Texas Drunk Motorcyclist Accidents

Texas Drunk Motorcyclist Attorney Michael Grossman on Drunk Driving Motorcycle Accidents in Texas

Nearly since the advent of the motor vehicle, the extreme risks of operating a car, motorcycle or any other means of conveyance while intoxicated have been recognized and grimly documented through an infinite number of cases.

A good deal of responsibility lies with the compromised operator of the vehicle, and the law recognizes this. What you may not realize is that the law also recognizes the responsibility of drink-serving establishments and their role in causing your accident.

In any personal injury case, the justice compels all parties to assume their true liability. The place of bars, nightclubs and taverns in causing drunk driving motorcycle accidents is recognized by law and should be recognized by you. Drunk driving accidents involving any motorized vehicle can have disastrous consequences and precipitate devastating damages, but the risk is significantly increased when a motorcycle is involved. If you or a loved one has been injured or suffered death as a result of operating a motorcycle while intoxicated, contact Texas drunk motorcyclist attorney Michael Grossman to ensure that all liable parties assume their appropriate responsibility. Henceforth, we shall examine exactly what that may be.

Dram shop cases

Dram shop cases have a cryptic name and a controversial history. Perhaps more than any other field of personal injury law, dram shop cases are the least known. Consequently, absent a competent drunk motorcyclist lawyer, defendants may not be apprised of what dram shop laws afford them.

Dram shop cases center around the responsibility of bars and taverns assume in serving drinks to customers. The law is clear on this point: bars are not permitted to over-serve their clientele. If an already drunk individual enters the bar, they are not permitted to serve him or her at all. The parameters are well-drawn. The legal blood-alcohol content level is 0.08% and below. Bars, taverns and nightclubs are not allowed to sell alcohol in any quantities that would shove a patron over this legal limit. The law is clear on that point. If injury or death occurs as a result of over-consumption, the following parties are permitted to bring suit against the alcohol-serving establishment:

• The drunk motorcyclist himself/herself
• A bereaved family member, in the case of death
• Third parties suffering damages as a result of a drunk driver

When the first two types of plaintiffs bring suit, it is known as a first-party dram shop case. We will focus on this type of case going forward.

Why dram shop laws

Many who do not have a full, working knowledge of law and liability dubiously regard dram shop laws. The responsibility of drink-serving establishments often goes unexamined and the drunken motorcyclist is thought to carry the brunt of responsibility for riding while intoxicated. The law does not ignore the personal responsibility of the motorcycle’s operator, but neither does it leave the role of the establishment unexamined. An experienced drunk motorcyclist attorney can help you navigate the exact framework of these laws.

Dram shop laws were drafted because litigators recognized alcohol’s mitigating influence on rational decision making. The drinker, rationale dictates, is incapable of managing his or her own intake past a certain point. Therefore, the bartender and the establishment where he or she works assume the role of a caretaker and must take reasonable precautions not to over-serve patrons. The state of Texas recognizes this responsibility to its full extent and will rightly allow prosecuting these bars, taverns and nightclubs.

In order to bring a first-party dram shop case, the drink-serving establishment must be found to be more than 50% liable for your motorcycle accident or the motorcycle accident that resulted in the death of your family member. This is a firm answer to dram-shop skeptics who maintain that these lawsuits allow for frivolous suits. It ensures that dram-shop cases can only be brought against bars and clubs that act in a proven, negligent manner.

The sad reality is that most bars and nightclubs do not exercise even the most basic level of precaution where over-service is concerned. In almost every establishment, bartenders in Texas are required to pass a Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission (TABC) exam in order to be allowed to serve alcohol. These exams instruct aspiring bartenders in the practice of identifying drunken patrons. Holders of a TABC certificate are well-informed and know not to serve drunk customers. Regardless, it is the responsibility of the establishment to instruct bartenders in the identification of drunken persons and to direct that such should be cut off from further drink service. Bars and clubs usually prefer to short-circuit this process by hiring TABC certified personnel who they know have been previously instructed in these matters.

Unfortunately, bar personnel tend to act in self-interest on the basest level. They like tips and the more people drink, the more money they have to stuff into their pockets at night’s end. Identifying someone who has had too much to drink is not an arcane science privy to only a knowledgeable few. The swaying, slurring, sluggish manner of the intoxicated can be spotted by almost anyone, which is why bar personnel act negligently when they ignore these obvious symptoms and serve nonetheless.

Managing over-service would be a simple task for most bars and clubs. Even penciling a drink tally for each customer would be a good-faith effort to prevent pushing people over the legal limit through ample amounts of drinks, but most establishments do not even implement this level of care. Unfortunately, most bars have absolutely no system or policy in place for over-serving and the law dictates that they should be held accountable for this.

