When you own a bar, you are open to a large number of liabilities as a result of the actions of your patrons. Alcohol has been known to bring out the worst in people, causing them to make poor decisions resulting in actions that are detrimental to other people or property. If the alcohol was obtained at your place of business, you could be held liable for the damages, no matter how extensive they are and whether they affect a person or property. This risk requires you to take on the appropriate liquor liability insurance to protect yourself from financial ruin. Damages an intoxicated person can cause can be costly, causing you to have to close your establishment’s doors.
Physical Fights
Because alcohol brings out the worst in people, many times the night ends up with two or more people in a physical fight. While many fights are harmless, those that cause physical harm to another person could end up in a lawsuit. While most of the time the charges and lawsuits are against the person responsible for the fight, there are times when the bar could be held liable. Without liquor liability insurance, you could find yourself in great financial trouble as a result, especially if the damages are severe and a person has a large number of hospital bills.
Car Accidents
If a car accident occurs as a result of a person’s consumption of alcohol at your establishment, you might be held liable for contributing to the intoxication of that person. While you are not directly at fault for the accident, the fact you served the person who then got behind the wheel of a car puts you at risk for major liability. If it can be proven the alcohol was obtained at your establishment, you could be held financially liable.
Over Serving and Under-Age Serving
If you have poorly trained employees or those who simply do not follow rules and they over serve your patrons, your business could be at risk. An examples of this include servers and bartenders who serve patrons who have already reached their limit of alcohol intake before posing a risk to themselves or anyone else. This could also include serving those who are underage, whether or not the bartender or server was aware of this fact.
Protecting you and your establishment from financial ruin with liquor liability insurance is the best way to ensure you stay in business. The right rider on your insurance policy will offer you the most protection in any type of liquor liability case.
