South Carolina liquor liability laws are a controversial topic that has been discussed across the state. In May 2024, the Blind Horse Saloon in Greenville, South Carolina, closed, according to its owners, because of high insurance premiums that it would have to pay to maintain its liquor liability insurance.
South Carolina law Section 61-2-145 of the South Carolina Code, which deals with liability insurance for holders of alcohol-serving licenses, requires bars and restaurants that serve alcohol after 5 p.m. to have a liability insurance policy of $1 million in place to cover claims stemming from dram shop liability cases.
We thought that here at the Thomas Creech Law Offices blog, we might delve into this issue a little bit because it’s interesting, popular, and relevant.
Has a drunk driver injured you? Contact us at 864-235-4999 by tapping the button below or filling out our request form for a free consultation.
What is a Dram Shop?
What is a dram? A dram is a unit of measurement, a unit of liquid capacity, or a small amount of a drink. In the very old times, alcohol was served by the dram – a small unit or amount. So bars and taverns that served alcohol by the dram were called dram shops.
So, let’s look at the various views from the different perspectives.
The legal requirement that mostly small, locally owned bars and restaurants have a $1 million liability policy sits right at the intersection of a fun night out and the safety of the general public.
Bars and restaurants are, for the most part, small businesses, locally owned, and staffed with local employees. These establishments help us enjoy a night out, take in some entertainment such as music or dancing, and enjoy some really good food. When operated safely, a bar usually has no safety issues that may affect patrons or the general public.
On the other hand, drunk driving is a scourge on our state, endangering innocent citizens and the motoring public. The consequences of drunk driving are horrific. I have represented families in many cases involving drunk driving crashes and injuries caused by drunk driving. There are many websites that you can visit that will detail the horrific statistics associated with drunk driving.
History of South Carolina Liability Law and Dram Shops
First, dram shop liability laws are not new. In fact, these laws were in place before the United States was a country. Dram shop laws originated in England. Many states in the U.S. adopted dram shop laws as early as the 1700s. All 50 states have dram shop liability laws.
And what exactly is a dram shop liability law? Simply put, it places liability on the bar, tavern, or restaurant that oversees an intoxicated person who then goes out and harms an innocent person. The bar, tavern, or restaurant owner -or its employees- is in the best position to know whether that customer is too drunk to be served. A bar should never serve a customer too much alcohol, making the customer too drunk, thereby creating a danger to innocent people around them.
If the establishment overserves an already intoxicated person, then under our very old laws, the bar, tavern, or restaurant is at fault for any subsequent harm caused by the drunk patron.
Responsibility of Owners
Regardless of your opinion on the societal value of alcohol, we can all agree that alcohol – its use, its sale, etc. carries extreme risks for all involved. And any business that aims to make money from the sale of alcohol is, by its very nature, engaging in a very risky operation.
Why should innocent people who are in no control over a drunk person’s decision to drive lose their lives or receive a debilitating serious personal injury at the hands of the overserved drunk driver? After all who served the drunk driver? Who enabled the drunk driver? Who was in the best position to stop or prohibit that drunk driver from be overserved in the first place? The bar, tavern, or restaurant, that’s who. And these establishments have to be accountable for the consequences of their decisions on our community.
A small business must operate safely within the community it operates. A small business should bring or add value to a community, not harm the community. The damages, harms, and injuries to a person hit in a drunk driving crash are staggering, simply put. Yet how many of these establishments have any assets to pay? Do they own the building, furniture, equipment, or anything else? No, they can’t pay for the harm they cause unless they have insurance.
Therefore, the bar at fault for overserving a drunk driving customer would have to close anyway because it would have a judgment against it bigger than it could pay out of its pocket. And the victims of the drunk driver crash will go without a penny for their losses. And the drunk driver will go to jail for 20-30 years. Who wins here? No one. But with insurance, the bar can at least stay in business, and the victims can be compensated adequately and fairly.
South Carolina Liquor Liability Laws Solutions
How do we find the solution here? It begins with the bars, taverns, and restaurants. These small businesses, choose to engage in a highly risky endeavor. They must train their employees to be on the lookout for drunk patrons. They must also create an environment that does not promote excessive use of alcohol, like happy hours, reduced prices for shots, drinking games and contests, etc. Essentially, bars, taverns, and restaurants should not serve a customer to the point of obvious visual intoxication. It’s that simple. They have nothing to worry about if the bar doesn’t do that.
Once bars, taverns, and restaurants eliminate the problems they create and cause, insurance premiums will go down for them. Roads will be safer, drunk driver crashes will decrease, and there will be lives will be better for all South Carolina residents and families.
South Carolina Liquor Liability Laws Wrap Up
Injured by a drunk driver? Call us or fill out the confidential contact form below. If you want information or representation in cases involving dram shop laws or drunk driver car crashes, please call us at 864-235-4999. The Thomas Creech Law Offices represents Greenville, South Carolina families in liability cases against bars, including wrongful death drunk driving car crash accident cases.
[ninja_form id=1]