Dram Shop Expert Witness: Alcohol Overservice Cases
Every 44 minutes, someone dies in an alcohol-impaired-driving crash in America.
In 2024, 11,904 people were killed in these crashes.
Behind those numbers are real people, families, injuries and deaths.
In some cases, an important question must be asked:
Where was the alcohol served?
A dram shop expert witness may examine what happened inside a restaurant or bar before a serious alcohol-related incident.
Dram Shop Expert Witness and Alcohol Overservice
Alcohol overservice can have serious consequences.
Restaurants and bars should train employees to recognize the signs of visible intoxication.
Employees should also understand the establishment’s alcohol-service policies and procedures.
Depending on the case, important questions may include:
- How much alcohol was served?
- Over what period of time was it served?
- Who served the alcohol?
- What did employees observe?
- Were signs of intoxication present?
- What training had employees received?
- Were managers involved?
- Did the establishment follow its own alcohol-service procedures?
- What records, receipts or video evidence exist?
These questions can become important in a dram shop case.
What Is Visible Intoxication?
Visible intoxication is not determined simply by knowing someone’s blood alcohol concentration.
Restaurant and bar employees generally do not know a customer’s BAC while serving that person.
Instead, employees must observe the customer.
Possible signs may involve changes in speech, coordination, balance, behavior, judgment or appearance.
One sign by itself may not establish intoxication.
However, multiple signs or a noticeable change in behavior may become significant.
That is why alcohol-server training matters.
Employee Training in Dram Shop Cases
A written alcohol policy sitting in an office isn’t enough.
Employees need to know what the policy says.
They also need to understand how to apply it during actual service.
A dram shop expert witness may examine the restaurant’s training program, employee manuals, alcohol-service policies, management procedures and other available evidence.
The analysis may also consider whether employees were trained to recognize signs of intoxication and what they were instructed to do when those signs appeared.
Management Matters
Alcohol service is not solely the responsibility of the bartender or server.
Management practices can matter, too.
Managers may establish policies, supervise employees, respond to difficult customers and decide when alcohol service should stop.
Therefore, an alcohol-related incident may raise questions about what management knew, what employees reported and what action was taken.
Evidence in an Alcohol Overservice Case
The events inside a restaurant or bar may need to be reconstructed after a serious incident.
Evidence may include:
- Alcohol receipts
- Point-of-sale records
- Credit card receipts
- Surveillance video
- Employee statements
- Witness statements
- Training records
- Employee manuals
- Alcohol-service policies
- Incident reports
- Management records
- Police reports
- Applicable laws and regulations
- Restaurant and bar industry standards
No single piece of evidence necessarily tells the entire story.
The objective is to understand what happened during the period when alcohol was being served.
What Does a Dram Shop Expert Witness Do?
A dram shop expert witness provides restaurant and bar industry expertise.
The expert may analyze alcohol-service procedures, employee training, management practices, visible signs of intoxication and other operational issues relevant to the case.
That analysis can help attorneys understand how the establishment operated and how the evidence compares with applicable restaurant and bar industry practices.
The expert does not decide the ultimate legal question of liability.
That belongs to the court.
Dram Shop Laws Vary by State
Dram shop and alcohol-liability laws are not identical throughout the United States.
Requirements can vary significantly by jurisdiction.
Therefore, an expert analysis should distinguish between the applicable law and the restaurant or bar industry practices being evaluated.
Attorneys determine the legal theories involved.
The dram shop expert witness helps explain the restaurant and bar operations.
Where Was the Alcohol Served?
After an alcohol-related crash, the focus naturally turns to the road.
But sometimes the story began much earlier.
It began at a table.
At a bar.
With another drink.
With an employee who observed the customer.
With a manager who may or may not have become involved.
That’s why one question can become so important:
Where was the alcohol served?
Got a Dram Shop Case?
Restaurant Expert Witness – Howard Cannon provides restaurant and bar industry analysis involving alcohol service, visible intoxication, employee training, management practices and alcohol overservice.
Howard provides expert opinions, reports, testimony and litigation support for attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants.
Got a dram shop or alcohol overservice case?
Call us at 800.300.5764 today for a FREE No Obligation Initial Consultation!
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To find out more about us and what makes Restaurant Expert Witness Howard Cannon and his team experts in the restaurant and bar industry, watch a video here or explore our website here!