Ryan Dunn Death: Can Dunn be Sued?

While Jackass star Ryan Dunn's private memorial service held on Wednesday was peaceful and his life and death have been honored by many fans and media, one question remains unanswered.
Can Dunn be sued?

Or to be more precise, can his estate be sued, now that Dunn himself is put to rest?

While his own death remains a tragedy to be mourned over, Dunn's driving at a speed of 130 mph with a blood alcohol level 2.5 times the legal limit also cost another life - that of his colleague Zachary Hartwell, who was sitting at the passenger's seat.

Dunn and Hartwell's Death

On Monday, June 20, Dunn was driving his Porsche 911 GT3 with Hartwell after partying and drinking heavily at a bar. Around 2:38 a.m., the car veered off the road, flipped in the air, crashed into trees, and burst into flames. Both Dunn and Hartwell died on the spot.

Hartwell, 30, is a former Navy Seal and Iraq war veteran, and had bee married for 8 months.

The official causes of their death were identified as blunt force trauma and thermal trauma, which means that the impact of the high-speed crash and the subsequent car fire killed them.

Alcohol Overdose

Dunn's blood alcohol level has surged to 0.196 by the time of the crash, marking 2.5 times the legal limit. According to Police, Dunn had purchased two beers and six shots, which would not be enough to equate to the 0.196 blood alcohol level.

Further investigation then showed it was fans that purchased Dunn one beer and two additional shots before 2 a.m., according to Liquor Control Enforcement Sgt. William La Torre.

Though Dunn did not accept everything passed to him, it was enough to severely impair his judgment and reaction time as it began to impact his system.

The drinks Dunn consumed right before closing time likely spiked Dunn's blood alcohol level, La Torre said.

Dunn reportedly did not consume any food while he was drinking.

Ripe for lawsuit

Now, here is the issue.

We were already told that the bar will not be held liable for contributing to this accident.

The manager of the bar Barnaby's of America, Jim O'Brien, said that Dunn didn't seem to be intoxicated at the time he left.

Pennsylvania's Dram Shop law does hold a business or individual who gives alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person responsible for any damage that person has caused.

However, the bar manager's testimony makes it not guilty due to the criteria being visibility of the drunkenness rather than a toxicology test or a verification of the number of drinks consumed.

If the bar is not aware that someone is under the influence, the bar has no duty to step into the situation and stop serving the customer.

Likewise, the friends and fans of Dunn also hold no duty to proactively protect him. You may be furious at those around Dunn who did not stop him from driving after 11 some shots, but again, Dunn did not seem to have been drunk, and there is no duty on a citizen to invade someone else's freedom by calling a cab. Dunn had the right to sit in the driver's seat, and his friends had the right to stop him - but not duty.

Legal Duty of a Driver

The real issue here is that the law states a legal duty of a driver to protect those in his car.

And no one is more negligent than a drunk driver. Drunk driving accounts for over 40% of traffic fatalities in the U.S., killing over 40,000 people every year.

It is a violent crime and gross negligence to drive drunk while the driver carry one or more people's lives.

Dunn did not obey the law, whether consciously or subconsciously, not to speed and not to drive under the influence.

While he may have deceived the law of the nature in dangerous and crude pranks with which he entertained the fans, this crash did not result in the biggest prank of his life. It cost two lives and saddened many hearts.

How can the dead be sued?

Emotion aside, this is the point: the law says the estate of Jackass Ryan Dunn can be sued.

In this tragic car crash, the only obvious legal duty is the one owed by Dunn to Hartwell. This duty, as well as a responsibility as a friend, seemed to have been breached by the driver.

Since Dunn was also killed in the accident, Dunn's estate can be sued, with the matter directed to court just as any car accident lawsuit would. The summons and complaint would be served upon the executor just as if they would be served upon the decedent.

The Estate of Zach Hartwell could seek the death damages from the Estate of Rich Dunn. But realistically will the family of Zach Hartwell seek justice this way? That question, unfortunately, still remain unanswered.

For now, we hope that both Dunn and Hartwell will rest peacefully.

A private memorial service for Dunn was held in West Chester, Pennsylvania Wednesday night. Hartwell's private memorial service is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. in West Chester.

