6-year-old Makaylin Angel was killed by an allegedly drunken driver
On November 3, 2009, 6-year-old Makaylin Angel was killed by an allegedly drunken driver in Harris County. The fatal accident occurred as the child was crossing the street with her family. A driver that police suspect was intoxicated at the time of the accident lost control of his SUV and ran into Makaylin, killing her. The driver was arrested on charges of intoxication manslaughter.
This is simply a tragic incident. While it is apparent that criminal charges will be brought against the defendant, it is also significant to note that the family of the victim will have a dram shop cause of action against the establishment, Bimbo's, that allegedly served the defendant the alcohol.
Most people are not aware that the State of Texas has set into place rules that bars must follow in order to ensure the safe service of alcohol. The laws surrounding the safe service of alcohol essentially say that it is illegal for a bar to serve a person to the point of intoxication or to serve a person that is obviously intoxicated. When a bar serves someone alcohol, they assume a significant responsibility for making sure that that person does not hurt themselves or others.
Given the circumstances of this incident and the fact that the TABC found another illegally intoxicated person at the establishment on the very same day in question, it seem apparent that this bar does not have a vested interest in following the rules. I see this as a reckless disregard for rules that are there to protect the public.
My firm has many years of experience in pursuing these types of wrongful death cases. The way we operate in a wrongful death dram shop case is to conduct an initial investigation to ascertain bar's contribution to the incident. Once we have this preliminary information, we then file a lawsuit against the bar and do everything in our power to ensure that they pay the victims all that they are entitled to.
While no amount of money will ever compensate Makaylin's family for their loss, winning a wrongful death case against a bar forces them to change their operating procedures, or even to close down altogether, thus making sure that no other family has to suffer the same way.
Posted by:
Houston wrongful death attorney Michael Grossman
| Posted on:
11/11/2009
| Comments (0)
The stories and situations mentioned on this blog are for informational purposes
only. Grossman Law Offices does not claim to represent any party referenced in this
post. This blog exists to raise public awareness of the very real dangers we face
every day and to serve as a central location where information and opinions can
be exchanged with regard to the way that the situations mentioned on this site are
impacted by existing legal statutes.
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