ANSWERS: 10
  • No, you wouldn't be responsible assuming that the consumption of alcohol is done by adults of legal drinking age. You are only legally responsible if you permitted underaged drinking and it was an underaged individual who got into the car accident.
  • Very true answer... or atleast the law should make sure of that. However, there have been cases in the past where either the victim of the drunken crash, or a spouse of the victim placed a lawsuit on the person that provided the alcohol. I remember one well known case where the defendant was a bartender in a pub or club of some kind. He had to pay restitution to the deceased's family after the court case because the judge said he should have known when to cut the man off and send him home. So just keep in mind, these days people will sue you over anything. And even if 75% of the nation would think you are right, doesn't guarentee the court will agree with it...
  • The correct answer to this question is Yes, you are "legally responsible." While answers to these kinds of questions often vary from one jurisdiction to another, as a rule of thumb, anytime you provide alcohol to anyone you accept some responsibility for what can happen. The degree of your responibility will most likely weigh heavily on the amount of alcohol you provided to the individual in question, and the degree to which the individual was intoxicated, or impaired as a result of the alcohol you provided. The question of age is an entirely different issue. Providing alcohol to a minor is a seperate offense, however if a you provide alcohol to a minor who is not held to the same standard of self restraint as an adult, their actions will most likely come back on you. An adult is expected to know when to drive or not if they are intoxicated, but the law has typically become very strict on the servers in most states. The intoxicated person loses the capacity to make sound judgment, and while this does not absolve them of all wrong doing, most judges will place some degree, if not all, of the blame on the person who serves the alcohol. Many bars have been shut down because of deaths related to automobile accidents which occured after a patron has left. The Bar tender, as well as the servers (waitors / waitresses) have been held liable when they fail to "cut off" a patron, or serve a person who arrives at their establishment already intoxicated. Homeowners who provide alcohol to their guests are often held to the same level of accountability. As you stated in your question, "and someone gets into a car accident because of it . . ." There is the catch. If they get into an accident because of the alcohol you served them, then you are responsible. They will most likely be judged as having been too intoxicated to operate a motor vehicle, thus, the person who provided them with the alcohol, served them to a point of being dangerous. If you serve alcohol in your home, you have the responsibility to ensure that your guests do not leave and drive while drunk. Take their keys, provide a ride, call a taxi or call the police. As a former police officer, I can say that you must act responsibly, and serving alcohol to those who you know are going to operate a motor vehicle is general considered irresponsible. Even if you do not know they will drive, the possibility that they might drive places the burdon of public safety, at least partially, upon you. I hope this helps you, and others in future decisions.
  • No you are not responsible if the person is over 18 (uk). If the person was a minor then you would be responsible! You see as a minor you owe that person a duty of care and by providing them with Alcohol you are in breach of that duty!
  • Only if you live in USA you are legally responsible, If they are under age drinker then in the UK thats when your legally responsiable.
  • Legal responsibility relies on many factors involved. If you excercised due diligance in trying to convince the intoxicated party not to drive, your chances of criminal prosecution are minimal. There have been instances both in Canada and the United States where the party host had been held responsible at a civil level and the victim's family was awarded a settlement.
  • Yes. you can be held civilly liable, if the alcohol you served your guest, at your party, was a direct or indirect contributing factor to the auto accident involving your guest.
  • no your not legally responsible because that person is the dumb ass whos driving not you.
  • In Canada, the Supreme Court has recently ruled that hosts of private parties are not bound by the same rules as commercial establishments with respect to monitoring the drinking of guests. http://www.cbc.ca/story/news/national/2006/05/05/drunk-liability.html So, in Canada at least, the answer is no.
  • There was a recent case in Canada that was pretty big in the media. There was a woman who became a parapaledgic due to a drunk driver. She attempted to sue the homeowner who held the party that the drunk driver was at before he hit her. She lost the case. I'm sure it will be precedent setting in this country.

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