Last year a married couple died in a car accident after leaving the popular swingers’ club Trapeze, in Broward County. The couple left the club with a woman, Judith Khouri, whom they’d met at there and decided to spend some additional quality time together. Sadly, the threesome never made it to their destination. Instead, their swing was cut short by a deadly car accident. Khouri, who had been driving, was the only one to survive the crash and was reportedly severely intoxicated when she climbed out of the vehicle.
A year later it is still unknown if Khouri will be brought up on charges, but Trapeze has been. Attorneys are suing Trapeze on behalf of the deceased couple’s daughter for continuing to serve alcohol to Khouri even after she was clearly intoxicated. Ironically, the club does not serve alcohol, but provides bartenders to mix drinks for clients who bring their own liquor.
The situation raises a few issues. The first is that at least one of the deceased did not appear to be wearing a seatbelt which is illegal in Florida and would have resulted in her or she being fined had they been pulled over. The next issue is that the driver, Khouri, was intoxicated and more so, provided her own alcohol. Depending on the Khouri’s blood alcohol content, she could be charged criminally and have their license revoked. The last issue is that while the club served mixed drinks to Khouri, they did not sell alcohol to her and were being paid to mix the drinks rather than be a bar, thus bringing their liability for the accident into question.
Withstanding all of these concerns, the charges against Trapeze for negligence appear legally valid. They continued to serve alcohol to someone who was intoxicated and then proceeded to allow that patron to leave the premises without calling a taxi or other ride service.
Florida law relies on the legal standard if comparative liability. This means that the club could be at fault for negligence and Khouri can be at fault for driving under the influence, while the deceased might still be at fault for not using their seatbelt. Each of the mitigating factors will diminish how much the suing party can collect from each of the possible defendants, but won’t necessarily diminish the overall damages collected.
Cases such as this, while tragic are not uncommon. Driving under the influence is a deadly decision, allowing patrons to get so severely intoxicated and drunk is a legal liability. If you have found that you or a family member may require a seasoned Miami Car Accident Attorney for an accident because of an intoxicated driver, Aigen Injury Law, is here to assist you. We understand that in this moment, especially when there is a death or an injured individual, that litigation may not be on your mind. However, your lawyer at Aigen Injury Law will be available to guide you, protect your rights, answer all your questions, and fight to ensure that you maximize your recovery against all responsible parties.
Please do not hesitate to submit an online FREE CASE REVIEW. At Aigen Injury Law, an experienced lawyer is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week working relentlessly on behalf of victims who suffer from all types of accidents. We offer a free consultation for your personal injury case and there is no fee unless we recover for you.