Pennsylvania Liquor Liability Insurance
Are You Liable For That Drunk Driving Fatality?
A man goes out one night visiting several bars and having drinks at each one. Becoming steadily drunker as the night goes on, he gets in his car to drive home and causes an accident that results tragically in the death of the driver the man hits.
Which drinking establishment could be held liable for the fatality? Who bears responsibility for serving the patron?
If you're in Pennsylvania, every single one - even the first location, where only one drink was ordered.
Training - The First Line Of Defense
It is critical to have employees of alcohol-serving establishments to have servers undergo training in alcohol service like Training for Intervention Procedures, the National Hospitality Institute's Techniques of Alcohol Management and state-specific beverage association programs like Pennsylvania's Responsible Alcohol Management Training Program and Maryland's Beverage Education and Server Training Program. Providing training is the first line of defense for your establishment. It is now so common, that your failure to provide this first line of defense will put you at a significant disadvantage when defending Liquor Liability Insurance claims.
When Training Is Not Enough
But even with training and ongoing refresher courses, it's possible for businesses to run into trouble - which is why you should always have and follow a written policy for serving alcohol and review it regularly with servers. The training and serving according to the training can prevent incidents from happening, but the written policy and documentation of adherence to that policy is going to be your first line of defense if an incident should happen.
Written policies clearly communicate your expectations to your staff as to how you want patrons to be served. When policies are followed it also provides a defense for you and your staff to rely on in litigation. If on the witness stand, in front of a jury, and the future of the your business on the line, what answer would you like to give? Would you like to tell the jury that you took the time to keep the public and patrons safe by developing and requiring strict adherence to the policy or that you had no policy that might have prevented the accident.
But even with these protections, the likelihood of being brought into a lawsuit if a fatal accident occurs is extremely high. Liquor Liability Insurance policies provide the protection your establishment needs. Don't leave your business vulnerable to other establishments that do not have the strict standards and serving policies you maintain. Contact Robertson Insurance & Risk Management at 717-625-3770 to begin protecting yourself now or by clicking the Business Risk Review Request button on the side of this page.