Getting injured on the road usually involves some form of distraction or intoxication where the at-fault driver, due to having impaired cognition, causes an accident that could have been prevented had they done the right thing at the right time. During periods such as Spring Break or graduation, our roads are filled with rowdy students and young adults acting recklessly in just about every major city. Some of these youth, unfortunately, make poor choices and consume alcohol before setting out on the road.

This then leads to a catastrophic car crash where you a loved one gets injured due to the actions of people who, despite their age, are expected to be responsible and make good choices. The law makes it possible for you to seek justice and compensation in such cases as long as you can prove that this individual had a duty of care towards you when it comes to keeping you safe and that they breached this duty by acting in a manner that is deemed negligence, and your injuries were a direct consequence of said negligence.

The drunk driver claim usually involves laws known as dram shop laws, which involve bars and other commercial establishments being held liable for serving an already inebriated individual who then gets on the road and causes an accident. However, what happens if the youth just left a private property where they attended a party and consumed alcohol? Many individuals are of the assumption that because there was a social host overseeing the party, this host is not responsible for the actions of their guests.

However, this couldn’t be further from the truth – a legal concept known as social host liability holds individuals who provide alcohol to a minor responsible for any injuries that this minor may cause. In this article, we shall examine the intricacies of this law in order to provide you with information on how we as a best drunk driving law firm, can help you seek justice and compensation even when there seems to be no tangible answer ahead – read on to find out more.

Are you looking for a best injury attorney? Please call us NOW at (314) 481-63338 to learn more about your legal options for justice and compensation. The experienced injury lawyers at McCready Law bring to the table over 90 YEARS of combined legal experience where we’ve helped tens of thousands of injured Americans from all corners of the country as well as different socioeconomic backgrounds recover compensation after getting injured on account of the negligent actions of other individuals.

Over the decades, we’ve been able to recover over $260 million and counting for our clients, with a large chunk of these settlements and judgments ranging in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our success can be attributed to a number of factors such as the fact that we personally handle and process all claims from start to finish, unlike the majority of law firms that relegate this kind of work to legal assistants or paralegals who usually do not have the prerequisite skills and experience to successfully recover compensation.

We also engage top experts in the forensic, medical, investigative and accounting fields in order to craft a compelling case replete with objective evidence that demonstrates causation and negligence that can be quantified by way of damages. We also aren’t afraid to litigate claims because ,unlike most law firms, we have the experience and resources to successfully take a claim to court and have it heard by a judge or jury in order to recover maximum compensation allowable by law or the particular jurisdiction.

We run a bilingual firm (hablamos Español), and we have nationwide reach thanks to our trusted network of referral injury attorneys and law firms that we work closely with. Last but not least is the fact that we take on all claims on contingency fee basis, which simply means that there are ZERO UPFRONT FEES for the duration of the processing of your claim, as we only levy our fees at the end of the suit, and only if we’ve recovered compensation on your behalf. If you or a loved one got injured due to the negligent actions of others, please give us a call NOW at (314) 481-63338 to learn more about your legal options for justice and compensation: our intake team is standing by.

Understanding Social Host Liability in Drunk Driving Injury Lawsuits

The social host liability legal doctrine allows an injured individual to seek damages from a private individual who provided alcohol to a guest if said guest then went on to cause harm to another individual on account of their intoxication.

Traditionally, all blame for said harm would fall on the intoxicated individual; however, the law takes into account that the party host isn’t innocent in this debacle since the act of providing alcohol to guests apportions some form of responsibility to them when it comes to the safety of the partygoers as well as members of the public.

That being said, it is important to note that social host liability doesn’t apply to all situations as most states opine this form of liability only applies when the host serves alcohol to a minor. These laws take into account public policy whereby anyone who supplies alcohol to those who aren’t legally allowed to either consume or purchase it has a heightened duty of care.

Foreseeability here comes into play as one can predict that the minor’s lack of experience with alcohol as well as their underdeveloped judgment may lead them to harm themselves or others. What constitutes a minor ranges from one state to another; however, most states have social host liability laws, and the legal drinking age is usually 21 and above.

Let’s take a look at some of the key elements of a social host liability claim:

1. The host had a duty of care to protect you or your loved one from harm. By serving alcohol to a minor, a special relationship is created whereby one is expected to act in a responsible manner, but opts to create a foreseeable risk of harm by serving said alcohol anyway.
2. The host provided alcohol to a minor which can be proved via the minor’s ID as well as an invitation to the party whereby even if the host provided an open bar can still be held liable
3. The host’s actions caused the minor’s intoxication whereby we must prove that the inebriation from the alcohol was the proximate cause of the auto accident. This can be proven via the furnishing of police reports detailing the minor’s blood alcohol content at the time of the accident.
4. The victim suffered compensable damages such as medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and a constellation of other provable emotional and financial losses.

Best Nationwide Injury Lawyers – Call Us Today!

If you or a loved one was injured by an intoxicated minor and have doubts whether justice will be served on account of their age, please give us a call NOW at (314) 481-63338 so we can assess your potential claim and advise further. We take on cases nationwide, and there is no legal obligation nor nothing to sign, and your first consultation is 100% FREE. Thanks for choosing McCready Law, and we look forward to helping you.