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Dram Shop Lawyer Serving the Houston Area
If you or a loved one was injured due to a Houston drunk driving accident involving a negligent bar, club, or restaurant, you may have a claim under Texas dram shop laws. At Abraham Watkins, we provide experienced legal representation for dram shop cases across the greater Houston area, including Tomball, The Woodlands, Texas City, Sugar Land, Spring, Sienna Plantation, Rosharon, Rosenberg, Richmond, Prairie View, Pearland, Pasadena, Manvel, Magnolia, League City, Kingwood, Katy, Humble, Galena Park, Fulshear, Deer Park, Cypress, Conroe, Cinco Ranch, Baytown, Alvin, Harris County and surrounding communities.
Our Houston-based personal injury attorneys understand the devastating effects of drunk driving accidents and are committed to holding alcohol-serving establishments accountable when they contribute to those tragedies.
What Is a Dram Shop Claim?
Under the Texas Dram Shop Act, businesses that serve alcohol can be held legally responsible if they over-serve a customer who then causes an accident.
A dram shop claim can be filed against:
- Bars
- Nightclubs
- Restaurants
- Convenience stores or any licensed alcohol vendors
These establishments may be liable if they served alcohol to someone who was clearly intoxicated and that person went on to cause an accident that resulted in injuries or death.
Dram Shop Liability in Texas
To succeed in a dram shop claim, Texas law requires proving two main elements:
- The establishment knowingly served alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person who posed a clear danger to themselves or others.
- That intoxication was a proximate cause of the resulting damages (such as a crash).
Our firm has deep knowledge of Texas liquor laws and decades of experience litigating dram shop cases. We will investigate your case thoroughly, gathering:
- Surveillance footage
- Eyewitness testimony
- Expert toxicology analysis
- Receipts or proof of alcohol service
Examples of Dram Shop Injuries We Handle
Drunk driving crashes can lead to severe injuries and wrongful death. Our team handles cases involving:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Broken bones
- Internal organ damage
- Fatalities and wrongful death lawsuits
Whether your accident happened in League City, Katy, or Pearland, our attorneys are ready to help you pursue justice.
Who Can Claim in a Dram Shop Liability Case?
If any premise that serves alcohol overserves a customer and that customer goes on to be the drunk driver in a DUI accident, anyone injured in that accident has the right to seek compensation through a dram shop lawsuit.
This includes:
- Other drivers.
- Passengers in either car.
- Pedestrians.
- The family of anyone killed.
- In rare cases, the intoxicated driver themselves.
Deadlines For a Texas Dram Shop Claim
The state of Texas places a deadline on how long you have to bring a claim against a dram shop.
The statute of limitations states that from the incident of the accident, you have 2 years to bring a claim before you are barred from making any claims relating to that incident.
Two years may seem like a long time, but this is only the deadline for bringing the claim. For all personal injury cases, the sooner you act, the better your chances of seeking full and maximum compensation.
This is because the sooner you get in touch, the sooner your attorney will be able to begin their investigations. Evidence is easier to find and more substantial the closer to the incident it is discovered.
The longer you wait, the more chance there will be that the CCTV footage is deleted or that the witnesses’ memories become fuzzy.
What is the Safe Harbor Defense to Dram Shop Liability?
There are certain measures that can be implemented by a venue that serves alcohol in order to help them reduce their liability.
The main specialized defense that they may use to do this is called the Safe Harbor Defense.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission created a special 2-hour training course that dram shops may give to their employees.
This training is not compulsory and a bartender does not have to receive it in Texas to serve alcohol, but if dram shops want to use the Safe Harbor Defense, they must be able to prove they gave the training.
As well as proving the bartender that served the patron has received this training they can not have been found to have coerced the bartender into serving the intoxicated person.
For more on the Texas Dram Shop Act and the Safer Harbor Defense, refer to 106.14 of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code.
