Bar Closes After Facing Dram Shop Liability Lawsuit From Family Of DUI Accident Victims

If a customer suffers a preventable injury at a place of business, he or she can file a premises liability lawsuit against the store, hotel, recreational venue, or other place of business where the accident took place.  At bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, the greatest danger is not the slippery floors or accidental contamination of food and drinks by allergens; the greatest risk is that someone who drives after drinking at the bar will cause an accident.  Dram shop liability laws hold that any establishment that serves alcohol is legally responsible for accidents caused by customers to whom the establishment’s employees served alcohol that day.  While most states have dram shop liability laws on the books, they loom larger in the public consciousness in South Carolina than they do elsewhere, because of high profile dram shop liability cases, like the one where a drunk driver struck a golf cart that was leaving a wedding reception, transporting the bride and groom and several members of the wedding party.  If you have been injured in an alcohol-related traffic accident and are wondering whether dram shop laws apply, contact a Columbia car accident lawyer.

A Quick Drinking Binge Quickly Turned Deadly

Henry’s, a local chain of bars, closed its Cayce location at the end of January 2024, citing unaffordable operating costs, but by then, the damage was done.  It was already facing a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of two people who died when a drunk driver who had consumed alcohol at Henry’s collided with their car.  One day in September 2023, Joshuia Yarborough and Hunter Meetze went to Henry’s together.  They only stayed an hour, but they consumed copious amounts of alcohol.  Afterwards, they left in a car driven by Yarborough.

After leaving the bar, Yarborough rear ended a car that was stopped at a red light, sending it crashing into a utility pole.  Leeya Janae Leaverette, 17, died as a result of the accident, as did her grandfather Cornelius Clory.  Leeya’s grandmother Gladys Clory was also in the car; she was injured but survived.

Yarborough later faced criminal charges for the fatal DUI accident.  Meanwhile, Gladys Clory and other surviving family members of the victims have filed a dram shop liability lawsuit against Henry’s.  The plaintiff alleges that Henry’s engaged in negligence when its employees continued to serve alcohol to Yarborough and Meetze even when it was obvious that they were both too drunk to drive.

Under dram shop liability laws, anyone who gets injured as a result of a bar patron driving drunk has the right to sue the bar.  This includes the drunk drivers themselves.  Drunk drivers who get injured in car accidents after drinking at a bar have the right to sue the bar for compensation for their accident-related medical bills, but these claims absolve the drunk drivers of criminal responsibility for driving drunk.

Let Us Help You Today

The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you pursue a lawsuit after a drunk driving accident.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Sources:

wistv.com/2024/01/11/henrys-cayce-sued-wrongful-death-teen-grandfather-amid-closure/

wistv.com/2023/09/16/west-columbia-police-investigating-crash-with-multiple-deaths/

lexingtonchronicle.com/stories/henrys-of-cayce-set-to-close-hit-with-lawsuit-related-to-dui-deaths,81264