An individual may certainly sue a restaurant in Texas if they can prove that the restaurant’s negligence or intentional wrong-doing caused them injury or other type of damage, e.g., damage to their property. A Texas attorney would be able to provide more information about a restaurant’s potential liability.
There are a number of scenarios that might lead an individual to sue a restaurant. Of course, they may become seriously ill after dining in a restaurant. They may suffer an injury from some other cause, e.g. a slip and fall or a trip and fall. A member of the wait staff might drop a tray and injure a patron or damage their property. These are all situations in which an individual may need to sue a restaurant for damages.
It can be challenging to prove a case against a restaurant for food poisoning. That is because any number of other factors could have caused a person’s illness, e.g., an infectious disease, and it is difficult to identify and locate the evidence that would prove that it is the fault of the restaurant.
Consulting with an experienced restaurant injury lawyer is advisable if an individual believes that they contracted food poisoning from a restaurant.
Of course, if the individual who is injured or becomes ill from eating in a restaurant is an employee, they may turn to the Texas worker’s compensation system to recover compensation for their economic losses.
What Are Some Common Injuries Suffered in a Restaurant?
A common restaurant injury is contracting food poisoning from the meal one consumes in a restaurant. Food poisoning can be a serious illness caused by such agents as Escherichia coli or salmonella. Of course, the victim would have to prove that the food they ate caused their illness. They would also need to prove that negligence on the part of the restaurant, such as the improper storage or cooking of the food, was the direct cause of the illness.
This would entail having medical documentation that links the individual’s illness to the specific type of bacteria or virus in the restaurant’s food.
It can be challenging at best to prove these connections between the restaurant’s actions and a patron’s illness. Of course, numerous other factors could have caused a person to become ill, such as an infectious gastro-intestinal virus that they picked up in the environment or food from another source.
Another common injury that people might experience in restaurants is injury sustained in a slip and fall or trip and fall accident. The individual who slips and falls might experience broken bones, torn ligaments, or strained muscles. The accident may have been caused by the restaurant’s negligence. They may have failed to clean up spills in a timely way or left obstacles or trip hazards on the floor in areas where patrons walk through the establishment.
What Duties Does a Restaurant Owner Have?
The owner and operator of a restaurant has a duty of care to all of its customers. This means they must exercise care in their operations to ensure that they cause their customers no harm. If the restaurant operator should breach their duty of care and engage in some negligent act that causes a patron personal injury, the personal injury laws in Texas give the patron the right to sue the operator for negligence.
What Compensation Can I Collect in My Restaurant Personal Injury Case?
An individual can seek compensation for their economic losses, pain and suffering and in the rare case punitive damages in their restaurant personal injury case. A victim would want to consult a lawyer about how the losses they have sustained in their case would be compensated.
Economic losses include the full cost of all medical treatment for an individual’s physical injuries, compensation for wages that may have been lost because of any inability to work, future wages that may be lost and any loss of earning capacity that a person may experience.
In addition to compensation for economic losses, a victim can expect to win an amount that would compensate them for their pain and suffering, the emotional aspect of their injury. Finally, the victim might recover punitive damages, which are designed to punish the negligent party for conduct that is especially reprehensible and deserving of punishment.
In a worker’s compensation case, an injured employee is able to recover for economic losses only and not for pain and suffering. They also cannot recover punitive damages.
Are There Limits on Liability for Restaurant Injuries?
In Texas, victims of food poisoning or other types of negligence in restaurants may file a lawsuit against a restaurant under either a theory of negligence or one of strict liability. To succeed with a negligence claim for food poisoning, a victim must prove that the restaurant breached its duty to exercise reasonable care in preparing or serving food.
Again, to succeed with a strict liability claim, a victim would have to show that the food they were served was defective because it was contaminated and then that the food caused the victim injury. The victim does not have to prove that the restaurant was in any way negligent. However, they do have to prove that a defective food product was the direct cause of their illness in order to succeed.
While both theories can lead to compensation for victims, proving negligence often requires more evidence than strict liability claims. It is essential to consult with an experienced attorney to determine which approach would be successful in a particular case. In some cases, a victim might claim both and later would focus on one of the other depending on what their evidence shows.
The statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit based on negligence or strict product liability in Texas is 2 years from the date of the injury. The statute of limitations would be the same for a lawsuit against a supplier of food to a restaurant where a victim contracts an illness.
There are certain exceptions to the Texas statute of limitations. For example, if the victim is under the age of 18 or a person of any age who suffers from mental incapacity, the time limit may be extended. If a victim fears that their case may be barred by the statute of limitations, they want to talk to an experienced personal injury attorney first who can analyze the facts of their situation and make the determination.
Another exception to the standard statute of limitations is the discovery rule. The rule provides that the statute of limitations does not start to run until the victim discovers, or should have discovered, that they have the symptoms of food poisoning. Symptoms of some cases of food poisoning may not appear immediately upon or after consumption of certain food. They may take days or even in some cases weeks to appear.
In these cases, statute starts to run on the day that the victim discovers their illness or injury.
Do I Need a Lawyer to Represent Me in a Restaurant Injury Lawsuit?
Proving the connection between something you ate in a restaurant and your serious illness or injury can be challenging. You will be greatly helped by having a Texas personal injury attorney at your side guiding you through the process and locating the proof you need. LegalMatch.com can connect you to a lawyer who is experienced in putting together a successful case against a restaurant for the injuries you have suffered on their premises or from eating its food.
