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Oklahoma · Common-law duty under Brigance
Oklahoma Dram Shop & Hospitality Expert Witness
Ryan Dahlstrom accepts hospitality and entertainment expert-witness engagements in Oklahoma. 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 Oklahoma. 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 Oklahoma 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. The governing framework in Oklahoma is Brigance v. Velvet Dove Restaurant, Inc., 725 P.2d 300 (Okla. 1986). His opinions address operational standards — staffing, training, supervision, policy and procedure — and do not extend to engineering, toxicology or medical causation.
Oklahoma Law
Common-law duty under Brigance
Oklahoma's dram shop act was repealed in 1959. Liability was re-established judicially in Brigance v. Velvet Dove Restaurant, Inc., 725 P.2d 300 (Okla. 1986), which recognised a civil cause of action by an injured third party against a commercial vendor of liquor.
Brigance held that a vendor selling intoxicating drinks for on-premises consumption owes a duty of reasonable care not to sell alcohol to a noticeably intoxicated person. Oklahoma courts have since extended dram shop principles beyond the original on-premises setting.
Because the duty is a common-law duty of reasonable care rather than a statutory formula, the standard of care for a reasonably prudent licensed operator is directly in issue — which places industry standards, written policy, training and supervision at the centre of the case rather than at its margins.
Statutes and regulatory schemes change, and this is not legal advice. Citations were verified against the state code or controlling decision and the named regulator at the time of writing; counsel should confirm the provision current to the date of loss. Ryan offers opinions on operational standards, not on the law itself.
Hospitality Context
Oklahoma Venues and Operations
Oklahoma's licensed trade includes Oklahoma City's Bricktown entertainment district, Tulsa's Blue Dome and Brady districts, Norman and Stillwater college gameday operations, and a very large tribal casino sector operating across the state.
Evidence
What Ryan Reviews in a Oklahoma Matter
- 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 Oklahoma
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
Oklahoma Engagements
Available for Oklahoma engagements
Ryan Dahlstrom accepts expert-witness engagements in Oklahoma and in all 50 states. His CV documents engagements in nine jurisdictions — Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Illinois, Utah, Washington, California, New York and Kentucky. Where a state is not among those, it means no engagement there is publicly disclosed in the CV; it does not limit availability, and the operational standards at issue in hospitality and entertainment litigation do not change at a state line. What changes is the cause of action available and the evidence that proves it.
Questions
Oklahoma — Common Questions from Counsel
Does Oklahoma have a dram shop statute?
What duty does Brigance impose?
Why do industry standards matter more in a common-law state?
Oklahoma Matter Under Review?
Submit a case inquiry for a confidential conflicts check and evaluation. Ryan responds to all inquiries within one business day.