Drunk driver sues bar for letting him drink for eight hours

A driver who crashed into the dividing wall of a motorway after an eight-hour drinking binge is suing the bar that served him for $1 million, claiming they should have cut him off.

Gordon Savage, of Dallas, started drinking at the W.W. Fairfield in Richardson at 6pm on 19 December, with employees continuing to serve him until 2am, as reported by the Dallas Morning News.

At this time he left the bar and drove home drunk, crashing into a dividing wall on the North Central Expressway at around 3am.

He was taken to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where he was treated for severe injuries, according to Savage’s attorney, Tom Carse. Despite the circumstances, Savage was never charged with drunken driving.

Now, Savage is seeking damages of $1m claiming that the bar should never have let him drink for such a long period of time.

Under Texas Dram Shop laws, bars and other drinking establishments can be held liable for injuries resulting from over-consumption of alcohol. According to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, if a bar continues to serve someone who is “obviously intoxicated,” the bar can be held partially liable.

A jury will decide the bar’s proportion of responsibility for the man’s injuries.