Liable for severely alcoholic roommate?

[HBush]

Hi everyone,

I have kind of a morbid question for you. I have a severely alcoholic roommate. He is functional. He usually stays sober during the week. A lot of the time though he will go on a week long bender. On drunk weekends, he will polish off sometimes a box of wine and a liter or two of vodka, rum or whiskey. He gets blackout drunk. I have tried many ways to get him to stop. But it gets to the point where it gets too much drama. I have poured it out on occasion.

What I worry about however are cases where friends or roommates of of people who have died from drugs and ODed have been arrested or spent jail time. So my question is, if he should pass away during one of these benders, would I as his roommate be criminally liable? I dont buy him the alcohol. It really scares me.

My social binge drinking days are long behind me. Im just not interested in it. My vice is food. Conversely, if I should die from a heart attack from too much bacon or too many donuts, could he be liable? I think I know the answer lol.

Anyway thanks for your feedback. Im in the U.S. Ill be more specific if state laws on this differ.

 

[Just Blue]

Hi everyone,

I have kind of a morbid question for you. I have a severely alcoholic roommate. He is functional. He usually stays sober during the week. A lot of the time though he will go on a week long bender. On drunk weekends, he will polish off sometimes a box of wine and a liter or two of vodka, rum or whiskey. He gets blackout drunk. I have tried many ways to get him to stop. But it gets to the point where it gets too much drama. I have poured it out on occasion.

What I worry about however are cases where friends or roommates of of people who have died from drugs and ODed have been arrested or spent jail time. So my question is, if he should pass away during one of these benders, would I as his roommate be criminally liable? I dont buy him the alcohol. It really scares me.

My social binge drinking days are long behind me. Im just not interested in it. My vice is food. Conversely, if I should die from a heart attack from too much bacon or too many donuts, could he be liable? I think I know the answer lol.

Anyway thanks for your feedback. Im in the U.S. Ill be more specific if state laws on this differ.

State law matters, so what state are you in?

 

[HBush]

Michigan

 

[Just Blue]

@quincy will likely be able to assist you. I "tagged" him so he should be along tonight or perhaps tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Taxing Matters]

What I worry about however are cases where friends or roommates of of people who have died from drugs and ODed have been arrested or spent jail time. So my question is, if he should pass away during one of these benders, would I as his roommate be criminally liable? I dont buy him the alcohol. It really scares me.

You are not liable for what happens to him just because you live in the same apartment/house together. As a roommate you don't have the responsibility to police his behavior. Taking his booze and pouring it out, though it may sound like a good thing to do, might actually put you in a bad legal situation. His booze is his property, and you don't have a right to destroy it, hide it, get rid of it, etc. Moreover, even though you have no responsibility to curb his drinking, if you voluntarily assume that duty you might be civilly liable (i.e.sued for money damages) should he get injured from his drinking.

Encourage him to get help. Don't do anything to aid his drinking binges. And consider moving out of the place since living with someone with that kind of problem is likely to create havoc in your life even without legal problems.

 

[HBush]

Taking his booze and pouring it out, though it may sound like a good thing to do, might actually put you in a bad legal situation. His booze is his property, and you don't have a right to destroy it, hide it, get rid of it, etc. Moreover, even though you have no responsibility to curb his drinking, if you voluntarily assume that duty you might be civilly liable (i.e.sued for money damages) should he get injured from his drinking.

Just to clear up, when I have done so, I did it on his request when he was sober to ask for my help to keep him in control. He knows he has a problem.

 

[quincy]

Just to clear up, when I have done so, I did it on his request when he was sober to ask for my help to keep him in control. He knows he has a problem.

Under Michigan's Good Samaritan laws, you cannot be arrested or prosecuted if you seek medical assistance for your roommate. MCL 333.7404(3) provides an immunity. The Good Samaritan law also provides immunity from arrest and prosecution for those trying to help a heart attack victim (MCL 333.7403).

http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-333-7404

If you are worried that your roommate has overdosed or needs medical attention, do not hesitate to call 911.

 

[HBush]

Thanks everyone for the advice on this. Much appreciated.

 

[quincy]

Thanks everyone for the advice on this. Much appreciated.

You're welcome, HBush. We all appreciate the thanks.

I hope your roommate gets help for his alcohol problem.

Good luck.

 

[zddoodah]

What I worry about however are cases where friends or roommates of of people who have died from drugs and ODed have been arrested or spent jail time.

Huh? Can you cite any case or article that discusses a case in which the roommate of a person who died under such circumstances was arrested or convicted and imprisoned?

if he should pass away during one of these benders, would I as his roommate be criminally liable?

Not based on anything you've written.

Conversely, if I should die from a heart attack from too much bacon or too many donuts, could he be liable? I think I know the answer lol.

I think you do too because it's an absurd question.

Seems like the only smart thing to do would be to get out of this roommate situation as soon as possible.

 

[quincy]

Huh? Can you cite any case or article that discusses a case in which the roommate of a person who died under such circumstances was arrested or convicted and imprisoned?



Not based on anything you've written.



I think you do too because it's an absurd question.

Seems like the only smart thing to do would be to get out of this roommate situation as soon as possible.

The reason many states now have included immunity provisions in their Good Samaritan laws is that it was not unusual for police to respond to 911 calls about overdoses and then arrest everyone for using drugs. This type of police response resulted in needless deaths from overdoses because those who were in a position to help or call for help were worried about being arrested themselves.

https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil...ug-overdose-immunity-good-samaritan-laws.aspx