If you or a loved one have been injured or died because of the actions of a drunk driver, the effect on your life could be devastating. Imagine how much worse it would be if you discovered that the drunk driver should not have been allowed to drink at all. If you find yourself in this terrible situation, then you need to consult with an attorney who is familiar with filing a bar over-serving lawsuit.
In general, to avoid liability, the bar must stop serving the patron drinks if they are planning to drive home. Or, at the very least, they should get the driver to take a taxi or rideshare home instead of driving themselves.
If you have been in a car accident involving a suspected drunk driver, there are some essential things to keep in mind. It is crucial to take certain steps to preserve evidence of the bar negligence that led to your injuries, as well as the demeanor of the at-fault driver after the accident. Here are some specific steps you could take:
Firstly, you need to get to a safe place off the roadway. However, if your vehicle is still drivable, you must move it off the road to avoid a secondary accident. Get out of the car and maintain a safe distance from the involved vehicles. Any damage sustained may cause further danger, such as the risk of fire or explosion.
Call 911 to report the accident. This is particularly important if you suspect an intoxicated driver as the police can investigate and determine the person’s level of intoxication. Moreover, you need to state to the responding officers that you suspect the other driver to be impaired.
Gather information as soon as you can. Take pictures and videos of the crash scene, the involved vehicles, and the other driver’s state of intoxication if you could. It’s also helpful to immediately write down everything you can remember about the circumstances leading up to the accident while the details are fresh in your mind. Try to get contact information for the other driver and any witnesses.
Get proper medical attention as soon as possible if you want a fair bar over-serving settlement. In addition, you may have injuries that are not immediately visible. Proper and prompt medical care will help you preserve your health and properly document your injuries.
Determining who should be held liable for your auto accident or drunk driving accident injuries can be complicated. This is why it’s a good idea to speak with an experienced bar over-serving lawyer if you have been injured in bar over-serving negligence.
The party who was injured by the intoxicated person can sue for damages under dram shop laws. But what if the injured party is the intoxicated person? In such a lawsuit against bar over-serving, you can sue a bar for over-serving.
Most states allow the intoxicated person or their representatives to sue an alcohol vendor only if the intoxicated person is underage. On the other hand, if it was a case of a bar over-serving lawsuit where a dram shop law applied because the alcohol vendor sold alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person who was of legal drinking age, the intoxicated person won’t be able to file a valid claim against the vendor.
When filing a bar over-serving lawsuit against an individual for personal injury, you will be able to sue for:
This is a standard procedure for virtually every personal injury claim in the country.
In other words, when you file a Dram Shop accident claim in a Dram Shop liability state, you are suing for physical pain and suffering, property damage, lost wages, the cost of your medical care, and even the emotional trauma endured as a result of the collision.
In this way, there are very few differences between suing a company versus filing a bar over-serving lawsuit against a person. However, this distinction brings another question with it – whether you are limited to only filing a lawsuit against one or the other.
The answer can sometimes vary depending on the state you are in. However, most Dram Shop liability states enable you to sue both the driver and the bar simultaneously. This process allows you to bring both parties to justice for the injuries and damages you suffered due to their respective carelessness.
Each state has laws on how long you can wait before filing a claim against both the driver and the bar. This is referred to as a statute of limitations. Some states allow you a grace period of up to five years from the date of the accident before the statute expires, whereas others will only afford you one or two years.
This means that you will lose all legal rights to file a claim in general once the time to file the lawsuit (the statute of limitation) elapses, regardless of whether the other party was 100% liable for your loss. If you are not aware of the statute of limitations regarding filing a personal injury claim against an alcohol-serving business, it is crucial to hire an accident attorney or accident law firm.
Get in touch with a bar over-serving attorney through Ethen Ostroff Law as soon as possible. Our network of qualified and knowledgeable attorneys knows what must be done after an accident to preserve evidence and build a strong case against the responsible parties.
What are you waiting for? Contact Ethen Ostroff Law now at 610-510-8883 ( by calling this number, you consent to receive SMS updates from Ethen Ostroff Law) or Submit Form to get free consultation.
