Dram shop settlement pays parents $975,000

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly and The State Newspaper recently reported on a dram shop settlement between the parents of Justin A. Timmerman and Jake’s Bar and Grill. Mr. Timmerman was killed by a drunk driver in May 2012 while walking across the street in Columbia’s Five Points district. Mr. Timmerman was 24 years old.

In an article titled “Bar’s insurer pays $975,000 to settle dram shop suit,” The State Newspaper reports that the driver previously incurred a $200 bar tab at the Defendant’s bar in the hours before the incident. The January 16, 2013 edition of The State Newspaper also discussed the key role Five Points’ security cameras played in discovery. That article is available by clicking here.

In its reporting on the case, Lawyers Weekly quotes Timmerman lawyer Dick Harpootlian saying, “The first thing I look at when I get a case involving someone who was injured or killed by a drunk driver is where did the driver get drunk?” Harpootlian is also quoted further explaining that, “I’m looking for resources for my client to go after but also, from a social policy standpoint, you’re not going to stop this by simply going after the driver.”

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