Three bars have agreed to pay $2.5 million to six plaintiffs injured in a four-car crash caused by an intoxicated driver who for hours before the incident had been served strong, oversized beers and liquor, the plaintiffs’ attorneys report.
Clawson
The plaintiffs were represented by Sam Clawson and Christy Fargnoli of Clawson Fargnoli Utsey in Charleston, James Felts of Harmon & Felts in Georgetown, and Patrick Napolski of George Sink Injury Lawyers in North Charleston. Clawson said that the plaintiffs, traveling in three vehicles, were stopped in traffic when the defendant rear-ended one vehicle, causing the destructive chain reaction.
Clawson reported that the two plaintiffs inside the vehicle struck by the defendant suffered the most serious injuries, including abdominal wall bleeding, chest wall contusion, a descending colon injury, and vertebral, sternal, and rib fractures. Medical bills for the pair topped $200,000, Clawson said.
Injuries to the remaining plaintiffs were primarily soft-tissue injuries, Clawson said.
Many details of the case, including the names of the parties and defense counsel, have been withheld pursuant to a confidentiality agreement.
Clawson said that over a four-hour period at the first bar, the defendant drank four large beers with high alcohol by volume (ABV)—the equivalent of 11 drinks—aided by a server who circumvented the drink counting function of the bar’s point of sale system by ringing up the last two beverages to a “phantom seat.”
“A typical domestic beer is 4 percent to 5 percent ABV and is served in a 12-ounce bottle or 16-ounce pint glass,” Clawson said. “Bar No. 1 served the customer beer up to 8.2 percent ABV in 24-ounce mugs. This was a dangerous combination that resulted in the intoxication of the customer.”
Clawson said that while the defendant spent fewer than 10 minutes and consumed just one drink (albeit another ABV beer) at his second stop, the bar should’ve been aware of the man’s propensity for alcohol abuse because it had denied him service on two prior occasions because he was intoxicated.
After leaving the second bar, Clawson said, the defendant went home for about 45 minutes before venturing back out and drinking Pawley’s Island IPAs and tequila for two hours at the third establishment. The server there, Clawson said, was not certified in the responsible service of alcohol as required by the bar’s policies and procedures.
The defendant was arrested at the crash scene for driving under the influence, and Clawson said that a blood test administered by law enforcement showed that the defendant’s blood-alcohol content was approximately .16, twice the legal driving limit.
Fargnoli
Clawson offered further evidence from a forensic toxicologist opining that the defendant’s blood alcohol level was .20 at the time of the crash.
The first two bars visited by the defendant asserted a proximate cause defense, Clawson said, arguing that the alcohol they served the man had been metabolized and eliminated at the time of the collision and that the causal chain was broken when the man safely made it home before heading out again.
But after mediation by Karl Folkens of Florence, those bars agreed to pay $1 million and $500,000, respectively. The third bar settled for $1 million.
Fargnoli said that while plaintiffs’ attorneys are pleased with the dollar amount obtained for their clients, another settlement term will provide “concrete and meaningful” change.
“The fact that Bar No. 1 will no longer serve high-alcohol beer in 24-ounce mugs acknowledges the danger that this practice posed and serves to make the roadways safer for the entire community,” Fargnoli said.
SETTLEMENT REPORT — DRAM SHOP
Amount: $2.5 million
Injuries alleged: Numerous orthopedic and gastrointestinal injuries
Case name: Withheld
Venue: Withheld
Mediator: Karl Folkens of Florence
Date of settlement: Dec. 2
Special damages: $315,000
Most helpful experts: Dr. David Eagerton (forensic toxicologist)
Attorneys for plaintiffs: Sam Clawson and Christy Fargnoli of Clawson Fargnoli Utsey in Charleston, James Felts of Harmon & Felts in Georgetown, and Patrick Napolski of George Sink Injury Lawyers in North Charleston
Attorney(s) for defendants: Withheld
The post Bars to pay $2.5M in dram shop suit 
first appeared on South Carolina Lawyers Weekly.