Posted on January 31, 2010 by Scott Grossman

New Jersey Lawsuit Blames Taverns for Victim's Brain Injury

New Jersey’s dram shop liability laws are involved in a lawsuit involving a man who was served alcohol while he was intoxicated, ended up in a fight and suffered serious brain injuries.   

The lawsuit has been filed by Louis Vozza. In June 2008, his uncle Daniel Vozza drank alcohol at one establishment, the Harley’s Irish Pub, before moving on to another one, Straphanger Saloon where he continued to drink. Then, Vozza got into a fight with the owner of the Straphanger Saloon, who was also intoxicated. During the scuffle, the bar owner apparently grabbed Vozza’s shirt, causing the man to fall on the asphalt and strike his head. Vozza suffered a serious brain injury, which has since left him mentally incapacitated. He suffers from memory loss, among other problems.  The lawsuit names the two establishments, and claims that these two served alcohol to Vozza who was “visibly intoxicated.” The owner of Harley’s Irish Pub insists that Vozza was not drunk when he left the bar on the day of the fight.

Under New Jersey dram shop laws, a drinking establishment like a restaurant, pub, club or bar may be named in a civil action, if the establishment serves a visibly drunk patron who then goes out and injures someone.  Defining whether a patron was visibly intoxicated when the establishment served him more alcohol, can be tricky. Staff members are very likely to insist that the person did not seem drunk at the time.

Unfortunately, even with these laws in place, accidents and injuries from violations of these laws, continue to occur. An establishment’s failure to serve customers and conduct business ethically can leave an innocent person injured or even dead.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey personal injury lawyer representing injured victims of auto and truck accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.

 

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Posted on January 27, 2009 by Scott Grossman

New Jersey Supreme Court Rules Club Not Liable in Accident

 

Image Courtesy: Flickr - Gwaar

Last Thursday, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that a club in Burlington County that served alcohol to a guest was not liable for any civil claims arising out of an accident, because he was not visibly intoxicated at the time of leaving the venue.

In Aril 2002, Stephen Mikalic was a passenger in a car driven by John Kinnerman. The two had just left the Happy Hour Social and Athletic Club in Maple Shade, where they had been drinking. The car crashed into a van killing both men, as well as two other passengers in the car. Kinnerman's blood alcohol level at the time of the car accident was .018.   Mikalic's widow filed a wrongful death claim against the club, stating that the club hosted a picnic where guests imbibed drinks from a beer truck at the venue. Her claim was that the staff at the club had a duty to monitor the level of intoxication of guests. The Court has now unanimously ruled that there was no negligence on the part of the club because of witnesses who testified that Kinnerman didn’t appear to be intoxicated as he left the venue.

The key phrase here is "appear to be visibly intoxicated"meaning that nobody at the club could testify that Kinnerman was stumbling over chairs, cussing at guests, or generally behaving drunk as he left the venue. But naturally, the plaintiff's argument is that staff members at the club who were in charge of food and drink should have been more observant, and made an effort to notice subtle changes in demeanor and appearance that signified that the person is intoxicated. What's not to say that the same argument won't be taken up in future when staff at a bar comes boldly forth to say they didn’t know the motorist, who had just left their establishment and killed four people in a crash, had been way above the legal drinking limit, because "Gee, he didn't look drunk at all!

New Jersey has dram shop laws that hold drinking establishments accountable for serving liquor to persons who appear intoxicated. Besides, there are also social host liability laws that hold persons serving liquor to other persons or minors in a non-commercial setting responsible in any accident claims. These laws can be tricky to apply to a real life scenario, because it isn’t always possible to detect signs of drunkenness in a patron who can hold his drinks very well. What may be enough to have a person lurching his way into an establishment thereby alerting staff, may be barely enough to give another a warm, feel happy buzz. In my years of practice as a Monmouth and Bergen County car accident lawyer, I have represented clients who have been injured by motorists served by bar staff who just couldn’t say no. If you have questions regarding a dram shop or social host liability claim, and need to speak to a Monmouth County personal injury lawyer, contact me at my office for a free consultation.

 

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