Beyond serving a drunken individual, bar and club personnel are not even permitted by law to let the man or woman leave the premises without having ensured that they are being driven by a sober friend or cab driver. The moment they watch a stumbling man or woman leave their bar, they are neglecting their due diligence. Other acts of neglect far exceed these simple cases. In the past, bartenders have been exposed in cases where they helped a drunken person leave their bar and belted them into their car. In these cases, the alcohol-serving establishments acted in egregious negligence and should be held responsible. Texas drunk motorcyclist lawyer Michael Grossman has over twenty years of experience in personal injury law and can help you uncover the liability of a bar or club.

Motorcycle accidents and magnified damages

The unfortunate reality of our roads and highways is that the risk of high-speed accidents is ever present. It is dangerous enough to operate a vehicle every day of the week under an infinite set of conditions. The odds mandate that you will suffer an accident of some magnitude in your lifetime. The consequences of such accidents become magnified when you are operating a motorcycle. Inasmuch as they are physically exposed, motorcyclists are vulnerable to injuries against which other traditional motorists are protected. In the case of motorcycle accidents, the Texas Department of Transportation reports that two-thirds of the cases precipitated serious injury or death. In the year of 2009 in Texas, 434 motorcycle accidents resulted in death to the motorcyclists. That figure reflects 14 percent of the total motor vehicle-related fatalities within the calendar year. Operating a motorcycle is a dangerous enterprise; it becomes exponentially more so if a bar, nightclub or tavern has allowed you to straddle your motorcycle while intoxicated.

The danger inherent in operating a motorcycle is reflected in our justice systems as well. The courts see motorcycle accidents through a unique lens. Because it is so rare for a motorcycle accident to result in merely property damage, a motorcycle accident, nearly by default, requires legal assistance from a capable Texas motorcycle attorney. Serious injury to yourself or death for your loved one are an ominous possibility in any drunk motorcyclist case.

What drunk motorcyclists may suffer

Any personal injury case hinges on the reality of damages. While damages within our court system are recognized as dollar figures, for such is the only sufficient way to compensate them, damages may take many forms. In the case of motorcycle accidents, these injuries tend to be quite serious. A drunk motorcyclist in the state of Texas may experience injuries as minor as bruises and abrasions to more serious, mortal injuries such as brain or spinal cord trauma. Another normal occurrence in a motorcycle injury is the infliction of what is commonly known as road rash. While minor, if untreated, road rash itself can evolve into a serious infection. If any of these serious injuries goes untreated with immediate medical attention, liable parties may escape their due responsibility and you may be burdened with intimidating medical expenses for which there will be no legal recourse. It is always important to seek medical attention quickly and document its extent. Some common categories for the debilitating fallout a drunk motorcyclist may experience are:

• Bone fractures
• Spinal cord injury
• Brain trauma and damage
• Burns
• Loss of limbs

Broken bones are always a possibility when operating a motorcycle. There is nothing between you and the road, the elements, other automobiles. If ejected from a motorcycle, you are protected by no seat belt, no metal shell. When you leave a motorcycle, you are thrown onto the road, ground or into another object. Depending on the momentum you have accumulated at the time and the abruptness with which your body is halted, such collisions will precipitate in a wide range of cracked and shattered bones. Broken arms and legs are common. Any broken bone suffered in the course of a motorcycle accident is likely to result in a loss of ability to perform even the most basic of physical tasks and certainly in the loss of work.

Motorcycle accident injuries of a more serious nature may include damage to your brain or spinal cord, the central processing units of your whole vitality. These are life-long injuries and may compromise your or a loved one’s ability to ever carry on an ordinary life. The seriousness of these matters must be presented into the court to remotely approximate the gravity of a life compromised in terms of damages sought.

Drunk motorcyclists may find themselves in a disfigured state when the dust has cleared from their accident and medical treatment. Burn injuries are quite common, either from friction or sourced from various vehicles. The pain of burning is very severe, and suffering enough, but permanent scars on your digits, appendages, neck and face can endure long after the pain has subsided. The pain and suffering resulting from these is recognized by the courts and should be justly compensated for.

In extreme cases, unmanageable injuries to extremities and inward may necessitate the amputation of an arm or leg. The loss of a limb can drastically compromise your ability to live a productive and fulfilling life. Emotional distress resulting from amputation is also a very real and legally recognized reality. These emotional damages are tangible. They are real and also deserve compensation. If you have suffered any injury as a result of a drunk motorcycling accident, you need to seek out an experiences Texas drunk motorcyclist attorney to help sort out your options and begin reconstructing your livelihood.

Fatal Motorcycle Accidents

Purportedly, a motorcyclist dies every day in the course of operating their bike. It is a sobering reality and the sadness of the event is compounded when you consider the delicate emotions of the deceased’s family and friends. The gravity of such cases is not lost on the courts. Fatal motorcycle accidents are serious incidents and bring on several complications since it is the bereaved that must bring the case. As previously examined, these cases may be brought against a bar or any drink-serving establishment that a drunk motorcyclist may have visited, depending upon the circumstances. Other vehicles may also have been involved in the accident. Liability is distributable and may fire off in several directions at once. If you have experienced the loss of a loved one in a Texas drunk motorcyclist case, you will need a seasoned personal injury lawyer to help find exactly where the liability should be laid and in what proportions.

