If you have been injured in a restaurant, whether it be from a slip and fall or food poisoning, you may be entitled to compensation (medical expenses or lost wages). For every business that welcomes people onto its location, personal injury lawsuits are a risk of running a business. Even when these businesses are fortunate enough to avoid these type of lawsuits for several years, the costs of potential ones may be reflected in the bottom line through the business’s insurance and other costs. Food poisoning is the most common and frequently reported personal injury at a restaurant according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control). E. coli, salmonella, staphylococcus aureus, cholera, shigella, campylobacter enteritis and fish poisoning are the main food poisonings that can be contracted at a restaurant. An evening or weekend out with family or friends at a restaurant is something everyone should be able to enjoy once in awhile. But a lot can go wrong at restaurants, including injuries to customers. An inattentive or sidetracked server might not hear you mention you are allergic to something and include it in your order. A plate of boiling hot foot could be spilled on you and leave you severely burned. Slippery floors without signs could lead to you shattering your ankle. All of these are situations may happen, and if they do you may have legal grounds to file a personal injury claim against the restaurant.
The center of any personal injury claim is providing proof that the negligent party is at fault. Negligence is the legal term for inattentiveness or carelessness, and is composed of three factors.
- The guilty party had a duty of care to the victim, meaning they had a responsibility to ensure their actions did not cause the victim foreseeable harm. The restaurant was negligent in doing this if they caused you harm.
- The restaurant failed in this duty of care.
- The guilty party failed and this was the direct cause of actual injury to the victim.
Contact an Attorney
If you have been injured on the premise of a restaurant, you should consider contacting a personal injury lawyer residents trust to help guide you through the process of filing a lawsuit. They can explain your state laws regarding this specific lawsuit, what to expect and how to provide proof that you were injured at the negligence of the restaurant.