Happy New Year! Watch Out for These Legal Woes…

New Year’s Eve is almost here and it is definitely a time to celebrate and spend time with friends and family. With all of the festive celebrating come some legal problems to try and avoid.

Don’t Drink and Drive

Yes, of course, we have all heard this one before and we will hear it again and again but the reality is people still drink and drive. If you are caught drinking and driving you will be arrested and you will find yourself in a costly legal problem.

Each state has slightly different laws as to what constitutes drunk driving and the penalties and fines attached to it so make sure you check out our resource library and read up on what the penalties are in your state.

Party at Your House?

This year you may decide, as I have, that instead of driving you will have your friends and family come over to your house for the festivities. You will then be able to avoid driving after consuming alcohol and also avoid driving around others who have consumed alcohol; however, there is still a risk of getting in trouble.

The host of a party can be held both criminally and civilly liable for injuries caused by a drunk driver if the drunk driver became intoxicated at their party. If you are the host of a party and see that one of your guests is visibly drunk and you decide to continue to serve them alcohol, you will likely be liable if they leave your home and get into an accident. The same goes if you serve a minor alcohol and they get into an accident.

Laws on host liability for drunk drivers vary by state, and will depend on the level of recklessness and disregard the host displays, but being criminally liable plus facing potential civil action is enough to make me require my guests who decide to drink to stay over and leave in the morning.

Have a safe and happy New Year celebration without any alcohol related legal woes.