Serving Plaintiff & Defense Attorneys Nationwide
(702) 696-8745Expert Witness Services
From initial case review through trial testimony, Ryan Dahlstrom provides expert witness services across all phases of litigation involving dram shop, liquor liability, premises liability, and hospitality operations.
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Alcohol Over-Service Liability & Visible Intoxication Opinions
Dram shop liability holds licensed alcohol vendors — bars, restaurants, nightclubs, casinos, and hotels — responsible for injuries caused by patrons served while visibly intoxicated. Ryan Dahlstrom brings 35+ years of hands-on hospitality operations experience to dram shop litigation, providing authoritative opinions on whether the establishment's alcohol service practices met or fell below the applicable standard of care.
For Attorneys
Dram shop cases turn on whether staff knew or should have known the patron was visibly intoxicated. Ryan's background training thousands of servers and bartenders gives him unmatched credibility when opining on what a trained alcohol service professional should have observed and how they should have responded.
What's Included
Navigating State Statutes, Regulations & Licensing Requirements
Liquor liability is a complex, state-specific area that intersects licensing, responsible service mandates, safe harbor provisions, and regulatory obligations. Ryan Dahlstrom provides expert analysis of whether an establishment was operating in compliance with applicable state and local liquor laws — and whether any non-compliance contributed to the incident at issue.
For Attorneys
Safe harbor provisions in many states can significantly limit or eliminate liability — but only if the establishment actually complied with their requirements. Ryan's analysis cuts through the regulatory complexity to give attorneys a clear picture of where the establishment stood legally on the date of the incident.
What's Included
Assessing Foreseeability, Security Protocols & Use of Force
Inadequate security is a leading cause of serious injury and death in bars, nightclubs, and entertainment venues. Ryan Dahlstrom draws on decades of experience managing security operations in high-volume nightlife environments to evaluate whether the establishment's security measures were adequate, whether the risk of violence was foreseeable, and whether security personnel acted appropriately in response to the incident.
For Attorneys
Foreseeability is the cornerstone of negligent security claims. Ryan's operational background in managing security at major nightclubs and entertainment venues — combined with his ASIS certification — gives him the standing to opine on both the adequacy of security planning and the conduct of security personnel in the moment.
What's Included
Identifying Hazards, Safety Failures & Management Negligence
Premises liability cases in hospitality environments require an expert who understands both the legal standard of care and the operational realities of running a bar, restaurant, or entertainment venue. Ryan Dahlstrom evaluates the physical conditions, maintenance practices, and management decisions that contributed to a patron's injury — providing a grounded, operationally credible opinion on liability.
For Attorneys
Ryan's decades of experience managing and consulting on hospitality venues gives him an operator's eye for the conditions that create liability. He can identify what management knew or should have known — and when they should have acted.
What's Included
Reconstructing Incidents in Hospitality & Entertainment Environments
Slip, trip, and fall incidents in bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues involve a unique intersection of premises conditions, patron behavior, and operational factors — including alcohol service. Ryan Dahlstrom analyzes the full picture: the physical conditions at the time of the incident, the establishment's maintenance and inspection practices, and the role of alcohol service in the patron's condition and awareness.
For Attorneys
Slip and fall cases in alcohol-serving establishments often involve the interplay of premises conditions and intoxication. Ryan's ability to address both dimensions — as both a premises liability expert and an alcohol service expert — makes him uniquely valuable in these cases.
What's Included
Establishing the Benchmark for Responsible Operations
Every licensed establishment — whether a bar, restaurant, hotel, nightclub, or live music venue — is held to an industry standard of care. When that standard is breached, liability follows. Ryan Dahlstrom provides a comprehensive review of whether the establishment's policies, procedures, training, and on-the-ground operations met or fell below the accepted standard of care for their specific venue type.
For Attorneys
This service is foundational to virtually every dram shop, premises liability, and negligent security case. Ryan's 35+ years of hands-on operational experience allows him to speak with authority on what a reasonably prudent operator would — and should — have done differently.
What's Included
Identifying Visible Signs of Intoxication at the Time of Service
A critical element in dram shop litigation is whether the patron was visibly intoxicated at the time alcohol was served. Ryan Dahlstrom applies his deep operational knowledge of alcohol service environments to analyze the totality of available evidence — including surveillance footage, POS records, witness statements, and staff accounts — to form an opinion on whether visible signs of intoxication were present and whether they should have been recognized by a trained server or bartender.
