As a social host, you have a duty of care to ensure that all your invited guests stay safe on your property, reach their homes safely and don’t cause harm to others on the road. Under Ontario’s social host liability laws, social hosts are those who don’t sell alcohol for profit, have a friendly, non-employer relationship with guests and are serving alcohol on premises fully under their control.
Even if the party is one where guests bring their own drinks this liability remains. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident after leaving a party hosted by a faulty or negligent host, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer immediately. You may be entitled to compensation.
There are various types of social host liability under this law. Liability as a server occurs if the person serves alcohol beyond the point of intoxication, knowing that it is hazardous to do so. Liability as a sponsor of potentially dangerous activities such as impaired driving is another type. Premises liability also comes under this category. The host should have a choice of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. There should be plenty of water to drink. Hosts should restrict their own drinking so that they remain alert. It’s important to check beforehand with a group if they have a designated driver, so that this person’s intake can be monitored. In case a guest is unable to drive himself/herself home, hosts should provide accommodation till the effects of alcohol wear off fully. Hosts should ensure that they have a handy list of call-taxis or designated driving services.
