Can I sue the bar that served the drunk driver who hit me in El Paso?

Why the bar can matter

Drunk drivers often carry only the minimum insurance Texas requires, or none at all. When your injuries are serious, that isn't enough. If a bar, restaurant or club kept serving the driver after it was obvious he was drunk, Texas law can make the business responsible too, and businesses carry their own insurance.

What Texas dram shop law requires

Under the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, a business that sells alcohol is responsible for a drunk customer's crash only if:

• at the time it served him, it was apparent that he was obviously intoxicated to the extent that he presented a clear danger to himself and others; and
• his intoxication was a proximate cause of the crash.

That is a demanding standard. The question isn't whether he had a few drinks, but whether staff kept serving someone who was slurring, stumbling, loud or falling asleep at the bar. Texas law makes this the exclusive claim against sellers.

The "safe harbor" defense

Bars often argue they are protected because their staff attended state-approved seller-server training. The defense only works if the business required the training, the employee actually attended, and management did not directly or indirectly encourage serving intoxicated customers. Drink specials, pressure to sell and ignored policies can defeat it.

Serving minors and house parties

Texas law also allows claims against an adult 21 or older, other than the minor's parent, guardian or spouse, who knowingly provided alcohol to a minor under 18, or knowingly allowed the minor to be served on property the adult owns or leases, when the minor's intoxication caused the crash. That can reach house parties, not just bars.

El Paso's nightlife, both sides of the border, and New Mexico

El Paso police have identified drunk-driving hotspots that include Downtown near Stanton and I-10, Five Points, I-10 between Yarbrough and Lee Trevino, and the Zaragoza corridor, and Cincinnati Street in Kern Place draws crowds every weekend. Where the driver drank matters:

• In Texas, Texas dram shop law applies.
• In New Mexico, such as Sunland Park, Santa Teresa or Anthony, New Mexico's own liquor liability law and deadlines apply.
• In Juárez, Mexican law governs the business, and a claim is rarely practical. The driver's insurance and your own coverage carry more weight.

The evidence that proves it

• Receipts, tabs and card statements showing how much and how fast the driver was served.
• The bar's security video, which is often recorded over within days.
• Witnesses, rideshare records and social media posts from that night.
• The police report, blood or breath results and body camera video from the arrest.

We send preservation letters immediately, because a bar's video is usually the first evidence to disappear.

Claims beside the dram shop claim

A dram shop claim is added to, not instead of, the claim against the drunk driver, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and, in serious cases, punitive damages against the driver. Punitive damages against a drunk driver. Jimmy Suerken grew up in El Paso. He is a Mexican-American attorney who speaks Spanish, and you can talk with him directly. We handle El Paso cases the way we handle them in Houston: by phone, email and video call, and in person when needed.

Drunk-driver crashes in El Paso: what to know

Other ways people ask this

The driver only had two drinks at the bar. Can I still sue it?

Probably not under Texas law, unless he was already obviously intoxicated and a clear danger when they served him. What the staff could see is what matters.

He drank in Juárez and crossed back. Can I sue the bar there?

A claim against a business in Mexico is governed by Mexican law and is rarely practical. We focus on the driver, his insurance and your own coverage.

What about a bar in Sunland Park or Anthony, New Mexico?

New Mexico has its own liquor liability law and deadlines. We review where he drank and which law applies.

Can I sue the person who threw the party?

In Texas, generally only if an adult 21 or older, other than a parent, guardian or spouse, knowingly provided alcohol to a minor under 18, or knowingly let the minor be served on property the adult owns or leases, and the minor's intoxication caused the crash.

How long do I have?

Generally two years in Texas. Don't wait: the bar's video may be gone within days.

Authority: Tex. Alco. Bev. Code § 2.02 · Tex. Alco. Bev. Code § 106.14 · EPPD DWI data to City Council (KFOX14, July 2026) · Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003