Dinner out is an incredible treat. Yet, suffering an injury while you’re a paying customer can really ruin your night. When someone is injured while they are eating in a restaurant, it usually falls under the legal area of law known as personal injury.
Personal Injury Claims and Patrons
Personal injury, in simple terms, is an injury to a person. It can happen in a car wreck, when a dog bites someone, and even at a popular restaurant. A serious injury that can qualify for a personal injury claim can unfortunately take place nearly anywhere.
Personal injury claims are largely based on negligence. Generally, courts look at negligence in one of two ways: pure negligence and contributory (comparative) negligence. States that use a standard of contributory negligence will consider if the injured person played any part in their accident. If so, the court will assign a percentage. If the percentage of fault assigned to the injured person is greater than 50%, they often cannot be given any compensation by the court.
Here are the four elements of personal injury and how they may look at a restaurant.
- There must be a duty owed to the customer by the restaurant. When a duty exists, it means that someone should or shouldn’t do something. For example, all restaurant floors should be safe and dry. Patrons should not have hot food or beverages spilled on them.
- The duty must be unfulfilled. For instance, let’s say that alfredo sauce was spilled on the floor by a server. Perhaps another employee came through with a mop to clean it up, but they did not put up a wet floor sign to caution their diners. That is an example of what may be considered an unfilled duty.
- An actual injury must occur. If an employee accidentally dropped a bowl of hot clam chowder on the floor, the floor isn’t injured. It’s wet, but there’s no lasting injury. Yet, if an employee accidentally spilled hot clam chowder onto a customer, it could cause a bad burn. That burn is an example of an actual injury. Actual injuries can be physical, financial, or emotional.
- The injury received must pass the ‘but-for’ test. This is a legal test that helps the court determine if there is a possible claim of negligence. In the case of the spilled hot clam chowder, it could look like this: But-for the waiter spilling the hot clam chowder onto the customer’s shoulder, the customer would not have suffered third degree burns.”
Hurt While Dining Out?
If you think that you may have a personal injury case from eating at Red Lobster, or any other restaurant, you should call an experienced personal injury attorney. State laws regulate how much time you have to file your claim. This is why it is important that you contact a personal injury attorney right away!
*The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Red Lobster, or any other party, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
