Austin, TX asked in Business Law for Texas

Q: If we are not sure customer drink alcohol in restaurant after happen accident,what does restaurant can do

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2 Lawyer Answers

A: This sounds to me like you are asking about a "dram shop" case where a patron of a business selling alcohol consumes too much and then has a collision while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

In a dram shop case, the business/bartender/licensee is liable only if they served the patron when he/she was already obviously intoxicated. It could be obvious either by observing the patron at the time the alcohol was served (which is why the TABC classes teach those serving alcohol to recognize an intoxicated customer) or by the quantity of alcohol served to the customer at the restaurant (which is why restaurants have a maximum number of drinks they will serve to a customer).

If a customer or third party has sued you, your attorney will be able to subpoena the customer's credit and debit card records to determine if they purchased alcoholic beverages somewhere else after they left your restaurant. Your attorney will also likely create a timeline based on your cash register records showing when the customer tabbed out at your restaurant and when the collision happened.

If you have been sued or if a claim has been made against your restaurant, it is very important that you immediately notify your dram shop insurance provider, which is typically your CGL insurance company, so it can assign an attorney to defend you and an adjuster to investigate the claim. Meanwhile, preserve your cash register records for the day that the customer was served at your restaurant. If possible, try to identify the transactions pertaining to that customer. These records should identify the server who served the customer. Pull that server's employee file and alcohol server certification and send it to the attorney or adjuster provided by your insurance company. Also preserve all video surveillance recordings of the day the customer visited your restaurant.

Tim Akpinar agrees with this answer

A: As my colleague advises, contact your insurance company. They retain attorneys who specialize in dram shop law. The defense will review available evidence in terms of the patron's outwardly visible signs, no of drinks, etc. Good luck

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