A jury recently ruled that the majority share of negligence rested on a bar’s shoulders in a drunk driving wrongful death case.

According to the jury, the standards that were put in place to get the bar’s license to serve liquor in the state of Pennsylvania were ignored by the bar’s staff. The bartenders continued to serve the now-deceased woman on November 5, 2006, even though she was clearly intoxicated. As a result, she left the bar with a blood alcohol toxicity roughly three times over the legal limit. Following her exit from the bar, she got in her car and proceeded to try to drive home. She crashed around Delaware Avenue, suffering fatal injuries.

While the bar was in its rights to serve alcohol, limitations put in place in Pennsylvania makes it a violation to serve alcohol to someone who is visibly over-intoxicated. The message of the jury’s decision was that all bars and restaurants will be held accountable for their social responsibility to carefully monitor their patrons. As a result, the jury placed 51% blame on the bar and 49% blame on the woman, discounting the appropriate amount of judgment from the total claim against the bar. Many hope this case will instill moral accountability alongside profitability in any mistaken club and bar owners’ priorities.