Could New Trend in Alcohol Enforcement Prevent Accidents Involving Teenagers?

Alcohol is a major contributor to accidents in the United States, and a factor in approximately 190,000 emergency room visits among persons under the age of 21 in 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Throughout California, a new trend in alcohol enforcement has emerged, in which hosts of social gatherings on private property are being held accountable for underage drinking and resulting car accidents, explains a lawyer in the state.
Prior to social host laws, liability for fatal and injury accidents seldom fell on the party who furnished the alcohol, as the legal precedent tended to place the blame for such incidents on the consumption and not the supplying of the alcohol. If adults provided the alcohol that contributed to minors’ reckless and injurious behavior, the victims and their families had no legal recourse.

The alcohol-related death of a teenager in Redding, California in 2009 illustrates not only the occurrence of underage drinking on private property but also the tragic consequences it can have. That December, 17-year-old Shelby Allen stayed the night at a friend’s house, where they engaged in binge drinking while the girl’s parents were in the other room. Allen, 5 feet 5 inches tall and 107 pounds, consumed between 16 and 17 shots of vodka within a short period of time. When she became ill, her friend guided her to the bathroom and left her there. In the morning, she was found dead from alcohol poisoning, reported the Redding Record Searchlight. Although a judge ruled that the parents did not provide the alcohol to the teens and consequently absolved them of liability, had they known about the drinking or supplied the alcohol, Allen’s parents would not have been able to pursue civil action against them.

In August 2010, then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that enabled such civil actions to be taken. Under the Teen Alcohol Safety Act, the victims of accidents resulting from the furnishing of alcohol to minors could file personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits against the social host who supplied the alcohol or permitted its consumption. Moreover, cities in Orange, San Diego, and other California counties have passed ordinances that result in fines to social hosts, explains a lawyer. As these laws have only begun to be implemented, their impact remains to be seen. Hopefully, they will help to prevent car accidents and other tragedies involving teens and alcohol.