His career began in public service as a Surveillance Officer in Maricopa County, where he gained firsthand experience in high-stakes decision-making and developed a deep sense of discipline and accountability. He later served as Chief Operating Officer of a fast-growing law firm, driving efficiency, revenue growth, and team development. Today, Ryan focuses on helping law firms reach their full potential by aligning people, processes, and long-term vision. A strategic thinker and empowering leader, Ryan is passionate about developing others and guiding organizations through meaningful, lasting growth.
Effective Date: 10/15/2026
Ethen Ostroff Law, PLLC (“EOL,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. If you are reaching out to us after an injury, we know you may be sharing personal details during a hard time. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit ethenostrofflaw.com (the “Site”), how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.
This Privacy Policy works together with our Terms of Use. By using the Site, you agree to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.
Visiting the Site, submitting a form, chatting with us online, or sending us an email does not create an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship begins only when you and EOL sign a written Retainer Agreement. Until then, information you send us is not protected by attorney-client privilege and is not considered confidential. Please do not send sensitive details about your matter until we have spoken with you.
When you request a free consultation, fill out a form, use our live chat, call, text, or email us, you may give us:
When you visit the Site, we and the third-party tools described in section 8 may automatically collect:
We may share your information with:
If you opt in to text messages, you may receive messages about your inquiry or case. Message frequency varies, and message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP at any time to opt out, or HELP for help. Mobile phone numbers and text message opt-in consent will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for their own marketing purposes.
We do not send the details you type into our intake forms, contact forms, or live chat, such as information about your injury or legal matter, to Google, Meta, TikTok, Reddit, or any other advertising platform.
The Site uses cookies, pixels, and similar tools. A cookie is a small file stored in your browser. A pixel is a small piece of code that loads when you visit a page and sends information about your visit to the company that provides it. We use Google Tag Manager to load and manage these tools.
The table below lists the third-party tools on the Site and what we use them for.
| Provider | What we use it for | Provider privacy policy |
| Google Tag Manager | Loads and manages the other tools listed here. It does not build a profile of you. | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Google Analytics | Understanding how visitors use the Site, such as pages viewed and how they found us. | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Google Ads | Measuring ad conversions and showing our ads to past visitors. | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Meta Pixel (Facebook and Instagram) | Measuring ad performance, showing our ads to past visitors, and reaching similar audiences. | facebook.com/privacy/policy |
| TikTok Pixel | Measuring ad performance, showing our ads to past visitors, and reaching similar audiences. | tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy |
| Reddit Pixel | Measuring ad performance, showing our ads to past visitors, and reaching similar audiences. | reddit.com/policies/privacy-policy |
| Intaker | Powers the live chat on the Site so you can reach our intake team. | intaker.com |
| OpenWidget (ChatBot.com) | Powers the chat assistant on the Site. | openwidget.com |
| Google reCAPTCHA | Protects our forms from spam and automated abuse. | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Google Maps | Displays maps of our office locations. | policies.google.com/privacy |
These tools may collect the information listed in section 3. If you give us your email address or phone number, a scrambled (hashed) version may be sent to an advertising platform so it can match your visit to an existing account.
Google, Meta, TikTok, and Reddit may combine the information they receive with other data they hold about you and use it under their own privacy policies. You can learn how Google uses information from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
Some state privacy laws, including California’s, may treat sharing information through advertising pixels as a “sale” or “sharing” of personal information, or as targeted advertising. Depending on where you live, you may have the right to know what information we hold about you, to ask us to correct or delete it, and to opt out of its sale or sharing. To make a request, contact us using the information in section 15. We may need to verify your identity before we respond. We will not treat you differently for using these rights.
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information. No method of sending or storing data over the internet is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee the security of information you send us.
We keep your information as long as we need it for the purposes described in this policy, including to meet legal, ethical, and record-keeping obligations.
The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them online. If a parent or guardian is contacting us about a child’s injury, the parent or guardian should submit the inquiry.
We may update this policy when we add, change, or remove tools on the Site or change how we handle information. We will post the updated version here and change the effective date above.
If you have questions about this policy or want to make a privacy request, contact us:
