Retail stores selling alcoholic beverages to individuals operating vehicle must accept responsibility for the driver’s actions upon leaving their establishment, Alabama attorney Keith T. Belt says

The Georgia Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling and found a convenience store can be held liable for a fatal highway accident that took place after a driver purchased a 12-pack of beer. The court ruled 6-1 Tuesday that Exprezit! Stores 98-Georgia can be held liable for selling beer to a man named Billy Grundell, who was noticeably intoxicated when he made the purchase in Clinch County. His vehicle later struck a van, killing him and five other people.

The families of those injured sued, but the trial court and Georgia Court of Appeals awarded summary judgment to the store on grounds the beer was not sold for consumption on premises. The Supreme Court disagreed.

Commercial ventures offering alcoholic beverages for sale have a responsibility to ensure that those products are not sold to individuals, who are clearly impaired and are driving a vehicle. Attorneys, representing families of individuals injured or killed due to the sale of alcoholic products, understand the necessity to hold purveyors responsible for the actions of the purchaser following those transactions, especially when the buyer is already impaired.

About Belt Law Firm, P.C.

Belt Law Firm, P.C., is an Alabama personal injury law firm that represents the victims of dangerous and defective products throughout the communities of Birmingham, Bessemer, Cullman, Tuscaloosa, Jasper, Homewood, Jefferson County, Shelby County, Walker County, Blount County and Saint Clair County. Although the firm’s focus is on regional litigation in Alabama, the firm’s attorneys have also represented clients in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Delaware. To learn more, call the firm toll-free at (888) 933-1514 or use its online form.