THE IS A CONTINUATION FROM THE “DRAM SHOP ACT IN NEW YORK“POST
Serving Liquor to the Under Aged in New York
Serving liquor to a minor is recognized almost universally in the Untied States as highly undesirable, and states seek to discourage such activity. The application of “Dram Shop Acts” are therefore much more broad when applied to minors compared to their application to adults.
While the Dram Shop Act in New York State, as we will see, is strictly limited as to the provider of alcohol that it targets when the intoxicated person is an adult, the Act targets any person at all that provides liquor to anyone under the age of twenty-one. Thus the provider of alcohol targeted could be in an establishment that sells liquor, or it can be an adult in a home where liquor is being served at a party. If you serve liquor to a minor, and that minor causes an accident which injures some third party, that third party will have a cause of action against YOU. One important point: The injured party that seeks to sue a commercial enterprise (such as a bar)that sold the liquor to a minor must be able to show that the minor was intoxicated at the time the minor caused the accident. Just because the bar served the minor liquor would not be enough, in and of itself, to make the bar subject to a lawsuit by the injured third party.
Can A Drunk Teen Cause an Accident and Sue The Party or Person that Served Them?
One other point: If you serve liquor to a minor, and the intoxicated minor himself is then injured in an accident which the minor caused, the minor would NOT be able to sue you. A person cannot bring a lawsuit based on an accident caused by that individual’s own intoxicated condition–and this holds true for adults and minors.
DON’T ASSUME YOU KNOW THE ANSWER
There are numerous other variables that can arise, including exceptions to general rules, and any time a serious accident occurs, especially if caused by intoxication, it is of the utmost importance to seek the counsel of an experienced New York Personal Injury Attorney.
CONTINUED IN: DRUNK DRIVING ACCIDENTS IN NEW YORK