When celebrating at a drinking establishment, people should take care to drink responsibly. If they do become intoxicated, they need to find a taxi or other means home, since driving drunk can result in serious injury or even a loss of life. In such event, the offending driver may be confronted with a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. Unfortunately, this is what happened to a customer at a nightclub in Texas, who is alleged to have become intoxicated. When the man drove him, he was involved in an accident that killed one man and injured four others.
The complaint alleges that the man drove home after drinking excessively at a local nightclub. On the way home, the man hit a carriage transporting a 57-year-old man and his wife, 46, back to their hotel. The man was not injured. However, the couple, who had been out celebrating the wife’s birthday, did not fare as well. The husband died in the collision, while the wife suffered several serious injuries, including a cut to her scalp and various fractures. Reports claim that she will require physical therapy. The operator of the carriage, as well as another female passenger, also sustained injuries.
The family of the deceased victim has filed a wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit against the man, as well as the nightclub which apparently served him alcoholic beverages. The complaint alleges that the nightclub served the man when it should have realized he was intoxicated. Witnesses claim they saw the man stumbling and falling down from being intoxicated.
As the Texas civil litigation moves forward, the plaintiff will seek to prove that the actions of the man, as well as the bar, were negligent in a manner that caused or contributed to the death and injuries which followed. The lawsuit also asks for punitive damages, which are applicable when the negligent conduct complained of is deemed to have been reckless or intentional.
Source: chron.com, “Driver, bar sued after fatal carriage wreck,” Robert Stanton, Aug. 21, 2012