What Is the Average Settlement for Dram Shop Claims in Houston, TX?
The compensation that can be awarded as a result of an accident can vary massively depending on a range of different factors:
- The severity of the injuries.
- How costly medical bills are.
- The past and potential future medical expenses.
- The fault.
- The age of the injured victim.
- How much the accident has impacted your day-to-day life.
All of the above factors can either be quantified with physical costs, like medical bills and damages to property, or graded on a scale if they do not have a cost attached.
Your Houston dram shop attorney will look at all your physical costs, medical bills, and damages to calculate the total cost. They will then apply a multiplier to this number depending upon the severity of your pain and suffering. This will allow them to calculate a total settlement figure which they will send to the other party’s insurance companies.
The other party will either accept your settlement, decline it, or send a counter offer.
If they decline it or offer a counter-offer that you refuse, your attorney will use the case they have built (the investigation and your evidence), to take them to court. Here they will use your case to convince the court that you are deserving of the figure you are seeking.
What Damages Can I Claim in a Tomball Dram Shop Liability Claim
There are two main types of damages that your attorney will need to calculate in order to form a settlement figure.
Economic Damages
Your economic damages are the damages you have suffered that have cost you physical money. If you have had to repair your car or replace it, these are economic damages. Medical bills also fall under economic damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Noneconomic damages are the damages you have suffered that are harder to place a sum on. You should be compensated for your emotional and mental trauma, for example, even though they do not have a physical cost.
Other examples include a loss of enjoyment of life. If you cannot go camping anymore because of your injuries, this should be compensated.
The most common damages your lawyer will be calculating include:
Lost Income
Most accidents caused by a drunk driver lead to injuries that are serious enough that you need to take time off work and you should not be out of pocket for your lost wages.
By calculating how much time you have had to take off work for your treatment and considering how much time you may have to take off work in the future, your attorney will be able to put a figure to your lost income.
In more serious cases, if you can never return to work in the same capacity, your attorney may calculate how much a lifetime of lost wages may cost you.
Medical Bills
One of the biggest worries for victims is that their medical expenses exceed their medical coverage. This may mean you have to pay for your treatment out of your own pocket. If you cannot afford this, you may not receive the treatment you desperately need.
Your Tomball drunk driving attorney will help you claim for:
- Surgery costs.
- Medicine costs.
- Treatment, therapy, and physiotherapy.
- Parking charges whilst at the hospital.
- Transport to and from the hospital, taxis, ambulances, etc.
If you want to seek full recompense for all of your medical bills, you need to make sure that you keep all of your bills and receipts. This will help your attorney accurately calculate your medical damages.
Another way that you can assist your attorney, is by keeping a daily diary of your treatment, pain, and mood. Each day, make a note of how you feel and how much pain you are in, and keep a detailed log of your treatment.
Pain and Suffering
Your pain and suffering includes damages that do not have a physical figure attached. If you can no longer play catch with your son, ride a bike with your daughter or play sports you used to play, this is known as a loss of enjoyment of life and should be compensated for.
If you have developed a phobia of driving or now have anxiety attacks behind the wheel, this is another example of pain and suffering and you should seek compensation with your attorney.
Dram Shop Liability Defenses
Over-serving alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person is negligent behavior. Negligence is the term used when someone behaves differently from how a reasonable person would in a similar situation. For example, if a bartender sees a patron slurring their speech but served alcohol anyway, then this is negligence.
However, there are possible defenses that dram shops can use to limit their liability. These defenses should not stop you from speaking to a law firm.
Social Host Exemption
Hosts to other adults or their own children cannot be found liable under dram shop laws if their guest causes a drunk driving accident. This includes parents serving alcohol to their own children, or adults serving alcohol to guests aged 18 or older.
Safe Harbor Defense
Dram shops that otherwise abide by the rules of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), and provide full and proper training to their employees may be able to defend their over-serving as an “honest mistake.”. However, they must be able to prove that their staff are up to date with training and that they did not coerce them into continuing to serve alcohol when they should have stopped.
