A Restaurant’s Duty to Maintain Your Safety

August 25, 2017

There are many times that a true personal injury case faces scrutiny because it is hard to believe that the accident caused as much injury as is claimed. This was the case for a woman who was injured when a chair fell on her foot while she was eating with friends at Buffalo Wild Wings.

But the details are important in these types of cases. In this instance, one crucial detail is that the chair was a wood and steel structure, and when it fell, the impact could be compared to dropping a 20-pound free weight on your foot. As a result, the injury was much more severe than the initial idea of it may seem.

The lady did not seek medical attention right after the incident as advised because she was at a party and did not want to make a scene. Instead she went home, took a pain pill, and went to sleep. The next morning she woke up to a much more swollen foot. She went to the doctor, who initially treated it as a bruise and put a soft cast on it.

This incident and “bruise” escalated, and she began to feel chronic pain spread through her left leg and into her back. Now, at just 58, the woman has been diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome. In attempt to treat it, she had to receive a spinal cord stimulator. The injury made her unable to work, and thus also ended her career as a paralegal at a defense law firm.

These last details are the kind that doesn’t always translate when the case goes public. This accident was more than a chair falling on a woman’s foot resulting in $3.8 million in compensation. It was an issue of negligence that ultimately changed her entire life in a very negative way both physically and emotionally.

Duties of the Restaurant

There is no question that eating out is the pastime of many Americans. We do it for socialization and for convenience. It is a very common activity, and this should not be discouraged. However, it is important for restaurants to understand the full magnitude of their duty to their customers. Some of these responsibilities include:

• Safe Entrances and Exits: The means in which customers enter and exit a restaurant should be strategically thought out in order to maintain safety. It is important to consider issues like how to maintain a safe floor space to decrease the risk of falls and how to ensure the safest and most efficient movements of the doors.
• Maintained Furniture: The wear and tear of furniture in a restaurant will be a lot different than that in a house. Many different people are using these objects every day, and therefore, they may have more wear than expected in a short amount of time. It is important that these pieces of furniture are inspected regularly in order to decrease the risk of the furniture breaking and a personal injury happening as a result.
• No Slippery Floors: It is essential for employees to be aware of any spills or potential hazards on the floor of the restaurant and to clean the spill and mark the spot with a caution sign in an efficient amount of time.

It is a restaurant’s responsibility to ensure you have a safe meal. If a restaurant failed at this task and you were injured as a result of negligence, you could be entitled to compensation. Call Hensley Legal Group today or contact us online for a free consultation.