A DeKalb County, Georgia jury has awarded $1.75 million to the mother of a woman who was killed in a car wreck in 2008. On Labor Day weekend, three years ago, a man who was over-served alcohol by a strip club and attempted to drive home.
The victim was 22 years old when she was killed, and left behind two small children.
At the time of the collision, the drunk driver was traveling the wrong way on I-20 with a blood alcohol level of 0.398.
The man's blood alcohol level was so high that there was no way that employees of the strip club would not have noticed. In fact, his blood content was almost five times the legal limit which is a level often causing loss of consciousness, loss of
bladder control, decreased breathing, coma, and even death. In other
words, his level of intoxication was far beyond that which might go
unnoticed by others and so high, in fact, that most would be unable to
operate a vehicle at all.
The purpose behind a given state's Dram Shop Law is simple -- to
discourage a vendor from continuing to serve alcohol to a person that is
clearly past their legal limit. Since the bartender has the choice to
stop or continue serving the customer, he or she should be held liable
when they ignore the signs of heavy intoxication that later cause major
death or injury to another.
How is it that none of the employees at this establishment knew he was this intoxicated or how many drinks they had served him?
