Imagine this – you’re hosting a big event for the holiday. You’ve invited a lot of people and made sure that the food, desserts, and gifts are ready. But that’s not all, you’ve also arranged for alcohol to be available throughout the party. Everyone has a great time sharing stories, reminiscing, and having a few drinks. Around midnight, everyone begins to head out and make their way home. Did you know, you have a social host alcohol liability ?
Just a few hours later, though, you receive a call that someone who was at your party had too much to drink and was involved in a car accident driving home. Under social host alcohol liability, you could potentially be held responsible for the accident and be forced to pay for some or even all of the damage.
You can be held responsible in such a situation because you were the event’s host and didn’t recognize the guest’s level of intoxication and allowed them to keep drinking. A judge or jury may consider this as serving alcohol “recklessly”. You can also be held liable if a minor is served alcohol at an event you’re hosting.
Though laws can vary from state to state, there are steps that you can take to help prevent such a situation from ever occurring when hosting events in which alcohol is served, such as:
- Never allow minors to be served alcohol
- Encourage guests to drink responsibly or use designated drivers
- Hire a professional bartender to serve drinks and refuse alcohol to those too intoxicated
- Host a cash bar, which may relieve you of any legal responsibility
- Provide transportation for guests that shouldn’t drive home
- Take keys away from those who are intoxicated and let them stay in your home overnight
In situations where the event is work-related and you are the employer of a guest who is in a DUI accident, the likelihood of being held liable is even greater since it can be considered that the employee was in the course and scope of his or her employment and was obligated to attend your event.