available to you
- Years of experience, knowledge, and resources behind your case
- A skilled investigation and access to accident reconstruction specialists and medical experts to support the strongest possible case
Recent results by Cal Mundell Injury Law include a $100,000 recovery in a drunk driving case, lending a respected voice in the legal world to your claim. Cal Mundell has been named a Texas Rising Star by Super Lawyers.
Injuries In El Paso Drunk Driving Accident Claims
Sadly, some of the most serious and catastrophic injuries in drunk driving accidents happen to motorists in other vehicles, not to the drunk driver. In addition, a drunk driver is often speeding or driving aggressively, heightening the risk of severe injuries such as the following:
- Single and multiple fractures
- Soft-tissue injuries like sprains, strains, tendon damage, and torn ligaments
- Neck injuries
- Back injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- External head, facial, and dental injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Burns
- Traumatic amputations
- Spinal cord injuries
- Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions
- Chest and thoracic injuries
Tragically, some drunk driving accidents in El Paso end in fatalities. If you lost a loved one due to a drunk driver, an El Paso wrongful death attorney can recover compensation for a close surviving family member, such as a wife, parent, or adult child.
Explaining the Dram Shop Act
Bars, restaurants, clubs, liquor stores, and other establishments that sell or serve alcohol are not supposed to allow patrons who are obviously intoxicated to buy more alcoholic beverages, according to rules set by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. They should also refuse to provide alcohol to persons under 21. When these businesses or their employees knowingly serve alcohol to minors or adults who are visibly already drunk, the Dram Shop Act makes them responsible as a contributing party to the actions of someone who injured others.
Social hosts generally cannot be held liable for serving alcohol to adults or their own children who go on to cause car accidents. However, it may be possible to hold them responsible for serving minors who are not their own children.
The Texas Safe Harbor Act
This Texas law protects some businesses that provide alcohol against being held liable if a patron they served causes a drunk driving accident. Establishments meeting these standards may be exempt from liability:
- Their employees must go through specific training before being allowed to serve or sell alcohol.
- The server who provided the alcoholic beverage to minors or an already intoxicated adult did complete the required responsible alcohol service training.
If the establishment can show that it meets these requirements, you will need to prove that the server who provided the alcohol was encouraged in some way to sell it. This encouragement could be direct or indirect.
Because of this provision, it is sometimes challenging to hold establishments liable for contributing to causing a drunk driving crash. A car accident lawyer with experience handling dram shop liability claims can improve your chances of a favorable outcome.
Explaining Liability in Drunk Driving Accidents
When a car accident happens, each driver is assigned a percentage of fault for causing the collision. Their fault makes it possible for you to collect compensation as long as your degree of fault is less than 51 percent. If the Dram Shop Act is involved, the list of potentially liable parties expands to include the business that served alcohol.
Stating that someone is liable will not convince their insurance company to give you any compensation unless you have evidence to support your claim. Proving fault under the Dram Shop Act requires an investigation. While most people lack the legal knowledge and resources to conduct a proper investigation, our drunk driving accident attorney in El Paso routinely investigates injury accidents and gathers evidence to hold the responsible parties liable.
As an added bonus, Attorney Cal Mundell previously represented insurance companies, so he has inside knowledge about how they operate. He will use this knowledge to your benefit.
Damages Available in Drunk Driving Crashes
If you qualify, you may be able to receive reimbursement and compensation for a variety of damages, such as:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Property damage
- Ongoing care
- Pain and suffering
- Diminished quality of life
Contact our firm 24/7 to request your free consultation. We will discuss your case, give you information and legal advice, and estimate how much compensation you might be eligible to receive. If you choose to work with us, we will fight to protect your best interests and hold all at-fault parties accountable.
How Can an El Paso Dram Shop Lawyer Help?
If you’ve been injured in an accident caused by a drunk driver, you and your family deserve financial accountability and a sense of justice, as well as full compensation for your accident-related damages. An El Paso Dram Shop attorney will do the following:
- Investigate all aspects of the drunk driving accident and the hours leading up to the accident
- Interview eyewitnesses and review any security camera footage to document evidence of the intentional over-serving of a visibly intoxicated patron or underage drinker, showing that the establishment or social host failed to meet its legal duty of care
- Consult with medical experts to provide evidence of the impacts of the driver’s blood alcohol concentration
- Carefully calculate your damages to maximize the amount you can recover in a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance and through a dram shop liability claim
- Send their findings in a demand package to the appropriate insurance company or companies
- Negotiate on your behalf for the largest possible settlement, or
- Take your case to court to present evidence to a judge and jury to assertively argue for a large jury award for your damages
A civil claim for your damages after a drunk driving accident proceeds independently from any criminal charges in the case. Liability does not depend on a drunk driving conviction.
Contact Our El Paso Dram Shop Liability Lawyer
Cal Mundell Law Firm, PLLC focuses on personal injury cases, so we understand the applicable laws for drunk driving accidents in Texas. Cal will fight for your right to fair compensation, and you will not pay us any fees unless we win. Contact us at 915-250-0700 to schedule your free consultation.