For Attorneys
This analysis is central to establishing liability in dram shop cases. Ryan's background in training thousands of alcohol service professionals gives him unique credibility when opining on what a trained server should have observed and how they should have responded.
What's Included
Correlating Toxicology Reports with Operational Evidence
When a toxicologist's report establishes a patron's blood alcohol content at or near the time of an incident, Ryan Dahlstrom provides the operational bridge between that scientific finding and the establishment's records. He reviews the toxicologist's conclusions in the context of POS transaction records, surveillance footage, and all available evidence to form an opinion on the service timeline and the establishment's role in the patron's level of intoxication.
For Attorneys
Toxicology reports establish the science — Ryan provides the operational context. His ability to connect a BAC finding to specific service events, POS transactions, and observable behavior gives attorneys a powerful narrative tool for both plaintiff and defense cases.
What's Included
Evaluating Staff Training Programs and Operational Policies
The quality of an establishment's training program and written policies is often the difference between a defensible operation and a negligent one. Ryan Dahlstrom has authored over 1,000 pages of hospitality training materials and has trained thousands of alcohol service professionals. He applies that expertise to evaluate whether an establishment's training and policies were adequate, current, and actually implemented.
For Attorneys
A bar that has a policy but doesn't enforce it is often in a worse legal position than one with no policy at all. Ryan's experience developing and implementing training programs at scale gives him the credibility to identify the difference between a genuine compliance culture and paper compliance.
What's Included
Expert Analysis of Food Service, Management & Operational Standards
Restaurants present a distinct set of operational standards and liability exposures — from food service and alcohol service to staffing, management oversight, and physical premises. Ryan Dahlstrom's extensive background in restaurant consulting and operations gives him the expertise to evaluate whether a restaurant's practices met the applicable standard of care in cases involving patron injury, alcohol-related incidents, or management negligence.
For Attorneys
Restaurants occupy a middle ground between casual dining and full-service bar operations — and their liability exposure reflects that complexity. Ryan's consulting work across hundreds of restaurant projects gives him the operational credibility to speak to what a well-run restaurant looks like and where the establishment at issue fell short.
What's Included
Crowd Management, Event Safety & Venue Operations
Live music venues and concert environments present elevated safety challenges: large crowds, alcohol service, security demands, and the unpredictability of live events. Ryan Dahlstrom has extensive experience programming and managing live entertainment events — including major nightclub shows and festival-scale productions. He applies that experience to evaluate venue safety, crowd management, security response, and operational decision-making in cases involving injury or death at live music events.
For Attorneys
Live event liability cases are among the most complex in hospitality law — involving venue operators, promoters, security contractors, and alcohol service simultaneously. Ryan's background programming major entertainment events gives him the standing to address all of these dimensions in a single, unified expert opinion.
What's Included
Comprehensive, Court-Ready Expert Reports
A well-crafted expert report is one of the most powerful tools in litigation. Ryan Dahlstrom produces thorough, clearly written expert reports that present his opinions, the factual basis for each opinion, and the methodology he applied — in language that is accessible to judges and juries while withstanding Daubert and Frye scrutiny.
For Attorneys
Ryan's reports are written to serve the litigation — not just to satisfy disclosure requirements. He works closely with retaining counsel to ensure his opinions are framed in a way that advances the theory of the case, while maintaining the independence and credibility that makes an expert effective at trial.
What's Included
Compelling, Credible Testimony in Depositions and at Trial
An expert's value is ultimately measured in the courtroom. Ryan Dahlstrom has testified at trial and provided deposition testimony in cases across the country — from county courts to federal district courts. His testimony is grounded in real-world operational experience, delivered with clarity and confidence, and designed to make complex hospitality and alcohol service concepts accessible to judges and juries.
For Attorneys
Ryan's trial record speaks for itself — but what sets him apart is his ability to explain complex operational concepts in plain language that resonates with juries. His background as a hospitality industry educator means he is comfortable in front of an audience and skilled at making abstract standards concrete and relatable.
What's Included
Ready to Retain?
Contact Ryan Dahlstrom to discuss your case, confirm availability, and receive a fee schedule. Most initial consultations are completed within 48 hours.