Our lawyers at Marciano & MacAvoy, P.C. recently settled two liquor liability cases on behalf of our clients. In this blog, we tell you about the details of both of these cases.
Case #1
In this case, Sweeney’s Saloon in Northeast Philadelphia over-served alcohol to a drunk driver, which resulted in an accident that badly injured a 53-year-old woman and killed her best friend and husband. Our client suffered serious injuries, including multiple fractures to her lower extremities that required debridement and surgery, which left her in a wheelchair for an extended period of time. Due to the negligent actions of the bar and the drunk driver, our clients’ three children had their father taken away from them.
Prior to arriving at Sweeney’s, the drunk driver had up to four drinks. He was then served at least a half-dozen more drinks in addition to multiple shots of liquor while he was at Sweeney’s. According to one eyewitness, the driver was drunk and was slurring his words and stumbling while he was at Sweeney’s, and yet Sweeney’s kept serving him alcohol. Witnesses who saw the crash said the drunk driver was weaving in and out of traffic when he struck the right-side rear quarter panel of our clients’ vehicle, causing the vehicle to strike the center median and roll over several times.
The drunk driver initially lied to the investigating police and told them he drank much earlier in the night and that he had been rear-ended. He ultimately confessed to drinking more than ten alcohol drinks before the accident with our client. The drunk driver’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.216%, more than two-and-a-half times the legal limit. The terms of the settlement forced the defendants to make personal contributions to Mothers Against Drunk Driving
The driver was arrested and pled guilty to multiple criminal charges including:
- Driving under the influence
- The highest rate of alcohol
- Homicide by motor vehicle while driving under the influence
- Aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence
Case #2
In this case, we were able to secure a favorable settlement on behalf of a client who was killed in a drunk driving accident caused by the over-service of alcohol by bartenders at Scorecard Sport’s Bar and Grill in Wind Gap, Pennsylvania.
In over 3 hours and 23 minutes, the bartenders served 16-17 beers and a shot to just one patron without serving him any food. The patron left Scorecard Sport’s Bar and Grill with a blood alcohol level of 0.206%, which is two-and-a-half times the legal limit for driving.
Due to the bar’s negligence, our client was involved in a fiery motor vehicle collision that resulted in his death. The bar had previously been fined for multiple violations of Pennsylvania’s laws regarding the service of alcohol. The bar also allowed patrons to drink alcohol well after the legal closing time. In this case, the bar even had security camera video footage showing the excessive amount its many patrons were served in just a matter of hours.
Before we filed a lawsuit, our legal professionals were able to negotiate a favorable settlement for the victim’s family.
Have you or someone you know been seriously injured in an accident caused by a drunk driver? If so, you should call (215) 960-0789 to schedule your free case evaluation with one of our Philadelphia personal injury attorneys.
