Drunk Driving Accidents

August 12, 2020

Navigating the Indiana Dram Shop Statute Following a Drunk Driving Accident

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

When an accident occurs involving drunk driving, many people do not know that the party that served the alcohol to the intoxicated person may be held liable for their negligence in serving the intoxicated party. However, there are exceptions. These exceptions typically occur when the chain of events does not show a direct link of causation between the consumption of alcohol and subsequent accident or injury. If there are intervening causes or an event occurs that breaks the chain of causation, the party who furnished the alcohol to the intoxicated party who caused the accident may not be liable.

In a recent court opinion, questions concerning the scope of a liquor licensee’s liability for injuries its patron caused after a night of drinking came under consideration. The day before the accident occurred, a man had worked a twelve-hour shift at his warehouse job. After finishing his shift, he headed to a family wedding reception, where he had some beer. After, he went out with a group of friends to a club owned by the defendant. On the way to the club, the man stopped at a convenience store and purchased a twenty-four-ounce container of beer, which he consumed while driving to the club. After several drinks at the club, the man and his group headed home for the night at around 2am and fell asleep.

At around 5am, the man got up to drive some friends home when he crashed his pickup truck into a car stopped at a red light, killing both of the car’s occupants. He was arrested at the scene and convicted of two counts of manslaughter and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The family members of those killed in the DUI accident filed a lawsuit, asserting dram shop liability against the club.

April 20, 2020

Holding Multiple Defendants Responsible Following an Indiana Drunk Driving Accident

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Drinking and driving is against the law because drunk drivers are far more likely to get into a car accident and injure or kill someone else. When this happens, accident victims can bring them to court in a civil negligence suit to recover for their injuries. What many people do not realize, however, is that the victims may be able to sue someone else too—those who served alcohol to the intoxicated driver.

The family of a 21-year-old woman killed in a tragic car accident last March is doing just that. According to a local news report covering the accident and subsequent lawsuit, the incident occurred on Saturday, March 7. The intoxicated driver, a 31-year-old woman, was driving a white SUV the wrong way on the highway when she hit another car, a white Chevrolet, head-on. Two women in the Chevrolet, age 21 and 22, were killed. There were also two children in the backseat of the Chevrolet; one of them died, and the other was taken to the hospital. The intoxicated driver was also taken to the hospital with severe injuries, and the criminal investigation into the crash is ongoing.

The family of the 21-year-old victim wasted no time in filing a civil negligence lawsuit. In the lawsuit, they accuse both the driver and Sazerac, the liquor brand the driver worked for. According to their complaint, the driver was a recruiter for Sazerac and was attending their Northwest Ordinance distilling Mardi Gras party shortly before the crash. The complaint alleges that Sazerac agents and employees saw the driver drunk and yet still allowed her to drive away. The driver, heavily intoxicated, drove away at 9 p.m., and about fourteen minutes later, 911 began receiving calls about the crash. Tragically, the local news article reported one of the calls made by a sobbing caller: “Oh my God, there’s somebody on the highway, and they’re driving the wrong way, and they just smashed somebody… those people are dead. There’s no way they survived that.”

November 19, 2019

When Can Indiana Businesses Be Held Liable for Providing Alcohol to Intoxicated Persons?

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Drunk driving is still a widespread issue throughout the country, which is why many states have developed strict laws to try to address it. In Indiana, the state’s Dram Shop Act (the Act) holds providers of alcoholic beverages liable in Indiana personal injury cases where the providers knowingly serve alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person. In those cases, the providers can be held responsible for any reasonably foreseeable consequences.

There are both criminal and civil penalties under the Act. A provider can be held liable for damages in a civil case if the provider furnishes an alcoholic beverage, and the provider has actual knowledge that the person was visibly intoxicated at the time the alcoholic beverage was provided. The person’s intoxication must also be a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. This also means that if a person is injured because of the person’s own voluntary intoxication, the person may be able to recover from the provider who furnished the person an alcoholic beverage.

