Know your responsibilities as a New Year’s party host
Posted Dec 31, 2014 8:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
(660NEWS) – Are you hosting a party tonight?
There are certain responsibilities that come along with having people over to ring in the New Year at your place.
Once those guests are in your house, they are your responsibility.
“Occupiers liability is the same as if someone slips on your sidewalk or stairs and you haven’t cleared them,” says criminal lawyer Michael Shapray.
“You are always inviting people in and you are taking some responsibility for what happens to people inside your home. Obviously the hope is that everyone is going to be responsible.”
That includes when they’re drinking and your responsibility doesn’t end once they’re out the door.
“If they are serving alcohol and they allow people to leave a party and they drive and then get into an accident, there have certainly been some cases where host liability has been part of lawsuits where injuries occur from accidents of people leaving parties,” says Shapray.
It’s up to you as the host to make sure people get home safely, especially if they’ve been drinking.
“There are a couple issues that arise with drinking and going to parties over New Year’s and the fact that you can be charged criminally. And of course, there’s also the issue that the host of the party can be held at least partially responsible.”
Like it or not, you can be held responsible for people being over-served so keep an eye out and make sure everyone gets home safely.
“I think the real issues are people who leave a party in an intoxicated state and how they get home and what happens during that time,” says Shapray.
