Congratulations to your grad on their accomplishment! After years of hard work, they certainly deserve to be celebrated and many of us will soon gather friends and family to toast their success. We understand that some celebrations may involve alcohol and despite the best intentions, it’s important to know about Massachusetts Social Host law to make sure you host responsibly. We’ve seen too often how an overindulgence in alcoholic beverages can impair judgment and lead to unintended, devastating, and irreversible outcomes. As a host, you have certain responsibilities to keep your guests and others safe.
Social Host Liability: What You Should Know
- If you are serving alcohol at your party, it is your legal responsibility to do so in a safe and sensible manner.
- If a guest who was served alcohol at your party gets hurt during the party, you can be liable.
- If that same guest hurts someone else at the party, you can be liable.
- If that same adult guest injures themselves only after they’ve left the party, even in a car accident, you can not be held liable.
- If that guest leaves the party, drives drunk, and causes an accident that seriously injures or kills someone else, both the driver and you as the host can be held liable.
- If an inebriated and unsteady person at your party gets hurt as a result of dangerous or hazardous conditions on your property, you can also be held liable.
- Your standard homeowners insurance policy likely does not provide coverage for a private party and you may want to consider specialized insurance that covers alcohol, such as social host liquor liability insurance. This may be available through a catering or professional bartending service if you choose to hire one.
Social Host Liability and Underage Drinking
Although the legal drinking age across the country is 21, a significant percentage of teens report having consumed alcohol within the last month. Many parents seem to think “it’s better to have them under my roof than elsewhere.” However, if those involved in any of the situations described above are underage, all of the corresponding liability falls on you as the host/owner where the party took place and the consequences, both emotional and financial, can be devastating*.
If children or teens will be present at the party, or are considering hosting their own get-together at your home, please be aware:
- You and/or your child are breaking the law if you serve or provide alcohol to underage guests, or even just allow them to drink alcohol in your home. If you do, you may be prosecuted criminally and face a fine of up to $2,000, imprisonment for up to a year, or both. You can also be sued in a civil court.
- Many insurance policies do not cover situations where criminal conduct is involved. You may or may not be covered by your insurance, especially if the underage drinker causes injury or death by use of an automobile.
- As a result, you may be financially responsible if your child or underage guest injures another person (or themselves) after having consumed alcohol at your party. Civil judgments can be for millions of dollars, meaning hosts could lose their savings, college funds, retirement funds and even their house if the accident was severe enough.
- Be aware that the law also applies if you rent a hotel room for the party since you, in essence, ‘control’ the room.
*Source and a helpful download from mass.gov: https://www.mass.gov/doc/preventing-underage-drinking-action-plan-for-parents/download#:~:text=For%20you%20to%20be%20found,may%20also%20be%20sued%20civilly.
There are many ways to have a safe and fun graduation party without putting yourself, your guests, or others at risk. We encourage you to get together with friends and family to celebrate responsibly!
The team at Parker Scheer has extensive experience pursuing cases under the Massachusetts social host law.
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries as a result of alcohol consumption at a party, call us.
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