Tiger Woods and the general manager of his Florida restaurant face a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the parents of a 24-year-old bartender of the Jupiter establishment.
Nicholas Immesberger had an estimated blood alcohol concentration of 0.28 — more than three times the legal limit — when Immesberger died after his 1999 Chevrolet Corvette left the roadway. The lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County on Monday alleges Immesberger was over-served for about three hours after his shift at The Woods concluded, before the fatal crash.
Immesberger had a history of alcohol abuse, and the lawsuit alleges “Tiger knew or reasonably should have known, that the man was habitually addicted to the use of any or all alcoholic beverages, and/or was a habitual drunkard.”
The lawsuit alleges, “Tiger is individually liable in this action because he individually participated in the serving of alcohol,” that doesn’t mean Woods served — or was even at The Woods — that day. Woods, under state alcohol laws, potentially could be held liable as an owner of the establishment even if he wasn’t physically at the venue if a foreseeable risk of injury or death occurs due to over-serving.
“The employees and management at The Woods had direct knowledge that Immesberger had a habitual problem with alcohol,” the lawsuit read. “In fact, employees and managers knew that Immesberger had attended Alcoholic Anonymous meetings prior to the night of his crash and was attempting to treat his disease. Despite this, the employees and management at The Woods continued to serve Immesberger alcohol while he was working as well as after work, while he sat at the bar.”
Tiger Woods has agreed for a news conference on Tuesday morning and we are yet to hear about the developments in this case.
Woods has been preparing for the upcoming PGA Championship at Bethpage Black Course for past two weeks, after taking a week of rest post his fifth green jacket at Augusta National.