A dram shop (or dramshop) is a bar, tavern or similar commercial establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold.
[1] Generally, dram shop laws establish the liability of establishments arising out of the sale of alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons or minors who subsequently cause death or injury to third parties (those not having a relationship to the business that sold the alcohol) as a result of alcohol-related car crashes and other accidents.
[2] The laws are intended to protect the general public from the hazards of serving alcohol to minors and intoxicated patrons.
One Illinois court allowed a lawsuit against a company that dropped off self-serve barrels of beer at a union picnic.
[12] In Massachusetts, the state's highest court has held that a bar could be sued where a patron exhibiting "drunk, loud and vulgar" behavior was determined to be "visibly intoxicated".
"[14] To recover damages under the New York state dram shop law, a plaintiff must prove the following: In Texas, a patron must be so obviously intoxicated that he presents a clear danger to himself and others.
[17] A 1993 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found some reduction in alcohol-related fatalities from the implementation of dram shop laws though it did not control for the special cases of Utah and Nevada, which may have distorted the results.