A Countryside bar is facing a wrongful-death lawsuit that claims staff kept serving a visibly impaired customer, then sent him out the door with an alcoholic drink to go before a crash that killed 43-year-old Tanya Navarro as she sat in a disabled car on La Grange Road in Hodgkins. Clifford Law Offices announced the suit Monday alongside Navarro’s daughters and state lawmakers at a downtown Chicago event.
What the complaint alleges
The complaint, filed Nov. 24 in Cook County Circuit Court, says the fatal crash happened on Dec. 13, 2024, in the 7200 block of La Grange Road and resulted in Navarro's death. It names Rafferty’s Irish Pub and driver Finn Curran as defendants and brings wrongful-death, survival-act, and dram-shop counts. The filing also alleges Curran admitted bar staff handed him an alcoholic drink to go before he left, according to Clifford Law Offices.
Murphy and lawmakers at the press conference
At Monday’s press conference, Joseph T. Murphy, a partner at Clifford Law, called Navarro’s death "a tragedy that never should have happened" and accused the tavern’s staff of continuing to serve a customer "in no condition to drive," according to FOX 32 Chicago. State Sen. Willie Preston and State Rep. Lisa Davis attended the event and voiced support for Navarro’s family, the station reported.
How the dram shop claim works
Illinois’ Dram Shop Act allows injured people and families to seek damages from a licensed seller when its alcohol service materially contributes to a patron’s intoxication, and that intoxication leads to injury. The statute creates a specific cause of action and sets liability caps, including per-person and death-related maximums. For more on the framework and limits that apply in these cases, see the guidance from the Illinois Liquor Control Commission.
What’s next
The lawsuit is docketed in Cook County as case number 2025L014520 and schedules initial proceedings for Jan. 21, 2026, according to the filing. Clifford attorneys say they plan to pursue accountability in court. FOX 32 Chicago reports the station requested comment from Rafferty’s but had not received a public response as of its story.
