When it comes to New York drunk driving accidents, no one wins. Drunk driving deaths totaled almost 12,000 in 2008, accounting for about a third of all car accident fatalities in the US that year.

While there is no excuse for drunk drivers who get behind the wheel when intoxicated, victims of New York drunk driving accidents have numerous avenues through which they can recover damages for their injuries, medical bills, missed work, or emotional suffering. One of these options is New York dram shop liability laws.

Dram shop liability holds New York bars, restaurants, and clubs financially responsible for their part in some drunk driving accidents. Victims of drunk driving accidents can seek damages if a business served alcohol to someone who was visibly drunk before this person caused the serious car accident in question.

To prove dram shop liability in New York, victims have to prove two things:

  1. They must show that the bar or restaurant knew, or should reasonably have known, that their customer was intoxicated when they served them.
  2. They must show that the intoxication led directly to a drunk-driving accident that injured or killed another person.

To prove both of these things in a court of law, an expert Manhattan drunk driving accident lawyer must provide witnesses, as well as police and toxicology reports from the accident. Even then, a personal injury jury may call the dram shop liability claim into question.

If you or someone you love have been the victim of a New York drunk driving accident, it is important that you contact an attorney immediately. An experienced and aggressive Manhattan drunk driving accident lawyer can help you prove dram shop liability if applicable, and fight for your rights in a court of law.

Call the law firm of Rappaport, Glass, Greene, and Levine today. We will not rest until the people responsible for your New York drunk driving accident are brought to justice, and your life is put back together.