You arrive at your favorite restaurant with friends, expecting an enjoyable meal. Unfortunately, after sitting and ordering your favorite foods and drinks, a disaster occurs in the form of an injury from a slip and fall or food poisoning.

While accidents occur in restaurants occasionally, you could qualify for compensatory damages if the cause of your injury was negligence. As a customer, you have specific rights you ought to protect whenever you sustain an injury on someone's premises.

Understanding what qualifies as negligence and the available legal options empowers you to seek compensation for your losses when someone's fault causes you to sustain an injury. When that happens, an injury attorney can assess your case and advise you on what to do if you have legal grounds for securing damages for your losses.

Common Types of Restaurant-Related Injuries

Unfortunately, patrons and employees could fall victim to various restaurant-related injuries. Briefly described below are common types of injuries you could sustain in a restaurant:

Slip and Fall Injuries

While some restaurant injury lawsuits fall under product liability law, most lawsuits often fall under premises liability law. According to this legal doctrine, property owners have a legal duty to find and fix any dangerous condition on their premises to prevent foreseeable accidents to the property users.

To that end, if you sustained a slip and fall injury due to the failure of the property owner to keep the property in safe condition, he/she could be liable for your injuries and losses. Here are a few examples of common causes of slip and fall injuries where the property owner could be liable for your losses under the premises liability legal doctrine:

  • Falling after a chair breakage

  • Slipping on a wet floor

  • Tripping due to a dangerous floor condition, like a folded floor mat

  • Sliding on ice at the restaurant parking lot

Burn Injuries

Burn injuries are also common in restaurant premises. These injuries could occur when:

  • The beverage or food temperatures are too high

  • Restaurant employees serve you food using an overheated plate

  • Your skin comes into contact with extremely hot cooking appliances

Burn injuries are more likely in restaurants where customers are exposed to hot surfaces, such as:

  • Letting them cook their food

  • Serving foods using the same cooking pan that the chefs used to cook that food

  • Letting them sit close or in proximity to where the chefs are preparing the food

Similar to a slip and fall injury, if you have sustained a burn injury, the restaurant owner could be accountable for your losses resulting from the injury under the premises liability law because he/she failed to take the necessary steps to ensure you are safe.

Food Poisoning Injuries

Unfortunately, food poisoning can also occur in restaurants where you expect to consume healthy food to nourish your body. In severe cases, food poisoning can land you in the hospital and could be life-threatening if you fail to seek immediate medical attention. Food poisoning in a restaurant could be due to the following:

  • Being served food with contaminated ingredients

  • Being served food that had begun to spoil

  • The restaurant accepted contaminated and unsafe food from a vendor

In either of these scenarios, the restaurant owner could be liable for your injuries and financial losses resulting from the food poisoning health issue.

Lacerations and Punctures

Broken knives, dishes, and other sharp objects the restaurant owner allows to stay around the premises carelessly could injure a customer or employee. The restaurant owner will be accountable for your losses when you sustain a laceration or puncture on your foot after stepping on a broken dish or glass.

Strains, Breaks, and Sprains

Restaurants that take advantage of overhead shelves in their premises, whether around areas accessible by the patrons or in the kitchen, must ensure they are easily accessible and reasonably safe. If an object falls on you, causing a strain or sprain on any part of your body, the restaurant owner should be liable for your losses.

These are a few examples of injuries that you can sustain in a restaurant. In each of these cases, the restaurant owner or his/her supplier could be accountable for the losses caused by the injury. To know your legal options, ensure you speak with a reliable personal injury attorney when you sustain a restaurant-related injury.

Your attorney will assess your case and advise whether to accept a settlement or file a lawsuit, aiming to secure compensation for your losses. Whether to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party or accept a settlement negotiation out of court depends on your unique case's facts.

What a Settlement Means After Sustaining a Restaurant Injury

After sustaining an injury in a restaurant, the restaurant owner or his/her insurer could be willing to negotiate a settlement. In a personal injury case, a settlement is the money the at-fault party pays you after you sustain an injury to help you regain your rightful position. The rightful position means your situation before the accident or injury.

