Tiger Woods faces a wrongful death lawsuit after a 24-year-old employee at the golfer’s flagship restaurant crashed his car after being served alcohol while working as a bartender. According to a CBS news report, Woods is being sued along with his girlfriend Erica Herman and his Woods Jupiter Corporation, which runs the restaurant in Jupiter, Florida.
The lawsuit, which was filed this week, alleges that the employees, management, and owners of The Woods restaurant over-served alcohol to Nicolas Immesberger who they knew were suffering from alcoholism. The suit, filed by Immesberger’s parents, says the defendants not only ignored Immesberger’s alcoholism but fueled it by serving him alcohol to the point of severe intoxication and then sending him out to his car to drive home. Immesberger crashed his vehicle and died on Dec. 10, 2018, after leaving the restaurant.
Fatal DUI Crash
The lawsuit alleges that Herman, the restaurant’s general manager, and Woods, knew Immesberger was aware of his alcohol abuse issues adding that the couple was drinking with Immesberger just a few nights before the fatal crash. Woods called the incident “a terrible night, a terrible ending” and said he and his girlfriend “feel bad” for the family. The complaint states that Immesberger finished his shift at the restaurant at 3 p.m. He stayed around to drink for another three hours before he got in his car and crashed it while driving home.
The lawsuit also says his co-workers were aware that one month before this accident, he had crashed another vehicle while driving home and that one of Immesberger’s friends had told employees at The Woods to stop serving him alcohol. At the time of his death, Immesberger’s blood-alcohol level was .256, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08. The lawsuit states that Woods, as the owner of the restaurant, is responsible for making sure his employees and management were not over-serving its employees and customers.
Liability Issues
Restaurants and other establishments that are licensed to sell alcohol to the public have a responsibility to ensure they are not over-serving alcohol to customers or employees. Over-serving alcohol increases the risk of major injury car accidents as well as the risk of other incidents such as physical fights, slip-and-fall accidents, sexual assault, etc.
Bars and restaurants would be well advised to train their employees regarding when to stop serving alcohol in order to prevent these types of tragic situations. If you have been injured or if you have lost a loved one as the result of an establishment’s over-serving alcohol, please contact an experienced California personal injury lawyer to obtain more information about pursuing your legal rights.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiger-woods-sued-wrongful-death-lawsuit-involving-drunk-driving-accident-includes-girlfriend-erica-herman/