ALSO READ: Ryan Dunn Dead or Alive: Top Reasons the Jackass star could be making a jackass of you

While Jackass star Ryan Dunn's private memorial service held on Wednesday was peaceful, and his life and death honored by many fans and media, one question remains unanswered.
Can Dunn be sued?

Or to be more precise, can his estate be sued now that Dunn himself is put to rest?

While his own death remains a tragedy to be mourned over, Dunn's driving at a speed of 130 mph with a blood alcohol level 2.5 times the legal limit also cost another life--his colleague Zachary Hartwell, who was sitting in the passenger's seat.

Dunn and Hartwell's Death

On Monday, June 20, Dunn was driving his Porsche 911 GT3 with Hartwell after partying and drinking heavily at a bar. Around 2:38 a.m., the car veered off the road, flipped in the air, crashed into trees, and burst into flames. Both Dunn and Hartwell died on the spot.

Hartwell, 30, is a former Navy Seal and Iraq war veteran, and had been married for 8 months.

The official causes of their death were identified as blunt force trauma and thermal trauma, which means that the impact of the high-speed crash and the subsequent car fire killed them.

Alcohol Overdose

Dunn's blood alcohol level surged to 0.196 by the time of the crash, marking 2.5 times the legal limit. According to police, Dunn had purchased two beers and six shots, which would not be enough for a 0.196 blood alcohol level.

Further investigation then showed it was fans that purchased Dunn one beer and two additional shots before 2 a.m., according to Liquor Control Enforcement Sgt. William La Torre.

Though Dunn did not accept everything passed to him, he had enough alcohol to severely impair his judgment and reaction time.

The drinks Dunn consumed right before closing time likely, spiked Dunn's blood alcohol level, La Torre said.

Dunn reportedly did not consume any food while he was drinking.

Ripe for lawsuit

The bar will not be held liable for contributing to this accident.

The manager of the bar Barnaby's of America, Jim O'Brien, said that Dunn, didn't seem to be intoxicated at the time he left.

Pennsylvania's Dram Shop law does hold a business or individual who gives alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person responsible for any damage that person has caused.

However, the bar manager's testimony makes him not guilty due to the criteria of visibility of drunkenness rather than a toxicology test or a verification of the number of drinks consumed.

If staff at a bar is not aware that someone is under influence, the bar has no duty to step into the situation and stop serving the customer.

Likewise, the friends and fans of Dunn also hold no duty to proactively protect him. One may be wondering at those around Dunn, who did not stop him from driving after 11 some shots, but again Dunn did not seem to have been drunk. Dunn was free to sit in the driver's seat or not, and his friends were free to stop him or not.

Legal Duty of a Driver

The real issue here is that the law states a legal duty of a driver to protect those in his car, and no one is more negligent than a drunk driver--drunk driving accounts for over 40% of traffic fatalities in the U.S. and over 40,000 people are killed every year.

It is a violent crime and gross negligence to drive drunk while the driver is responsible for one or more people's lives.

Dunn did not obey the law, whether consciously or unconsciously, not to speed and not to drive under the influence.

While he may have deceived the law of nature in dangerous and crude pranks, which entertained his fans, his fatal crash did not end in just another prank; it cost two lives and saddened the hearts of many.

How can the dead be sued?

Sentiments aside, the law states that Jackass Ryan Dunn's estate can be sued.

In this tragic car crash, the only obvious legal duty is the one owed by Dunn to Hartwell. This duty, as well as a responsibility as a friend, seemed to have been breached by the driver.

Since Dunn was also killed in the accident, Dunn's estate can be sued with the matter directed to court just as any car accident lawsuit would. The summons and complaint would be served upon the executor just as if they would be served upon the decedent.

The Estate of Zach Hartwell could seek the death damages from the Estate of Rich Dunn. But will the family of Zach Hartwell seek justice this way? That question, unfortunately, still remains unanswered.

For now, we hope that both Dunn and Hartwell will rest peacefully.

A private memorial service for Dunn was held in West Chester, Pennsylvania Wednesday night. Hartwell's private memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, 1 p.m. in West Chester.

ALSO READ: Ryan Dunn Dead or Alive: Top Reasons the Jackass star could be making a jackass of you

Read: [PHOTO] Ryan Dunn Dead: His Last Known Picture