Dram Shop Lawyer FAQ
Who is the 3rd party in a dram shop liability lawsuit?
In a dram shop case, the dram shop (i.e. the bar, restaurant or other establishment), that served alcohol to the drunk driver who caused the accident is the third party. The dram shop is the third party because although they were not at the scene when the accident occurred, they may still be held liable.
How long do dram shop cases take to settle?
Dram shop cases can take a few months, or they may take years to settle. It will depend on things such as how clear liability is, how willing the at-fault party is to settle, the complexity of your case and severity of your injuries.
Is compensation guaranteed?
Compensation in a dram shop liability case is never guaranteed, and any firm that claims otherwise should be avoided. However, if your attorney works on a contingency fee basis, like those at Abraham Watkins, then they will assess your case, and they will only take it on if they believe you have a good chance of success. This is because your attorney only takes a fee if your case is successful.
Is dram shop strict liability?
Dram shop laws in Texas establish liability on negligence which means that the person who served alcohol did not act as a reasonable person would have when they served alcohol to a clearly intoxicated customer. This is different from strict liability, which places legal responsibility on the defendant without fault or criminal intent.
Can I pursue a dram shop claim without an attorney?
While it is possible to pursue a dram shop claim without an attorney, it will be difficult to navigate state laws and prove that a dram shop was responsible for your damages. Hiring an attorney not only makes the process much easier for you and your family, but thanks to their experience and reputation, victims often end up with a larger settlement, even when attorney fees are considered.
Should I speak with an insurance adjuster?
Insurance companies are big businesses, and their top priority is profit, which means paying you as little as possible. Insurance adjusters may offer you a deal that seems good, or they may record conversations that seem straightforward but are actually being used to try and get you to say something to devalue your claim. The best thing you can do is inform them that you wish for them to liaise with your attorney.
Why Choose Abraham Watkins?
Here at Abraham Watkins, one of the longest-standing law firms in the entirety of Texas, we are a name you can trust. Our Houston dram shop attorneys have won favorable results for previous clients across numerous cases just like yours.
We have won quick settlements for clients in simple cases and we have fought long difficult battles for our clients involved in more complex situations.
We fight aggressively to protect the rights of our clients and you can rest easy knowing that we won’t give up until you get the fair and reasonable treatment that you deserve.
Remember, the more time that passes between the accident and the point where you call us for help, the harder it can be to investigate to the full extent of our ability. The sooner you call us, the sooner we can put our vast resources to work on your behalf.
If you or someone you love has been a victim of a drunk driving accident, don’t let the drunk driver or the irresponsible venue that overserved them get away with it.
Call Abraham Watkins today and seek the compensation you deserve.
Our phone lines are manned around the clock, call us at 713-222-7211!
Serving Clients Across the Greater Houston Area
No matter where your accident occurred — from Spring to Sienna Plantation, or Cypress to Conroe — our Houston dram shop lawyers are prepared to assist you. We’ve helped injured clients in:
- Tomball
- The Woodlands
- Texas City
- Sugar Land
- Spring
- Sienna Plantation
- Rosharon
- Rosenberg
- Richmond
- Prairie View
- Pearland
- Pasadena
- Manvel
- Magnolia
- League City
- Kingwood
- Katy
- Humble
- Galena Park
- Fulshear
- Deer Park
- Cypress
- Conroe
- Cinco Ranch
- Baytown
- Alvin
Contact a Houston Dram Shop Lawyer Today
If a drunk driver caused your injuries or took the life of someone you love — and you believe a business played a role in over-serving them — don’t wait to speak with a lawyer.
Call Abraham Watkins for a free consultation. We’ll help you understand your legal options and fight to hold negligent parties accountable.
Call us today or visit our Houston office to schedule a free, confidential case review.
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