Alcohol Abuse. Who is to blame?

[jafsica]

A Star Tribune Headline in the twin cities section yesterday:
Mankato bar shut down for its role in woman's death.

Here's the back story:
On her 21st birthday, Amanda Jax drank so much alcohol that she died (about 0.46 BAC, so she was likely a heavy drinker to begin with or she would have passed out/died sooner). She happened to drink at Sidelines

Comments

[reject]

Bars have a responsibility to refuse service to patrons after they start exhibiting obvious signs of intoxication.

[jafsica]

I agree with you on that issue.
I also think that it's not solely their responsibility.

A significant amount of people who die from alcohol poisoning did not drink at a bar, many of them underage.

Is simply faulting the bar going to make the problem go away?

[reject]

Is simply faulting the bar going to make the problem go away?

No, of course not. And I can't imagine that anyone actually thinks it will.

Anyway, it's a heavy burden of proof, and I rather doubt the bar would lose the case.

[jafsica]

I don't see how giving money to the girl's family does anything to solve the problem (well, maybe enough money to cover the funeral, etc.)
They really did a shitty job (the bar).
There were lots of problems with the bar, lots of sketchy things. They were repeat offenders, so they definitely deserved to lose their license.

I highly doubt my dad will ever see the money he still owes my dad's company. Not good business practices.

Anyway, this is really a societal issue. Bars do need to step up, but that is only a part of the solution. Find a way to educate young adults and teenagers, so the message will actually reach them. I learned all about this several times throughout my secondary education. Why does this stuff continue to happen?

[curlyindustries]

I honestly think/hope that the mother is just grief-stricken and she's lashing out at anyone she can.

[jafsica]

She is grief-stricken.
It turns out the lawsuit also blames the friends, which is good.

They are to blame, too.

But, it's likely that no criminal charges will be filed because there isn't obvious evidence against them.

[strolling_gecko]

The Sidelines in question was located in Mankato, not Minneapolis.

I think this is mostly just a bad, bad accident where no one made a good decision, which is generally how shit like this happens.

[jafsica]

Oops, that was a Typo.
I know where Sidelines is. I've been there before. (They both start with M).

It was definitely a situation where no one made good decisions.

The question is this:
When will people learn?