Dram Shop Case Results in $2M Verdict

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The accident was the fault of the student's girlfriend, who was allegedly heavily intoxicated after consuming alcohol for several hours at the Black Bear Saloon in Hartford. The lawsuit was a dram shop action against the bar for allegedly serving the visibly intoxicated students, one of whom was under the legal drinking age of 21. According to the police, the driver and her boyfriend died when the 2006 Nissan Altima she was operating smashed into the back of a tractor-trailer stopped on the shoulder of the Charter Oak Bridge in Hartford at 4:40 a.m. in January 2011. The tractor-trailer driver was uninjured. The rig was stopped on the highway shoulder near Exit 90 just south of Hartford.

According to court documents, the couple entered the Black Bear Saloon around 11:15 p.m. on New Year's night in 2011. The decedent driver was employed as a waitress at the bar but was not working that night. The decedent passenger then opened a tab on his credit card. The card was swiped to pay the tab at around 1:30 a.m. According to an itemized receipt, the decedent passenger purchased 17 vodka drinks totaling $85 and one Grey Goose shot for $4. The total check came to $149. The chief medical examiner's report later revealed that the driver decedent had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14 and decedent plaintiff's was 0.20. Police found an empty bottle of Smirnoff Vodka near the passenger seat of the car.

The police investigation concluded that decedent driver's intoxication was the contributing factor for the crash. Both students suffered traumatic head injuries that led to their deaths. The passenger's mother, the plaintiff, filed a four-count complaint against the bar and bar ownership in April 2012. The lawsuit accused the bar of dram shop liability, social host liability negligence, recklessness and a Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act violation.

The defendant bar was insured through Indemnity Insurance Corp. Indemnity went bankrupt while the litigation was pending. On July 9, 2015 a hearing in damages took place in Hartford Superior Court.  At the hearing, three of the decedent passenger's close friends testified, as did his mother. The judge came to the conclusion from their testimony that he was well-liked by his peers and stayed close with his childhood friends. His mother testified that she had a close relationship with her son as she was a single mother. She said her son wanted to be a child psychologist if his professional football dream did not come true. An economics expert provided the judge with a report about the probable lost wages for the decedent passenger’s life. His life expectancy was another 57.5 years, according to the expert.

The Judge noted in his opinion that because the defendants had defaulted, the merits of the plaintiff's four claims against them, including the dram shop count, were not at issue. The Judge then awarded an even $2 million.

At Maya Murphy, P.C., our personal injury attorneys are dedicated to achieving the best results for individuals and their family members and loved ones whose daily lives have been disrupted by injury, whether caused by a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, a defective product, or otherwise. Our attorneys are not afraid to aggressively pursue and litigate cases and have extensive experience litigating personal injury matters in both state and federal courts, and always with regard to the unique circumstances of our client and the injury he or she has sustained.

Source- http://www.ctlawtribune.com/id=1202747032617/College-Football-Players-Family-Awarded-2-Million-After-Fatal-Crash?mcode=1202617073650&curindex=1