Claims Against Alcohol Servers - Dram Shop Attorneys

Most states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have enacted so-called dram shop laws that prohibit bars and restaurants from serving alcohol to visibly intoxicated patrons. Adults who serve alcoholic beverages to underage teenagers and children in their homes—or otherwise purchase or supply alcohol to underage drinkers—may also be guilty of liquor liability.

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SMB’s team of liquor liability lawyers have extensive experience representing the victims of reckless servers of alcoholic beverages.

Too many innocent people are catastrophically injured or killed by drunk drivers. We can and have held bars responsible for recklessly serving intoxicated patrons—including a $75 million verdict, the largest liquor liability verdict against a bar in U.S. history.

Robert J. Mongeluzzi

Despite more than 30 years of increasing public awareness of the problem and more aggressive law enforcement, drunk driving continues to be a major public health issue. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control:

  • More than 10,000 people die each year in alcohol-impaired driving crashes (which account for about 30% of all traffic-related deaths in the U.S.)
  • Each year more than 1 million drivers are arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, but when U.S. adults are surveyed, they self-report over 110 million incidents of alcohol-impaired driving

Unmatched Results

SMB’s team of liquor liability attorneys have secured numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for our clients in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, including:

  • $75,000,000 verdict for a road construction flagman run over by a driver who got intoxicated at the bar/restaurant he managed
  • $4,400,000 settlement for two passengers who were killed, and a third who was seriously injured, when the drunk driver taking them home crashed his truck
  • $20,000,000 settlement of bad faith claim against insurer to pay verdict awarded in underlying liquor liability case
  • $7,000,000 settlement for estate of beating death victim in Philadelphia
  • $1,600,000 settlement for victim killed by drunk driver in Delaware County
  • $1,000,000 verdict for injured victim of drunk driver in Monroe County

Unmatched Experience

Because most drunk drivers rarely have enough auto insurance coverage to adequately compensate the people they kill or seriously injure, it is critical to hold the businesses that served them responsible. In pursuing these cases, SMB acts quickly to:

  • Determine the drunk driver’s blood-alcohol level
  • Analyze restaurant and bar bills to determine how many drinks the driver consumed
  • Interview witnesses at the restaurant/bar about the driver’s visible intoxication
  • Determine the adequacy of the restaurant’s or bar’s policies and procedures for handling intoxicated patrons
  • Determine if the bartenders, wait staff, and facility managers were properly trained in alcohol service and the handling of intoxicated patrons

Unmatched Compensation

Bar and restaurants—as well as private clubs and homeowners—that serve alcohol to intoxicated or underaged individuals, may all be liable for injuries caused by the drinkers. SMB works tirelessly to obtain the compensation that the victims of reckless alcohol servers deserve, including payments for pain and suffering, emotional trauma, medical costs, lost income, and future earnings.

If you have been injured—or a family member has been injured or killed—as a result of a drunk driver or negligent server of alcohol, SMB is committed to achieving all the results you need and deserve.

Ready for a free confidential case evaluation?

Contact us TODAY. Timing is critical for your case.