alcohol to minor-reimbursed for property damage by adult

[scjm]

What is the name of your state? Texas
We are not sure how to handle this but our son who is a minor had an accident involving alcohol and we want to hold the adult who provided the alcohol to our son responsible (our son has been reprimanded, lost work, a vehicle and spent a few days in the hospital - we know he drank the alcohol but the adult, who is still providing to minors needs to learn also and according to TX law is responsible for all damages caused by the minor) and get reimbursed for the vehicle damage which was totalled, the pain and suffering of our son who will be in physical therapy for months and may not get full use of his wrist (he is a guitar player) again and loss of work for all of us while he was in the hospital. We know the other adult is responsible for all damages caused by the monor but want to know if it is worthwhile and feasible to try to get reimbursed for this and how do we do it? Is there a time frame, specific law to refer to and what kind of reimbursement should we seek. We have not had the adult charged yet but were not sure if we should contact him/his family first and try to settle and/or threaten to have him charged and risk losing his license etc, fined etc?What is the name of your state?

 

[Ohiogal]

You really need to talk to an attorney but also be aware that your son will bear some of the responsibility and if it is found to be more than 50% you may lose out on any recovery.

 

[scjm]

Not sure what to do now...

We have contacted an attorney and he mentioned going to the parents first of the 21 year old who bought the alcohol and they can file a claim with their homeowners ins since he lives at home. Has anyone had any experience with this? We know our son drank the alcohol but if this other person had not bought it then it would not have been there for him to drink. Our vehicle has been totalled - thank God no one else was hurt or in the vehicle with our son. Our son will have therapy for months and may not be able to play guitar again which is what his career was possibly going to involve. Not sure what to seek for damages in addition to the replacement of the vehicle. TX law states that the adult who provides the alcohol is responsible for all damages caused by the minors consumption which makes me believe that although our son drank it, the adult who bought it needs to pay for the damage to the vehicle, lost wages etc?

 

[jpritchett81]

How old is your son? Your son will be responsible for some of the damages as well.


Here's some info by the way....
http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/LegInfo/UnderageLaws.htm

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/AL/content/htm/al.004.00.000106.00.htm

 

[acmb05]

We have contacted an attorney and he mentioned going to the parents first of the 21 year old who bought the alcohol and they can file a claim with their homeowners ins since he lives at home. Has anyone had any experience with this? We know our son drank the alcohol but if this other person had not bought it then it would not have been there for him to drink.

JUST SAY NO!

TX law states that the adult who provides the alcohol is responsible for all damages caused by the minors consumption which makes me believe that although our son drank it, the adult who bought it needs to pay for the damage to the vehicle, lost wages etc?

Well actually the law says they CAN be held responsible it does not say they WILL be held responsible. Also your son will have to take some of the blame.

 

[scjm]

possible charge if we persue and possible assault at party

We are wondering if we persue this, if that will automatically bring charges against our son since he has not been cited as of now - happened a month ago? We also have reason to believe that there was an assault at the party he was at that may have contributed to the accident. He had a gash in the back of his head that was bleeding a lot it seems from the amount of blood in his hair but we don't know what hit him. Also, there is no blood on the seat he was in when he crashed or anywhere in the van except on a fold out bed in the back. If there had been an assault at this party and he was injured there - 911 should have been called and had they been called, he would not have gotten in his van to begin with. The gash required 9 staples so it was somthing that the other partiers should have called on. If this is the case, would the person who purchased be responsible for the accident or the homeowner where he was injured or the person who assaulted him? We are not sure all the details of the house he was at as he does not remember anything after coming into the house from the backyard after hearing someone inside fighting (a guy and his girlfriend). The other suspicious part is that where he wrecked was in a place where only the people living in this gated community would have seen the wreck or someone leaving the "party". The 911 caller was a male but wanted to remain annonymous and no one was with him at the scene. Most normal people, if calling 911 about an acciden, would stay to make sure the victim was ok don't you think, but this person didn't. We think it was someone from the party who either was the assaulter, knew the assaulter or was impaired themselves and didn't want to be there when the cops showed up? Should we have it investigated and if so, how do we do that this long after the crime? Any ideas would be great.