When you’re out shopping with your family and friends at the mall, stopping by a place like Auntie Anne’s or any other restaurant to get a quick snack can seem like a great idea.
Yet, if you were severely burned by their food or equipment, what would you do? Could you afford to pay your monthly expenses while also taking care of the unexpected medical bills? Fortunately, there could be help available through a personal injury claim.
What Happens If You’re Hurt While Eating at a Fast Food Restaurant?
If you’re hurt while eating at Auntie Anne’s or any fast food restaurant, one thing to keep in mind is that your claim will primarily be based on the facts surrounding your injury. Usually, it would be classified as a personal injury. Personal injury is part of our civil law and personal injury claims based on negligence. Negligence means that you were hurt because of something that someone else did or didn’t do.
Personal Injury Claims Have Four Elements
Personal injury claims have four elements. If you believe that your injury fulfills the following four claims, please contact a personal injury attorney right away to protect your legal rights.
- There is a duty owed by restaurants to their customers. For restaurants like Auntie Anne’s that make food right in front of their customers, let’s take use the potential of a burn as an example. There is a duty of care to their customers to let them know that a surface or a product may be extremely hot. They have a duty to ensure that the sauces that are hot are not served too hot.
- The duty must be breached. If the restaurants space is arranged in such a way that the ovens are close to where their customers will order and receive their food, a breach may be considered the fast food restaurant not having a sign stating that certain surfaces are extremely hot. Another example could be that the containers holding things like heated cheese sauce continue to overheat. If an employee knew and did not warn customers or did not let a manager know to try and get it fixed. Those examples could be considered a breach of duty.
- An actual injury must occur. It’s not enough to simply have a hot oven where a customer may get burned. There must be an actual injury. An actual injury is something physical, emotional, or financial. If you spilled hot cheese sauce on you and received a second degree burn, that could be considered an actual injury.
- The injury must be caused by the restaurant. Causation is imperative. This means that your actual injury must be caused by what happened while getting food. This is usually known as the but-for test. But-for there not being a sign stating that the counter was hot because of the close proximity of the oven, the plaintiff would not have touched the surface and received a second degree burn.
Get Legal Help With Your Personal Injury Claim
If you were hurt while eating Auntie Anne’s or any other fast food restaurant, you should get legal help. You have a limited period of time which you can use to file your personal injury claim. A personal injury attorney can help assess your potential claim and help you protect your legal rights.
*The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Auntie Anne's, or any other party, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
