It’s Illegal to Serve Drunk Customers. Why Do Bartenders Do It?

In Kentucky and many other places, it’s illegal for someone licensed to sell alcohol and their employees to serve someone they know or reasonably should know is already intoxicated. But it frequently happens. A 2013 study included observing customers and interviewing bartenders who explained why they broke the law.

If you’re injured in an accident by someone who was intoxicated and served by a party with a liquor license under the state’s Dram Shop Act, you may be able to obtain compensation for your injuries.

Researchers Find Many Reasons Why Bartenders Break the Law

A team from the Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research made 89 purchase attempts with pseudo-patrons to buy alcohol and later issued a report on their findings. The research team went to 24 bars and nightclubs in Oslo, Norway. They interviewed seven bartenders from the same establishments (but weren’t involved with the staged purchases).

Those pretending to be patrons behaved as if they were intoxicated. They were usually served without the bartender showing any effort to evaluate their potential intoxication. Researchers stated their general indifference to the law came down to three factors:

• A working situation not suited for responsible serving
• A drinking culture that collectively accepted intoxication
• Opposition to Norway’s Alcohol Act (which makes serving intoxicated patrons illegal), which they see as too strict and poorly enforced

Bartenders blamed the fact they served intoxicated patrons on:

• Hectic working conditions
• A desire to keep a good atmosphere in the bar, which requires avoiding conflicts with drunk patrons

The premises showed there was a liberal drinking culture that accepts a high intoxication level. Researchers concluded, “Serving is the rule, and denial of service is the exception.” There were 32 observed test purchases. Only three of the apparently drunk customers were refused service.

Bartenders told researchers that Norway’s law was so strict that it was impossible to follow. They pointed out that working conditions were not suitable for responsibly serving customers. Researchers observed that bars could be so chaotic that it appeared impossible for a bartender to properly assess a customer’s sobriety or lack thereof.

Serving Drunk Patrons Prevents Confrontations

Someone drunk can become unpredictable and potentially violent. These bartenders generally didn’t see it that way. Stopping someone from drinking was seen as a greater risk than continuing it.

Bartenders confirmed researchers’ impressions and talked about widespread drunkenness, especially on weekends.  They emphasized the importance of maintaining a good atmosphere and wanted guests to have fun. In an atmosphere where intoxication is the norm, not serving a customer alcohol violates that norm.

Bartenders try to avoid confrontations because those refused service can become very angry and threaten them. Bartenders told them the following,

• “It’s not easy to deal with drunken customers. I have experienced threats many times.”
• “It can be much easier to give people one beer too many than to ask them to go home. This may be one reason why there is less refusal [of service] late at night, when the bartender is tired and cannot bear any more bickering.”

Bartenders stated serving drunk customers provided more predictable outcomes than refusing to serve them.

The End is Keeping Customers Happy. The Means is Serving Alcohol

When bartenders assess customers, they notice their inebriation and overall behavior. If they’re pleasant and happy but drunk, giving them another beer is typically not seen as a problem.

Bartenders confirmed high alcohol consumption occurs among guests and employees. There’s a drinking culture that values high levels of intoxication. Bartenders are surrounded by people who drink a lot and are part of the same culture. This affects their view of drunkenness and acceptance of heavy drinking.

This drunken culture makes over-serving intoxicated guests more common, and bartenders may not see serving inebriated customers as over-serving. Since being drunk is the norm, keeping the person drunk is part of the job.

Unfortunately, if an Intoxicated Patron  Gets Behind the Wheel, the Result Could be Deadly. Under Kentucky law, establishments that serve alcohol don’t have a valid excuse for knowingly overserving customers who injure someone as a result of being intoxicated. Keeping customers happy is not a legal excuse. Nor is avoiding a confrontation with a drunken patron. Drinking establishments have a duty to refrain from serving patrons who are clearly intoxicated, and even those whom they should know are intoxicated. Failing to satisfy this duty has deadly consequences and cannot be absolved because the bartender or server wants to avoid a conflict with a drunken passenger.

Thus, if you have been injured by a drunken driver, you should consult with an attorney immediately to discuss your rights. Our lawyers have decades of experience handling vehicle accident and dram shop claims. To set up a free initial consultation with an experienced lawyer at our firm, call our Louisville office at 502-589-5600 (toll-free at 855-385-9532) or contact us online.