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Hawaii · Common-law liquor liability
Hawaii Hospitality, Resort & Bar Operations Expert Witness
Ryan Dahlstrom accepts hospitality and entertainment expert-witness engagements in Hawaii. 35+ years of hands-on experience in bars, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, live entertainment venues and special events — retained by attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants.
In short
Ryan Dahlstrom is a hospitality and entertainment industry expert witness who accepts engagements in Hawaii. He has more than 35 years of hands-on experience in bars, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, live entertainment venues and special events, and is retained by attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants. In Hawaii matters he evaluates hospitality and venue operations, alcohol service and overservice, bar and nightclub operations, restaurant operations and management, security operations and negligent security, premises liability, event management, event security, event and stage safety, and surveillance video analysis. His opinions address operational standards — alcohol-service practices, staffing, training, supervision, policy and procedure, security, crowd management and incident response — measured against hospitality industry standards. He does not offer opinions on the law, engineering, toxicology or medical causation.
Alcohol Service
Dram Shop and Liquor Liability in Hawaii
Common-law liquor liability
Hawaii has no dram shop statute. Civil liability for commercial alcohol suppliers rests on common-law negligence, which Hawaii courts have recognized: a third party injured by an intoxicated tavern patron may have a right of action against the establishment that served them.
The statutory prohibitions in Haw. Rev. Stat. § 281-78 — including the prohibition on furnishing alcohol to a person under 21 or to a person visibly intoxicated — supply the standard of conduct that a negligence claim is built around.
Because the claim is a negligence claim rather than a statutory one, the ordinary negligence architecture applies: duty, breach measured against the standard of care for a reasonably prudent licensed operator, causation and damages. That puts industry standards and the venue's own written procedures squarely in issue. The limitation period for these claims is two years.
This summary is general information for counsel, not legal advice. Statutes, regulations and case law change; counsel should confirm the law in effect on the date of loss. Ryan Dahlstrom's opinions address operational practices measured against hospitality industry standards; he does not offer opinions on the law.
Hospitality Context
Hawaii Venues and Operations
Hawaii's licensed trade is dominated by resort and hotel food and beverage — Waikiki, Wailea, Ka‘anapali, Poipu and the Kohala Coast — with pool and beach bars, luau and large-event operations, and a Chinatown and Waikiki late-night bar scene. Licensing is administered county by county, so procedures differ across islands under a single brand.
Evidence
What Ryan Reviews in Hawaii Matters
- Service and POS records correlated into an operational timeline.
- Surveillance video across the service period, reviewed for observable indicators and reconciled against records and testimony.
- Training and certification records for the staff actually on shift, measured against the state's server-training scheme.
- Written policy and procedure — and whether practice matched the document.
- Staffing, supervision and deployment at the relevant time, including security posts and ratios against actual occupancy.
- Incident reports and prior-incident history bearing on foreseeability.
Scope
Areas Ryan May Be Retained On in Hawaii
Where relevant to the matter. Ryan is retained by attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants; opinions follow the facts and the applicable standard of care, not the retaining party.
Hospitality
- Hospitality operations
- Hospitality management
- Venue operations
- Hotel operations
- Management practices
- Policies and procedures
- Employee training
- Operational standards
Alcohol service
- Dram shop
- Liquor liability
- Alcohol service
- Alcohol overservice
- Responsible beverage service
- Alcohol service to minors
Bar, nightclub & restaurant
- Bar operations
- Bar management
- Nightclub operations
- Nightclub management
- Restaurant operations
- Restaurant management
- Beverage operations
Security
- Security operations
- Bar security
- Nightclub security
- Event security
- Negligent security
- Crowd management
- Crowd control
Premises & events
- Premises liability
- Event management
- Event operations
- Event safety
- Event & stage safety
- Special event management
Analysis
- Surveillance video analysis
- Surveillance video compilation
- Incident timeline analysis
- Standard of care review
Availability
Hawaii Engagements
Ryan Dahlstrom accepts expert-witness engagements in Hawaii and throughout the United States, and has been retained in matters by plaintiff and defense counsel nationwide. The hospitality industry standards that govern alcohol service, staffing, training and security apply wherever a venue operates; what differs from state to state is the governing law and what must be proven.
His case experience includes matters in Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Illinois, Utah, Washington, California, New York, Kentucky and other jurisdictions, involving dram shop and liquor liability, security, premises liability, hospitality operations, event safety, restaurant management and bar operations.
Questions
Hawaii — Common Questions from Counsel
Does Hawaii have a dram shop statute?
Why does county-level licensing matter in a Hawaii case?
What is reviewed in a Hawaii resort pool or luau service case?
Hawaii Matter Under Review?
Submit a case inquiry for a confidential conflicts check and evaluation. Ryan responds to case inquiries within one business day.