Actual knowledge means that the provider knew that the person was visibly intoxicated. Of course, a provider will not always admit to knowing that, so courts will make reasonable inferences based upon the evidence presented in the case. This might include how many drinks the person consumed and during what period, and the person’s behavior at the time. Experts are often used in these cases because they can provide information about at what point a person would show signs of visible intoxication.

September 17, 2019

Indiana Dump Truck Driver Admits to Snorting Heroin Before Fatal Collision

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Earlier this month, a husband and wife were killed in a fatal Indiana dump truck accident involving a total of eleven vehicles. According to a recent news report covering the tragic accident, the crash occurred near the intersection of U.S. 36 and South County Road 625 East, at around 3:30 in the afternoon.

Evidently, the dump truck rear-ended an SUV that was stopped in traffic. After the initial collision, the dump truck drifted across the center median and collided with a minivan head-on. The driver and passenger of the minivan were both killed in the accident. In all, a total of eleven vehicles were involved in the accident, including a school bus. Thankfully, no children were on board at the time. An additional victim in one of the other cars suffered serious injuries, including spinal cord injuries and fractures to her femur, pelvis, and spine.

After police arrived on the scene, they conducted a field sobriety test on the driver of the dump truck, which he failed. The driver then admitted to police that he had snorted heroin earlier in the day. The driver was arrested and charged with several serious crimes, including reckless homicide and causing death operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Police officers also noted that there was a white powdery substance lining the inside of the driver’s nostrils, which they believe to have been heroin.

December 4, 2018

Court Upholds Defendant’s Fifth Amendment Privilege Not to Testify in Recent Personal Injury Case

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Recently, a state appellate court issued a written opinion in a personal injury case discussing an interesting issue that all Indiana personal injury victims would be wise to consider before filing a case against a defendant. The case addressed when a personal injury defendant may be able to evoke their privilege against self-incrimination when asked to testify in a personal injury lawsuit.

The Facts of the Case

According to the court’s opinion, the plaintiffs were the surviving loved ones of two pedestrians who were killed in an accident caused by the defendant. Because the defendant was intoxicated at the time of the crash, he was arrested and charged with several serious charges, including two counts of murder.

Evidently, the defendant ultimately pled guilty to the murder charges and was sentenced to a total term of 32 years in jail. The defendant filed an appeal of his sentence, claiming that it was excessive. The plaintiffs filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit around this same time, and submitted a discovery request to the court, seeking the defendant be deposed.

November 6, 2018

Federal Appellate Court Dismissed DUI Accident Victim’s Case Against Concert Organizers

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Recently, a federal appellate court issued a written opinion in a personal injury case illustrating an important concept that frequently arises in Indiana car accident cases. The case presented the court with the opportunity to discuss whether the plaintiff’s wrongful death case could survive the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Specifically, the issue presented to the court was whether the defendants controlled the area where the accident occurred.

The Facts of the Case

According to the court’s opinion, the plaintiff was killed in a DUI accident while attending the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival. The SXSW festival takes place each year in Austin, Texas, and includes numerous venues which are spread across the city. As a result, the concert organizers applied for a special use permit allowing the closure of certain roads during the festival. The area where the accident later occurred was included in the areas that the concert organizers requested be closed.

Evidently, the use permit was granted, and as a condition, the city required that “all traffic controls must be provided in accordance with the approved traffic control plan.” Organizers placed barriers around the closed portion of the street, and a uniformed police officer was placed near the intersection to keep watch.

September 13, 2018

Plaintiff Permitted to Proceed with Case Against Drunk Driver’s Employer

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Recently, a state appellate court released an opinion in a motor vehicle accident personal injury case that raised an important issue that commonly comes up in Indiana personal injury cases, especially in the common scenario in which an insurance company is involved in defending the lawsuit. The case required the court to decide if an insurance company that wrote a policy for an employer could be liable for an employee’s drunk-driving accident.

In the end, the court held that the insurance policy, which applied to permissive users, did cover the employee’s conduct. Thus, the insurance company was liable for the plaintiff’s myriad injuries.