Damages may be collected by only one family member. It may be a wife or a parent or a child, but only a single individual can be compensated the damages suffered by the deceased. Nonetheless, if any family member or friend experienced some tangible, financial loss as a result of the accident, they may bring a lawsuit individually. Financial compensation is far from the lone concern in any drunk motorcyclist case. If dram shop laws pertain to the situation and a bar or restaurant or club is found to be grossly negligent, the bereaved often have a strong and rightful desire to see justice come to bear. They believe wrongdoing should be pointed out, established, documented and meted out. They are not wayward in this desire. Fatal motorcycle accidents involving a drunk rider who was put out on the streets by an irresponsible establishment demand justice be done, the wrong be held accountable. Grossman Law Offices has won thousands of personal injury cases and can help you hold these establishments accountable.

Challenges in drunk motorcyclist cases

Plaintiffs in first-party dram shop, drunk motorcyclist cases face a daunting, uphill battle. Motorcyclists are already perceived as a motley assemblage without the added stigma of a drunk-riding case. Without proper representation, dram shop cases that go to trial can lean unfairly in the favor of the drink-serving establishment. It is true that the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff to prove the negligence of the bar owner or staff and this can be a herculean task. Nevertheless, a Texas drunk motorcyclist lawyer who has both experience and a skillful agility in navigating our state’s laws has the ability to put these establishments in their proper place and force them to assume the liability that they deserve. Legal representatives will be working on behalf of the bar, tavern, club or restaurant as well, working to discredit the motorcyclist who was already shown to be drunk at the time of the accident. It is merely a pawn shop magic trick routine meant to deflect the responsibility that is theirs. When the truth is brought to light by an experienced personal injury attorney, such establishments can be exposed in their prevarication. The lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have the years of experience and savvy necessary to hold these establishments accountable for their egregious actions.

Third party dram shop cases

While the intoxicated party him or herself, or the family in case of death, may bring a case against any establishment that acted negligently, a non-intoxicated party involved in the accident may also bring suit against any bar, tavern or club that acts likewise. If a drunk motorcyclist causes an accident in which you were involved and the bar or club can be found to have acted in an egregiously irresponsible manner, you can sue that bar or club for damages you have suffered. The laws of over-serving apply equally in this case, as previously examined above. It bears mentioning that negligent bars, restaurants, taverns and clubs can never assume total liability in any drunk motorcyclist case. Consequently, if you have innocently suffered damages caused by a drunk motorcyclist, you can only sue a bar for a portion of your damages proportionate to their liability. If, because of such an accident, you incur $100,000 in medical bills and lost wages, and the bar is determined by the court to be only 60 percent liable, you can only sue them for $60,000 of your total damages. You will have to gather the remainder from the drunk motorcyclist or any other involved party. Making these determinations is a complicated task vulnerable to many pitfalls. Securing the assistance of a competent Texas drunk motorcyclist attorney will ensure that you receive your maximum compensation.

Michael Grossman is experienced in dram shop cases

Dram shop cases are considered controversial and difficult, but Texas attorney Michael Grossman has never shied away from challenges where matters of justice were at stake. Because dram shop cases are difficult to carry out, only experienced lawyers with the acuity to determine appropriate liability are capable of handling them. Michael Grossman has 20 years of experience and can help you win your case.

Every person who has suffered injury is prone to feeling like they can never get back on their feet. The feelings are multiplied when your accident was a result of your being intoxicated. If you feel the weight of responsibility for your own injuries and any other damages you may have suffered, either materially or emotionally, you are in good company. The court also recognizes that you are certainly responsible for a portion of your injuries. But to let negligent beer-pourers and cocktail-slingers off the hook would be a miscarriage of justice equal to you not assuming whatever responsibility was yours. Every party should, under the purist notions of law, assume the liability that is properly theirs.

Grossman Law Offices can help you with your case, but it is paramount that you act quickly in the wake of a devastating drunk motorcyclist accident. Michael Grossman has the ability to take on dram shop cases, both first party and third party, and knows best how to pursue each of them. Grossman Law Offices has investigators at their disposal who are skilled at probing the circumstances surrounding a motorcycle accident. Our lawyers and other staff will take depositions, locate and interview witnesses and gather exhibits supporting any case that alleges negligence on the part of a bar, tavern, nightclub or restaurant that serves alcohol. We will help you determine the appropriate level of liability that the bar should assume and will begin to pursue an appropriate level of damage compensation on their part.

Grossman Law Offices offers consultation at no cost, so there is nothing to lose. Contact our experienced lawyers today to discuss your case. Our savvy personal injury attorneys will be able to advise you on the next step and set you well on your way to just compensation for your or a loved one’s damages.