Key Takeaways
- South Carolina lets people hurt by a drunk driver hold a bar or restaurant responsible for serving that driver too much alcohol.
- Strong claims depend on proof that a patron showed clear signs of intoxication while still ordering drinks.
- An intoxicated adult usually cannot sue a bar for his or her own injuries, although the people that patron hurts often can.
Charleston dram shop lawyers handle claims against bars and restaurants that keep serving customers who are already drunk. When one of those customers leaves and causes a car accident, South Carolina law lets injured people hold the business responsible alongside the driver. A law firm with decades of experience in South Carolina cases such as this can act quickly and identify every party who shares blame.
What Is Dram Shop Liability Under South Carolina Law?
Dram shop liability holds businesses that sell alcohol responsible for serving people who have already had too much. Although South Carolina has no separate dram shop statute, state law bars businesses from selling alcohol to anyone they know, or should know, is intoxicated or under 21. Courts treat breaking those rules as carelessness, which gives injured people the right to file a civil claim.
When Can a Charleston Bar or Restaurant Be Held Liable for Overserving?
Picture a bartender on Upper King Street or Center Street on Folly Beach pouring another round for a patron who is slurring and stumbling, just before that patron drives off and hits another car. Liability can arise when staff keeps serving a customer who is clearly drunk, and that customer later hurts someone else.
How Do You Prove a Business Served a Visibly Intoxicated Patron?
Proof usually comes from evidence and eyewitnesses. Bar tabs show how many drinks a patron ordered and when, while security video may capture stumbling, slurred speech, or rowdy behavior. Other customers and staff can fill in the gaps with what they saw. And since many businesses record over footage within days, a dram shop lawyer who Charleston families hire will ask for it right away.
How Does Dram Shop Liability Apply to Drunk Driving Crashes?
A bar found liable must pay for the harm its overserved patron caused, including the claimant’s medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. A jury may also split fault between the bar and the driver, so injured claimants can collect from both. Those costs hit hard in a state where alcohol or drug collisions injured 3,372 people in 2023, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
How a Charleston Dram Shop Lawyer Investigates Overservice Claims
A dram shop and liquor liability lawyer in Charleston, SC, starts these investigations with the crash report, which may list blood alcohol results that estimate how drunk the driver was at the bar. From there, the legal team retraces the driver’s evening through evidence such as credit card statements and phone location data, which can reveal every business that served him.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a drunk patron sue the bar that served him?
South Carolina courts generally bar an intoxicated adult from suing over his or her own injuries.
How long does someone have to file a dram shop claim in South Carolina?
Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years of the crash. Families filing wrongful death claims also get three years, counted from the date of death.
Does dram shop liability cover harm other than car accidents?
Dram shop claims can cover other harm an overserved patron causes, such as a fight outside a bar or a boating crash on the Wando River. In each case, the central question is whether the business kept serving someone that it should have cut off.
Charleston Dram Shop Lawyers at Rogers, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman LLC Hold Bars Accountable After One More Round Ends in Tragedy
To learn if you might have a claim against a bar for an accident, contact the Charleston dram shop lawyers at Rogers, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman LLC. Our experienced legal team handles claims against bars and restaurants that keep serving customers who are already drunk. Call us at 843-727-6500 or complete the online form to schedule a free case evaluation. We have offices in Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Aiken, and Columbia, South Carolina, and we serve clients throughout the state.