Case Facts

The plaintiff sustained injuries in a drunk driving accident. The drunk driver was operating a company vehicle when the accident occurred. The plaintiff was successful in a suit against the defendant, and was awarded damages of roughly $1.5 million. However, the defendant was not able to pay the damages award, and so the plaintiff filed a claim to hold the defendant’s employer responsible. Because the defendant’s employer had an insurance policy with uninsured motorist protection, the plaintiff argued that the insurance policy was on the hook for his damages.

August 14, 2017

Bars and Restaurants that Over-Serve Customers May Be Liable in Indiana Drunk Driving Lawsuits

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Indiana is among the several states that has a Dram Shop liability statute, which can act to impose civil liability on establishments that serve alcohol to patrons who later leave the establishment and cause a serious accident. Most commonly, Dram Shop cases involve a patron who leaves the establishment and causes an Indiana drunk driving accident; however, the Dram Shop statute is not limited to drunk driving accidents.

Under the Indiana Dram Shop statute, an establishment may be held liable for any injury caused by a patron who was served by the establishment. In order to establish liability, the injured party must prove that the establishment knew the patron was intoxicated when they were served, and also the patron’s intoxication was a proximate cause of the accident. A recent case out of Florida illustrates how courts apply Dram Shop statutes to impose liability on establishments that over-serve alcohol.

The Facts of the Case

The plaintiff was the surviving husband of a woman who was killed in a drunk driving accident. The driver who caused the accident had just left a golf course, where he played a round while consuming several alcoholic drinks.

August 8, 2017

How Indiana’s Dram Shop Law Can Help Victims of Drunk Driving Accidents

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Most people are aware that when a drunk driver causes an Indiana car accident, that driver can be held responsible for any injuries that occur as a result of the accident through an Indiana personal injury lawsuit. What may come as a surprise to some readers is that, under Indiana’s Dram Shop law, if the drunk driver was served by a bar or restaurant to the point of intoxication, that establishment may also be named as a defendant in the drunk driving lawsuit.

Dram Shop laws are present in some form in most states. Essentially, Dram Shop laws allow for victims of a drunk driving accident to hold an establishment that over-served a drunk driver financially responsible for their injuries. In Indiana, an establishment may be liable if the person who served the driver had actual knowledge that the driver was intoxicated. It also must be shown that the driver’s intoxication was the proximate cause of the accident victim’s injuries. When it comes to proving actual knowledge that a driver was intoxicated, courts will look at all of the surrounding circumstances, such as the number of drinks the driver was served, the manner in which the driver was acting, and any eyewitness accounts of the interactions between the driver and employees of the establishment. A recent case out of Florida illustrates how one court applied the state’s Dram Shop law.

The Facts of the Case

The plaintiff was the surviving loved one of a man who was killed in a drunk driving accident involving another driver. The at-fault driver had just come from the defendant golf course, where he played a round of golf while enjoying several alcoholic drinks. The plaintiff filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the golf course.

May 25, 2017

Appellate Court Allows Defendant’s Previous DUI Convictions into Evidence in Recent Drunk Driving Case

by Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP

Earlier this month, an Indiana appellate court issued a written opinion in a personal injury case involving allegations that the plaintiff was seriously injured when he was involved in an accident that was caused by the defendant, who was drunk at the time. The case presented the court with the opportunity to discuss when previous convictions for driving under the influence are admissible, and if such evidence is admissible, for which purpose the jury may consider it.

The Facts of the Case

The plaintiff was driving to work when the defendant’s vehicle inexplicably crossed over the center median and collided with the plaintiff’s vehicle head-on. Police arrived on the scene and conducted a blood-alcohol test on the defendant, which revealed he was legally intoxicated. The defendant was subsequently arrested, charged, and convicted for driving under the influence.

The plaintiff later filed a personal injury case against the defendant, seeking compensation for the injuries he sustained in the accident. During the trial, the plaintiff presented evidence of the defendant’s driving history, which contained two prior instances in which the defendant was cited for driving while under the influence of alcohol in 1996 and 1983. The defendant objected to the introduction of this evidence, claiming that it was “more prejudicial than probative” and violated the rules of evidence. The court disagreed and admitted the evidence, and the jury awarded the plaintiff over $1,444,000 in compensatory damages and an additional $182,500 in punitive damages. The defendant appealed.