Milwaukee-area Mom Takes on Grain Alcohol Makers
Mom works toward banning high-proof alcohol after son dies
On behalf of Milwaukee personal injury attorney Ric Domnitz of Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C. posted in Wrongful Death on Tuesday, September 13, 2011.
What is known as “everclear” can be an extremely dangerous form of alcohol. But who is responsible if drinking it has dire consequences? Those who make it? Those who sell it? Those who buy it?
After enduring what may be viewed as a case of wrongful death, the mother of a 22-year-old man who died after drinking the alcohol is hard at work getting a law passed to ban the sale of high-proof grain alcohol in Wisconsin.
The man, who was entertaining friends at his parents’ house, apparently drowned while attempting to swim in the family pool. He became extremely intoxicated while consuming a punch that was made using 190-proof grain alcohol.
190-proof alcohol translates into 95 percent pure alcohol, more than twice the typical percentage of vodka, which is only about 40 percent alcohol. The high-proof grain alcohol that led to the fatal accident was legally purchased in a liquor store.
Earlier in the evening of the drowning, the man was observed by his parents to be slurring his speech, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. His mother advised him to stop drinking the high-proof liquor that was mixed into a cocktail containing Red Bull and Gatorade, which his parents later learned is referred to commonly as the “Tucker Death Mix.”
After jumping into the pool, his friends reported seeing the man frantically attempting to swim and pulled him unconscious from the water. Believing that he had simply passed out, his friends apparently left him on the deck. Sometime later, his parents discovered that he was not breathing and called 911. His Milwaukee-area mom, who is a nurse, performed CPR. Rescue personnel arriving on the scene were reportedly unable to revive him.
An autopsy conducted on the body showed his blood alcohol level to be at 0.26 percent, which is more than three times the limit at which a person could be convicted for drunk driving.
A state representative for the area plans to introduce legislation that would stop the sale of high-proof grain alcohol over the counter. Had the alcohol not been available at the liquor store the night the man drowned, it’s possible he might still be alive.
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Grieving mom crusades to ban grain alcohol after son’s death,” Jim Stingl, Sept. 3, 2011
If you have suffered an injury through no fault of your own, contact a Milwaukee personal injury attorney with Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C.