Injuries can be common in restaurants and foodservice venues, for both customers and employees. In most states across the nation, customers who suffer injuries in restaurants can file a personal injury claim to recover damages.
Lawsuits can be brought against not only the restaurant parent company or insurance company but against parties such as:
When filing a lawsuit in a restaurant injury case, the victim can potentially recover monetary damages for their loss of a paycheck, pain and suffering, and of course medical bills and expenses. Types of injuries commonly sustained in a restaurant accident include:
We have collected some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding restaurant lawsuits, and compiled all the answers for you here:
Generally speaking, yes. In nearly every state there are laws protecting customers or patrons of a restaurant who have suffered injuries due to negligence of either the restaurant or a restaurant worker. Even without negligence on the part of the restaurant, if your injuries were sustained on the restaurant property, you still may be able to sue.
In order for you to win a lawsuit alleging negligence, the plaintiff must effectively prove the following:
Under premises liability laws, those who occupy or own property have a duty to keep those premises maintained and in a generally safe condition. Owners of restaurants have a responsibility to keep the restaurant well-maintained, to follow all applicable state and federal regulations, and to warn customers about any dangerous conditions.
If a customer of a restaurant sustains injuries because of unsafe conditions of the property, it may be possible for the victim to bring a personal injury lawsuit against the owner. In order for this to be successful, the injury victim will need to prove:
The restaurant owner is the person responsible for keeping all areas of the restaurant in a safe condition. This includes the entrance, the lobby or waiting area, kitchen, and dining room. It also extends to keeping the parking lot safe. These types of accidents happen routinely, as seen in Ritter v. Gas-Mart US., Inc., and Von Euw v. Frisco, LLC.
When filing a personal injury lawsuit, victims can expect to recover monetary damages for their injuries and losses. These damages may include:
Depending on the severity of the accident, and the injuries that occurred, the victim may pass away before beginning legal action. When this happens, a surviving family member may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a loved one. Damages for cases like these can include the previously mentioned items, plus funeral and burial expenses, and the loss of earnings that the loved one would have provided.
Family members who can sue for damages include the spouse or domestic partner, surviving children (or grandchildren if there are no children), or anyone else who qualifies under law as a survivor successor, or next of kin.
When filing a lawsuit in a personal injury case, the victim will include as defendants, anyone who could share liability in the incident. This could include individual persons, or companies and corporate entities.
In restaurant accidents, the various defendants could include:
While an injury victim may not think it is not worth it to sue a waiter, server, or bartender for an injury because they probably would not have the money to pay the damages. However, employers have vicarious liability for the negligence of their employees and insurance for claims against the company for injuries related to the premises.
Most injuries at restaurants are caused by accidents, but not all of them. When there is an incident in which someone intentionally inflicts harm on or injures a restaurant customer, the person who caused the harm may be liable for assault and battery. Anybody who is harmed by the unprovoked use of force can sue for damages.
This is a scenario that could occur between two customers, a customer and an employee, or an employee who assaults a fellow employee. The most common causes for assaults in a restaurant are often due either to a customer or patron being over served alcohol, or overzealous security associates.
A customer may be able to sue the restaurant they patronized if he or she suffers the physical effects of food poisoning or contaminated food. In certain cases, the supplier can be held liable as well, if it can be shown that they provided the restaurant with contaminated food.
There may also be recourse if it is found that the restaurant was negligent in their training and supervision of new employees. For example, not effectively training for food safety and food handling.
Even if you were partly at fault, you may still be able to recover damages for injuries sustained as part of the accident. Some states have comparative fault laws or guidelines, that will allow victims to still collect damages based on the proportion of comparative fault. In cases like this, the judge or jury will decide or allocate fault, and the victims can be awarded damages based on their degree of fault in the matter.
An example of this shared fault would be similar to the following scenario. Fred and Wilma are out to dinner, and have finished their meals and are awaiting the check. Fred realizes that he’s left his wallet in the car, and begins to run to his car to retrieve it. During which he trips on a bunched up rug in the entryway, falls, hits his head, and subsequently needs medical attention.
While the bunched up rug would likely have caused anyone to trip, Fred shares liability due to his running in the restaurant contributing to the unsafe condition. A judge or jury would decide the proportion of fault that Fred has for his behavior.
Depending on the laws in your area, employees who sustain injuries during an accident in the workplace may have to file a claim for workers’ compensation, before or in lieu of filing a personal injury lawsuit. While on the one hand, a workers’ compensation claim does not require proof that the employer was negligent, it may, however, prevent the employee from being able to recover damages for pain and suffering and other non-economic damages.
Generally, a workers’ compensation claim will be limited to recovery of medical bills and liens, and wage recovery for any time that the employee is unable to work due to the injury.
There are some instances where workers may be able to file a suit, if the injury was caused by someone other than the employer, like a third-party such as a vendor, a customer, or a coworker. For example, if an employee is injured by a delivery driver while in the course of their job, they may be able to bring a suit against the driver and the supply company. Another instance would be if a customer assaults an employee. They would be able to bring a personal injury lawsuit against that customer for assault and battery and recover related damages.
Have any additional questions or want help with what happens next after a restaurant accident? Get in touch using the button below and a Guru will walk you the process of getting the help you need for your restaurant accident lawsuit.
