Dram Shop Cases - Can a Bar Be Held Accountable for Over-serving?

Short answer: Yes, absolutely. Long answer: It depends on what happened and what we can prove. 

Plenty of people enjoy going out and having a good time and there is nothing wrong with that. But, if bars aren’t responsible when it comes to serving alcohol to their patrons, things can turn fatal. Colorado has laws in place that can hold a bar or restaurant liable if they over-serve a customer and that customer then causes a crash due to drunk driving. 

For these cases, we have to be able to prove that the bar did something wrong. There is nothing wrong with serving alcohol to a guest. The problem comes from the bar continuing to serve alcohol to someone who is obviously intoxicated.

How can we find out if someone was overly intoxicated? Well, that’s where extensive investigation comes in to play. The police can help obtain some of this information, but they are not always motivated to get this evidence - and it can accidentally be written over or destroyed if it isn’t saved on time. That’s why to want to find an attorney, like the attorneys at Francis Owen, who are experienced in drunk driving cases, to help make sure that any evidence is saved and shared properly.

If you or a loved one were injured in a drunk driving accident, reach out to us and we can investigate whether there is another player at fault.