While a settlement cannot reverse the injuries, it will put you in a better position to handle the losses caused by the injury, including medical bills and lost wages. However, you must waive your right to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party in exchange for this monetary award. Hence, having a skilled attorney on your side is important during the negotiation process.

Here is a brief overview of what settlement negotiations after sustaining a restaurant injury will look like:

Presentation of Your Initial Offer

After filing a personal injury claim with the restaurant owner, he/she or his/her insurance provider could respond with an initial settlement offer. Generally speaking, this settlement offer is the starting point for the negotiation process and, in most cases, will be lower than the amount you would expect to receive for your losses.

Presentation of Your Counteroffer

In response to this initial offer, your personal injury attorney will submit a counteroffer that accurately reflects the value of your compensation claim based on the evidence he/she will gather during the investigation.

The settlement negotiation process involves back-and-forth communication between your injury attorney and the restaurant owner or his/her insurer to reach a mutually agreeable settlement.

A Mediation

When the settlement negotiations stall, your attorney and the at-fault party or his/her insurer could opt for mediation as an alternative dispute resolution. During a mediation, you should expect a neutral third party (mediator), ready to facilitate the negotiation process between your attorney and the at-fault party insurer.

Final Settlement Offer

When your attorney and the at-fault party agree on a certain settlement amount, the mediator will draft a formal settlement agreement outlining the settlement's specific conditions, including the amount you should receive and stipulations. Your compensation claim will resolve once you and the at-fault party sign the settlement agreement and you receive the damages for your losses.

It is worth noting that the amount you will receive after a settlement agreement is not the standard amount for every restaurant injury case. If you fail to reach a mutual settlement agreement, filing a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party could be the best alternative to secure damages for your losses.

However, you should file your lawsuit against the at-fault party before the expiry of the statute of limitations. Generally, you will have two (2) years from the date you sustained the injury to file your lawsuit against the at-fault party. Failure to do so will make you lose your legal right to seek compensation for your injuries from the at-fault party afterwards.

Factors That Could Influence the Settlement Offer You Will Receive

How much you will receive after a successful settlement negotiation after sustaining a restaurant injury will depend on various factors, including the following:

The Strength of Your Unique Case

The at-fault party's settlement offer will be influenced by the strength of your compensation claim, including the evidence your attorney has gathered and your chances of winning a lawsuit. The at-fault party will be compelled to give you a high settlement offer if your case has strong and clear evidence that shows a high likelihood of winning the lawsuit.

The Defendant's Insurance Policy Limits

The defendant's or restaurant owner's insurance policy limits could also affect the outcome of the settlement negotiation. If the at-fault party's insurance policy has limits, the compensation you will receive through the settlement will be less.

Extent of Your Damages

The severity of your injuries and damages, as documented through medical bills and lost wages, will significantly influence your claim's worth. If you sustained severe injuries, resulting in substantial financial loss, the settlement offer you will receive will be higher.

Previous Court Results on Similar or Related Cases

The previous court decisions on similar or related cases could come into play when the at-fault party is deciding how much you should receive as compensation for your losses during the settlement negotiation. If previous lawsuits resulting from restaurant-related injury cases resulted in an award of substantial damages, the restaurant owner could give you a high settlement offer.

Your Attorney's Persistence and Arguments

Finally, the aggressiveness of your injury attorney during the settlement negotiations will influence how much you will receive during the settlement negotiations. That is why you should take ample time when finding an injury attorney for legal representation on your case. In addition to being licensed, you should ensure the attorney you choose for legal representation is experienced, reputable, and accessible.

Tips to Help You Build a Strong Compensation Claim After Sustaining an Injury in a Restaurant

What you do immediately after sustaining an injury in the restaurant could significantly influence the outcome of your case. Here are tips to help you craft a strong compensation claim against the at-fault party or his/her insurer:

Call 911

Immediately, when you sustain an injury in a restaurant, you should alert the paramedics through 911. The paramedics will examine the severity of your injury and offer the necessary medical assistance before you see your doctor or a specialist. Ensure you keep a journal of your medical costs to help prove how much you deserve as compensation for medical expenses.

