When an intoxicated person causes harm to someone else, Virginia, like every state, allows the injured person to file a civil lawsuit seeking damages from the individual who caused the accident. But many states also allow the injured person to sue the person or business that provided the alcohol, at least under certain circumstances. When this type of lawsuit is against an alcohol vendor, it's often called a "dram shop" claim. Third-party liability claims against non-vendors are typically referred to as "social host liability" claims.
Here's how Virginia law applies to third-party liability in an alcohol-related accident.
Virginia is one of a handful of states that have no dram shop law on the books. And Virginia courts, unlike the courts of most other states, have been unwilling to permit lawsuits against bars, restaurants, and other alcohol vendors that provide alcohol to a person who later causes an accident. In two cases, Williamson v. Old Brogue and Robinson v. Matt Mary Moran, Inc., the Virginia Supreme Court made clear that, under state law, the consumption—not the furnishing—of the alcohol is the proximate cause of alcohol-related accidents.
Here's an example of an injured person's options when it comes to these kinds of situations. Suppose that Diane goes to Bob's Bar for a few drinks. After several rounds, she becomes noticeably intoxicated, but the bartender continues to serve her. Eventually, Diane tries to leave the bar. As she exits onto the bar's front steps, she stumbles and falls down the steps, colliding with Patti. Patti and Diane both fall to the ground and both are injured.
Patti can seek damages from Diane for causing the accident that injured her, since Patti was almost certainly negligent. However, Patti can't sue Bob's Bar for serving the alcohol that caused Diane's intoxication, since this is the sort of "dram shop" claim that Virginia law does not allow.
Many states that allow dram shop claims also allow an injured person to sue a social host who provided alcohol to a party guest or someone else who went on to cause an alcohol-related accident. Virginia, however, does not allow such social host claims.
However, social hosts in Virginia who provide alcohol to a minor under age 21 can face criminal penalties for serving alcohol to a minor.