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Whether driving down the road, walking down the street, or simply sitting and minding your own business, there are few things that disrupt your day more than a publicly intoxicated person. When an encounter with such an individual leads to violence or injury on your part, you should understand your rights under New Jersey Law. They designed dram shop liability to protect you from this sort of injuries by offering an avenue for recovering damages from all parties responsible.
If you suffered any injuries at the hands of an intoxicated individual, regardless of the type, it pays to get in touch with a New Jersey personal injury attorney. Keep reading to learn what injuries could therefore lead to dram shop liability claims.
Understanding Dram Shop Liability
Before moving forward, you might be a bit unsure about what a dram shop is. By legal terms, a dram shop is any establishment that serves alcohol, commonly including pubs, bars taverns, and restaurants. In practice, dram shop laws could even be extended to an individual hosting a party. In the State of New Jersey, dram shop liability laws are quite clear on the responsibility of someone hosting or serving alcohol. There are two primary rules that these establishments need to observe.
First, they must not continue serving alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person. Second, they are prohibited from serving alcohol to someone under the legal drinking age of 21, assuming they have reason to know or believe that person is underage. If either of these is violated, the dram shop can be liable for resulting injuries.
Dealing with a Drunk Driving Accident
One of the most common cases where dram shop liability comes into play is a drunk driving accident. Therefore, penalties for a DUI in New Jersey are quite clear. But that doesn’t do much for you as a victim of such an incident. In many cases, the intoxicated individual is unable to fully cover damages suffered. In these instances, filing suit against the dram shop can go a long way to helping you recover financially.
Assault and Battery Cases
Alternatively, DUIs are not the only instance where dram shop liability laws apply. Perhaps you ran across an intoxicated person and they assaulted you. The shop could still be liable if it was at fault for making the individual an overly intoxicated person.
Navigating Dram Shop Liability
DUIs are typically the focus of dram shop liability. However, it is important to remember that these other categories could be as well. Beyond assault and battery, the full scope of liability extends to any situation where someone suffers an injury as a result of dram shop negligence. This could also include situations such as workplace injuries or other negligent behavior that resulted due to intoxication after visiting a dram shop.
Contact a New Jersey Personal Injury Attorney
Remember, dram shop liability laws are there to protect people like you from potential disastrous consequences. You need a New Jersey personal injury attorney to help you navigate your injuries and receive just compensation.
Make sure to contact DeZao Law today to find out how we can help you move forward. Contact our New Jersey personal injury lawyers today at (973) 358-6134 for a free consultation today.