/ Drunk Driving & Dram Shop
Drunk Driving and Dram Shop Lawyers
In Texas the drunk driver is not always the only party responsible. A bar or restaurant that over-served an obviously intoxicated person can be liable too — that is the dram shop claim.
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Hit by a drunk driver? The driver may not be the only party responsible.
/ Two Claims
The Driver, and Whoever Served Them
The claim against the driver is an ordinary negligence claim, and it is limited by whatever insurance that driver carries — which in a serious crash is frequently not enough.
The Texas Dram Shop Act allows a claim against a licensed provider that served alcohol to a person who was obviously intoxicated to the extent they presented a clear danger to themselves and others.
The two claims run together, and the second is often where meaningful coverage actually exists.
Where was the driver served, and how much? That question matters.
/ Proving It
Receipts, Video and Time
Point-of-sale records show what was served and when. Surveillance video shows the condition of the person being served. Both are routinely overwritten on a fixed cycle — often within weeks.
Server training records and the establishment’s own policies matter to the statutory defence available to them.
This is the clearest example in Texas injury work of a case that is won or lost on how quickly evidence is demanded.
Bar video and point-of-sale records are overwritten within weeks.
/ Criminal and Civil
Two Separate Tracks
The criminal prosecution of the driver and your civil claim are separate. A conviction can help your civil case, but you do not have to wait for one, and a dismissal does not end your claim.
Restitution ordered in a criminal case is not the same as compensation for your injuries.
We follow the criminal matter because it produces evidence, not because it decides your outcome.
You do not have to wait for the criminal case to finish.