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Kansas · No dram shop remedy
Kansas Hospitality, Premises Liability & Security Expert Witness
Ryan Dahlstrom accepts hospitality and entertainment expert-witness engagements in Kansas. 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 Kansas. 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 Kansas 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 Kansas
No dram shop remedy
Kansas has no dram shop remedy. The state's dram shop act was repealed in 1949 during an overhaul of the liquor code, and in Ling v. Jan's Liquors (1985) the Kansas Supreme Court declined to create vendor liability at common law.
Kansas maintains strict regulation of alcohol sales without attaching civil third-party liability to service. Counsel should not expect an overservice theory to proceed against a licensee.
What remains actionable is the operation itself: premises liability and negligent security — staffing and deployment of security personnel, supervision, failure to intervene, use of force during an ejection, crowd and capacity management, foreseeability from the venue's prior incident history, and the physical condition of the premises. These are the theories Kansas matters are built on.
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
Kansas Venues and Operations
Kansas licensed operations include the Kansas City metro's Kansas-side entertainment and casino venues, Wichita's Old Town district, Lawrence's Massachusetts Street college bar corridor, and a substantial private-club structure carried over from the state's regulatory history.
Evidence
What Ryan Reviews in Kansas 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 Kansas
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
Kansas Engagements
Ryan Dahlstrom accepts expert-witness engagements in Kansas 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
Kansas — Common Questions from Counsel
Does Kansas have a dram shop law?
What can be pursued against a Kansas bar after an alcohol-related injury?
Does Kansas's private-club structure affect the evidence?
Kansas Matter Under Review?
Submit a case inquiry for a confidential conflicts check and evaluation. Ryan responds to case inquiries within one business day.