$112.9 Million Verdict in Dram Shop Case After Crash Leaves 6-Year-Old With Traumatic Brain Injury

On a summer night in August 2023, Pedro Jaimes Suarez rear-ended the Carpenter family vehicle on an Austin road. Suarez was heavily intoxicated at the time. The impact pushed the car under a commercial trailer, compressing the passenger compartment and causing severe harm to everyone inside.

The most serious injuries fell on a 6-year-old girl in the back seat. She sustained traumatic brain injury and went into cardiac arrest at the scene. Surgeons had to remove a portion of her skull to relieve swelling, and she permanently lost vision in one eye. Caitlin Carpenter and Lorenzo Marquez, the two adults in the vehicle, were also injured in the crash.

The lawsuit filed in Travis County targeted Suarez and a second set of defendants: Wings 'N More, an Austin bar and restaurant, and two of its employees. Plaintiffs alleged that Wings LLC served Suarez alcohol at a time when he was obviously intoxicated, bringing the case under Texas's dram shop liability statute. The theory required establishing, by clear and convincing evidence, Suarez's condition when he left the establishment and the causal link between that service and the collision.

Robert C. Alden and Carson May of Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson tried the case before Judge Cory Liu. Trial ran September 22 through 25, 2025. Defense counsel for Wings 'N More, Suarez, and the named employees each appeared separately, contesting both liability and damages.

The jury returned a unanimous verdict apportioning fault among four parties: Pedro Jaimes Suarez at 60 percent, Wings LLC at 37 percent, employee Leo Viera at 2 percent, and employee Mireya Cruz Marquez at 1 percent. Total damages across all plaintiffs came to $112,917,469.53. The jury separately found that Suarez operated a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, meeting the standard for gross negligence, but awarded $0 in exemplary damages. The verdict ranked first among all Travis County civil verdicts for 2025 and eighth on the Texas Lawbook's statewide list for the year. As of the Texas Lawbook's publication date, no appeal had been filed.