Dinner out with friends and family at Applebee’s, or any restaurant, is meant to be fun and tasty. If you were hurt while eating lunch or dinner at Applebee’s, or any restaurant, how would you be able to manage the additional expenses of medical care? Could your family continue to pay the monthly expenses if you couldn’t work because of your injury?
What Happens If You Are Hurt While Out To Eat
Ultimately, what happens if you are hurt while eating at Applebee’s, or any restaurant, will depend upon the facts surrounding the injury. Generally, though, if a diner is hurt inside of a restaurant, this type of claim would fall under an area of law referred to as a personal injury.
Personal injury is a part of our civil laws. It exists to help victims of injuries be compensated for those injuries. Personal injury claims will center on proving negligence.
Negligence is when someone gets hurt because another person did or didn’t do something and that action (or lack of action) caused the injury.
Four Elements of Personal Injury Claims
A claim of personal injury must meet the follow four elements. If you believe that your claim does, you should speak with a qualified personal injury attorney to have your claim evaluated. You only have a limited amount of time to file a personal injury claim. It’s important that you contact a personal injury attorney right away.
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A duty is owed by a restaurant to it's diners. A common duty owed by Applebee’s or any restaurant to diners is to keep the floors reasonably safe and dry. This could mean cleaning up a spill of some sort. It could mean putting out signs to warn patrons of the slick floor.
Duty can also be seen when your server or other member of the wait staff tells you, “Be careful – your plate is hot.” You are being warned to avoid extreme temperatures and to not touch the hot surface.
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The duty owed must be breached. In the context of our example of a wet or slick floor, a breach may be created if an employee of a restaurant knows the floor if wet or slick and does nothing to warn others or to clean it up.
In the instance of an extremely hot dish, the duty may be breached if there’s no other indicator that the food is extremely hot. While we know that sizzling fajitas are definitely hot and that we shouldn’t touch the skillet it is usually served in, it’s harder to know when your meal is just on a regular dinner plate.
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An actual injury must occur. Without some sort of injury, there’s no personal injury claim. An actual injury is legally defined as something that is:
- Physical
- Financial, or
- Emotional
A plate hot enough to cause severe burns or a slick floor just isn’t enough. Someone must be hurt. There must be a person who slips and gets hurt.
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The but-for test must be met. This is how causation is measured. Causation means that your injury was actually caused because of your experience at a restaurant.
But-for the plate not being so hot, the plaintiff would not have sustained third degree burns on her hands. But-for the spill that caused a slick floor and that had no signs around it warning diners of the danger, the plaintiff would not have slipped and broken his ankle.
Protect Your Legal Rights
If you were hurt while eating at Applebee’s or any other restaurant, you should call a personal injury attorney. It’s imperative that you get an advocate on your side who can protect your legal rights. An attorney can help you determine whether or not you should file a personal injury claim.
If you are considering filing a claim against Applebee's, or any other restaurant, you may want to take a look at our page about filing a claim against the company:
How To File A Personal Injury Claim Against Applebees
*The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Applebee's, or any other party, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
