This year’s “Observe, Don’t Overserve” training sessions are kicking off in Norfolk. According to CBS Local, Michael Morrissey, Norfolk District Attorney, is pushing these sessions to help to help servers and bartenders for the upcoming holiday season. The purpose of the program is to make sure that servers and bartenders have proper knowledge to avoid overserving patrons. By working to avoid overserving, we can help to eliminate the risks for drunk driving accidents in Boston and elsewhere in the area.
“Those people are on the front lines of the defense,” said Morrissey. “We think they can make a difference.”
Morrissey is working to take this message through the holidays and into the New Year. According to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, close to 20 percent of bars across the state of Massachusetts could improve their regulations.
In Massachusetts, dram shop liability can apply to any place that serves alcoholic beverages. This includes: bars, nightclubs, restaurants, social clubs, liquor stores, and even individuals serving alcohol to their guests at a private party.
These companies and hosts are required by law to keep from serving or selling alcohol to anyone who is clearly already intoxicated. These individuals or companies may be subject to civil liability if they do and that person gets into a car accident or injured or kills another person or themselves. Owners are encouraged to provide training to their staff in order to define the limits.
Most often, this kind of training is provided through an agency called Training for Intervention Procedures, or TIPS. TIPS promote and train servers, wait staff, and other workers in the responsible sale, service and consumption of alcoholic beverages.
With the help of an experienced attorney, we can talk to witnesses and investigate the facts to help to determine whether a bartender knew, or should have known, to refuse the drunk driver alcohol. Since the drunk driver may have had drinks at their home or purchased alcohol at more than one establishment, a thorough investigation must be conducted to establish liability in a dram shop claim. In addition, an experienced attorney can look through the establishment’s insurance to identify all possible sources of compensation.
The establishment and enforcement of these kinds of laws has been proven to help to reduce the risks of drunk driving accidents and other alcohol-related incidents. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Texas experienced a near 7 percent decrease in nighttime, single-vehicle accidents resulting injury after a liability case was filed back in 1983. In addition, another 5.5 percent reduction was witnessed after a case filed in 1884. Later in 2001, researchers noticed a neat 6 percent decrease in the number of fatal accidents from dram shop liability laws. A number of other studies have found similar outcomes.
If you or a loved one was involved in a drunk driving accident in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
More Blog Entries:
Melanie’s Law and Stricter Drunk Driving Penalties in Massachusetts, Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog, November 13, 2013
Four Children Victims of Springfield DUI Crash, Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog, November 10, 2013