David Lail of Yarborough Applegate settled a dram shop lawsuit for the family of a 24-year-old man killed by a drunk driver while riding his moped in August, 2017. The dram shop lawsuit brought by Lail against the drunk driver and the bar that served him resulted in a $1.85 million settlement for the victim’s family. The victim, who suffered severe injuries when the drunk driver’s car hit his moped, died two months after the accident.
As reported by South Carolina Lawyer’s Weekly,
“Anytime we represent a victim of drunk driving, we immediately begin a dram shop investigation,” Lail said.
The attorneys were initially told that the bar that had served the driver had been closed for several months leading up to the crash, and its insurance coverage had been cancelled, but it had reopened for one night to host a benefit event, with all proceeds donated to charity.
“We pressed on and eventually recovered under three separate policies,” Lail said.
While the defense contended the charity event raised a “social host” defense to the dram shop claims, in a recorded interview, the driver confirmed he had been drinking at the bar in question and took beer with him when he left. The driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was .13 at the time of the crash.
The Yarborough Applegate team is passionate about the prevention of drunk driving and helping those affected by this unfortunate and highly preventable crime. Attorney David Lail represents victims of drunk driving in dram shop lawsuits and co-authored the book, South Carolina Dram Shop Litigation: A Practice Guide, for the South Carolina Bar.
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.
Dram shop litigation holds bars and alcohol retailers accountable for the injury caused by the unsafe service of alcohol to customers.
Each spring, South Carolina Lawyers Weekly publishes a list of the top verdicts and settlements in the previous year. For the second year in a row, one of our cases claimed the top spot on the list.
Generally, when people think about legal remedies for drunk driving accidents, they think of a criminal prosecution against the intoxicated driver for DUI. However, many times victims of drunk driving are unfamiliar with the legal rights they have in civil court against the establishments that enabled the driver to get drunk. These rights exist in […]
Our co-founding partner, David Yarborough, was interviewed by Mark Bringardner of Joye Law Firm on his podcast, The Sidebar, this month, where he shared his experience on dram shop litigation and trial strategy, as well as offered invaluable advice on how to develop skills as a trial lawyer.
Our co-founding partner, David Yarborough, was interviewed by Mark Bringardner of Joye Law Firm on his podcast, The Sidebar, this month, where he shared his experience on dram shop litigation and trial strategy, as well as offered invaluable advice on how to develop skills as a trial lawyer.