When are businesses liable for deadly drunk driving crashes?

Drunk driving is illegal. People who get behind the wheel after drinking can cause crashes when they doze off while driving, fail to react quickly or make the wrong decisions in traffic. 

Motorists who cause deadly crashes are usually directly liable for those wrecks. However, individual drunk drivers may lack the resources necessary to adequately compensate the people affected by a fatal drunk driving crash. 

In some cases, grieving families file insurance claims or lawsuits against businesses after deadly drunk driving collisions. When could a company potentially be liable for a wreck? 

When the driver was on the clock

Many different careers require occasional driving, and some professionals may be on the road daily for work. Regardless of whether a professional drives daily for work or only occasionally and whether they operate their own vehicle or fleet vehicles owned by their employers, vicarious liability rules may make the business responsible for the aftermath of the collision. 

When the drunk driver patronized a business

Liquor service laws impose restrictions on companies serving alcohol to consumers. Staff members must follow rules limiting alcohol service. If there is proof that a business continued serving a driver who was visibly drunk or that a licensed establishment provided alcohol to a patron under the age of 21, the business may be at least partially liable for the crash that occurred under dram shop laws. 

Reviewing the circumstances of a deadly drunk driving crash can help grieving families limit the lasting financial harm they sustain. In some cases, grieving survivors may have options other than demanding accountability from the drunk driver for covering their losses.