Inform the Restaurant Manager

Ensure you inform the restaurant manager about the injury before you leave the premises. The manager will likely complete an incident report, which will act as strong evidence for your unique claim.

Take Pictures and Videos of Your Injury and What Caused It

Using your phone to take videos and pictures of your injuries before treatment could also help prove the extent of the injury and strengthen your compensation claim against the at-fault party.

Do Not Accept the Liability for the Accident

When any company employee approaches you to discuss what caused your injury and how it occurred, you should be careful not to disclose any information that could show you are liable. After sustaining an injury in a restaurant, the rule of thumb is to avoid speaking or making statements about it.

Remember, the information you decide to give the restaurant owner's attorney or the insurance provider could be used against you, leading to a lower or no settlement.

Avoid Posting the Injury on Social Media

While it could be tempting to let your online friends or fans know about the injury, keeping the issue off social media is wise. The restaurant owner's attorney could twist the information you decide to post, lowering your odds of securing adequate compensation for your losses.

Talk to Eyewitness and Ask for Their Contacts

If other patrons witnessed the incident that led to your injury, consider talking to one or two of them and asking if they can give you their contact information, because you may need their testimony.

Hire a Personal Injury Attorney

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, working with an attorney when seeking compensation after a restaurant is vital. Due to the complexity of these cases, you will need an attorney to advise you of your legal rights and offer you legal representation through every stage of the process.

A skilled attorney will know how to deal with uncooperative defendants and protect you from tactics the at-fault party's insurance provider could use to make you accept a lower settlement offer. Additionally, an experienced attorney will anticipate arguments the at-fault party's attorney or insurer could use to minimize or deny your compensation claim.

If the settlement offer the restaurant owner or his/her insurer gives you is inadequate to cover your damages, your attorney can take your case to court by filing a lawsuit against him/her. That way, you could qualify for a fair settlement for your claim if everything goes in your favor.

Damages to Expect After a Successful Settlement Negotiation in a Restaurant Injury Claim

If the settlement negotiation or a lawsuit against the at-fault party goes in your favor, you could receive economic and non-economic damages as described below:

Economic Damages

Your economic damages after sustaining an injury in a restaurant are the losses that you can attach a monetary value to, including the following:

  • Medical expenses — This includes all the medical-related costs you incurred after sustaining the injury, including medication costs and the costs of traveling to and from the hospital

  • Lost wages — If the injury required you to take some days off work, you will receive compensatory damages for the lost wages or the money you could have earned during the treatment and recuperation period

  • Lost earning capacity — If the injury was very severe, affecting your ability to work and earn income, you could receive compensation for the reduced or lost earning capacity

Non-Economic Damages

The non-economic damages in a personal injury lawsuit cover the subjective losses that you cannot attach a monetary value to, including the following:

  • Pain and suffering — A successful compensation claim should cover the pain and suffering you had to endure after sustaining an injury in a restaurant

  • Loss of happiness in your life — If the injury you sustained in the restaurant affects your ability to enjoy and live your life optimally, you could qualify for compensatory damages for the loss of happiness in your life

  • Disfigurement — A successful compensation claim after sustaining an injury should also compensate you for disfigurement, especially if your injury is a burn that affects your appearance

Even if non-economic damages cover subjective losses, a skilled attorney will know how to calculate the fair amount you should receive for all these losses.

Find a Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

Whether your injury occurred in the restaurant aisle or the parking lot, you could qualify for compensatory damages for your losses. Taking proactive steps immediately after sustaining the injury is advisable to increase the odds of securing a desirable outcome on your compensation claim.

We invite you to call our profound injury attorneys at The LA Personal Injury Law Firm at 310-935-0089 if you or a family member has sustained any type of injury in a restaurant. We would happily offer you legal representation in every step of the process to secure the compensatory damages you deserve.