How Can I be Injured in a Restaurant?
Although eating in a restaurant is generally regarded as a treat or a special occasion, it can also lead to injuries and even tragedy. As any restaurant worker knows, it is quite easy be be burned, cut, or injured in a fall in a restaurant. Guests can also face these and other injury hazards.
Next time you go out to eat, be aware of the following ways you can be injured and take precautions to prevent them. When a restaurant owner’s negligence causes a guest to suffer an injury, the owner may be liable for the victim’s damages. But it is often easier to take care and avoid an injury than it is to seek compensation for injury damages through a personal injury claim.
Food Poisoning
If you suffer food poisoning after being served food that was not stored or handled properly, you can seek compensation for your damages through a personal injury claim. This is also true if you were served food or a beverage contaminated with harmful bacteria.
Slips and Falls
When a guest slips and falls in a restaurant or on an outdoor portion of the restaurant property, he or she can suffer the following injuries:
- Broken bones;
- Head and spinal cord trauma;
- Soft tissue injuries; and
- Cuts, if the victim fell onto or with a sharp object.
Wet floors, unsecured carpeting and wires, poorly lit walkways and areas of a restaurant, and broken indoor and outdoor steps are all trip and fall hazards.
Burns
When the skin is exposed to extreme temperatures, it can burn. In a restaurant, a burn can happen in the following scenarios:
- A server trips, falls, and drops dangerously hot food onto a guest;
- Food or a hot beverage like coffee or tea is served at an unreasonably hot temperature;
- Candles are dropped or haphazardly placed and come into contact with guests; and
- Guests are exposed to cooking flames and utensils that can burn them. This can happen in restaurants where food is cooked in front of guests, like hibachi restaurants, and those where guests come into close contact with cooking utensils, like rodizio restaurants.
Allergic Reactions and Other Adverse Food Effects
As a restaurant guest, you have the right to ask your server about potential allergens and cross contamination in your food and expect an accurate answer. If you suffer an allergic reaction because of an undisclosed allergen in the food you are served after you took reasonable care to order a dish that would not contain an allergen, the restaurant could be liable for your damages. Similarly, the restaurant could be liable if you are served a food or beverage that caused another type of adverse health reaction, like suffering from heart palpitations after being served regular coffee despite ordering decaf or experiencing a reaction between alcohol and your medication after ordering a non-alcoholic beverage.
Draper Law Office can Help you Pursue your Personal Injury Claim
If you were injured in a restaurant because of an act of negligence on the restaurant owner or manager’s part, you could have grounds for a premises liability claim. To learn more about your rights and legal options when you are in this position, contact Draper Law Office online or by calling 866-767-4711 to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation with a member of our team.
