As followers of our firm know, Yarborough Applegate’s dram shop attorneys are passionate about protecting the rights of victims. In seeking full justice for victims, we work alongside law enforcement to hold all wrongdoers accountable for the harm caused by drunk driving. We don’t just stop at the drunk driver—we go to the source.
Our mission is the relentless pursuit of drunk drivers and any bar, restaurant, or other alcohol retailer that plays a role in putting drunk drivers on our roads and our communities at risk.
This September, Yarborough Applegate is proud to have recovered $14.1 million for victims and their families in dram shop cases. And we’re not slowing down anytime soon. Our team, led by founding partner David Yarborough, is currently in the midst of a week-long civil trial against a convenience store that sold alcohol to a minor who the shared it with his underage friend who got behind the wheel and caused serious injuries to our client.
$7.5 MILLION SETTLEMENT IN WRONGFUL DEATH CASE
On the eve of trial in an exceedingly difficult and hard-fought case, partner David Lail obtained a $7.5 million dram shop settlement on behalf of the family of a young woman who was killed by a drunk driver. The drunk driver had been over-served by a national restaurant chain, and then went on to purchase more alcohol at a convenience store.
$5.5 MILLION RECOVERED FROM TWO BARS AFTER DRUNK DRIVING CRASH
David Yarborough and Liam Duffy secured $5.5 million for our clients who were injured when their car was hit head-on by a drunk driver on I-26. The impaired driver had been celebrating her 29th birthday at two bars, one in downtown Charleston, in advance of the 3 a.m. crash.
One of the injured victims received $2.25 million of the settlement, while the other received $3.25. At a height of 4’9” and weighing less than 100 pounds, the driver’s blood alcohol level was still two and half times the legal limit when it was measured over an hour after the crash.
$1.1 MILLION SETTLEMENT FROM BAR AND FLEEING DRIVER
David Lail earned a $1.1 million dram shop settlement on behalf of a bicyclist who was hit and injured by a suspected drunk driver. The driver was working as a bartender and drinking while on the job. When she left work, she struck our client and fled the scene.
DAVID YARBOROUGH LEADING DRAM SHOP TRIAL TEAM IN CHARLESTON COUNTY
As of November 1, David Yarborough is currently leading a Yarborough Applegate trial team including David Lail and Reynolds Blankenship in a civil jury trial against a Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Sunoco convenience store for illegally selling alcohol to minors in 2017.
Four years ago, a Sunoco gas station in Mount Pleasant sold alcohol to a couple of teenage boys without requiring them to show ID. Shortly after the sale, one of the boys—who admittedly was drunk from the beer he bought at Sunoco—crossed the center line into oncoming traffic and crashed into our client, a 24-year-old man on his way to work.
The head-on, 77-50 MPH collision broke our client’s neck, crushed his legs, and injured his brain. The drunk driver pleaded guilty to DUI. This civil trial will determine how liability should be divided between the drunk driver and Sunoco for the illegal alcohol sale, and how much should be awarded for our client’s catastrophic and permanent injuries.
Disclaimer: Every case is unique, and prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.
In a dram shop case stemming from a deadly July 4, 2019, hit-and-run in which a drunk driver hit a cyclist, Yarborough Applegate attorneys Liam Duffy and David Yarborough recently obtained a key court ruling on behalf of the cyclist’s family.
Our attorneys recently secured a $3.1 million jury verdict for a 24-year-old man who was seriously injured when an underage drunk driver crashed head-on into his car in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Yarborough Applegate attorneys reached a $1.6 million settlement for the widow of a man who was killed when a driver hit him head-on.
In the latest issue of Trial Magazine, Yarborough Applegate’s own David Yarborough, David Lail, and Liam Duffy detail ways our team has hit the ground running and mined for evidence while working up dram shop cases.
Our attorneys will take the lead on educating our peers on what we’ve learned from handling dram shop cases through a series of continuing education opportunities.
As we savor the final days of 2021, we wanted to take a moment and revisit some of the year’s defining movements for our team here at Yarborough Applegate, and extend our deepest gratitude to all those who we’ve had the honor of working with along the way.