Dallas Restaurant Accident Attorney
People go out to eat at their favorite restaurant not only for the cuisine, but also for the experience of meeting new people, socializing, listening to live music, and relaxing after a long and productive week or a hectic day. When you go to a restaurant, the last thing you think about is the likelihood of getting injured at a restaurant.
Unfortunately, that risk does exist, as evident from the increasing number of personal injury claims filed by Americans injured in restaurant accidents in Dallas, Texas, and all across the U.S.
A Dallas restaurant accident attorney at Law Office of Dorothy Hyde explains that many restaurants in our city have both hidden and obvious risks to your safety and health. These include but are not limited to wet and slippery floors, faulty or broken furniture, and even expired and spoiled food.
Can you sue a restaurant for your injury?
More often than not, restaurant customers and patrons have a right to seek compensation from the restaurant that failed to keep them safe on the premises. However, although you may have a right to recover damages for your injury at a restaurant, you are required to prove that (a) the restaurant knew or should have known about the hazardous condition, and (b) the restaurant failed to remedy this condition in a timely manner.
Sometimes, patrons are able to sue restaurants for third-party attacks when the injured patron can prove that the restaurant failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the attack. Regardless of what caused your injury, our experienced restaurant accident attorney in Dallas will be able to help you identify the most optimal legal strategy and seek compensation for your damages and losses.
Liability in restaurant accidents
In order to keep their premises in a safe and sanitary condition, restaurants are expected to conduct routine inspections and maintenance. However, in no way does it mean that a restaurant can be held liable for 100 percent of all injuries to their customers and patrons.
To establish liable parties in a restaurant accident case, a lawyer will have to investigate how long the dangerous condition existed prior to the accident, whether the restaurant knew or should have known about the condition, whether there were previous complaints about this condition from other patrons, and, finally, whether another reasonably prudent restaurant would have prevented this accident under similar circumstances.
It is true that a restaurant cannot be expected to prevent all kinds of injuries and accidents on its property, but the longer a dangerous condition exists without being noticed or addressed by the restaurant, the higher the likelihood that the injured party will be able to hold that restaurant liable for his or her injury.
Are you entitled to compensation if you didn’t order anything?
Contrary to the popular belief, a restaurant’s duty of care extends not only to those who have ordered or paid for their food, but also their prospective customers who have not ordered anything yet. In other words, if you got injured at a restaurant immediately upon entering the premises, the restaurant can be held liable for your injury even though you were not its “customer” at the time of the accident.
Our Dallas restaurant injury lawyer at Law Office of Dorothy Hyde also reminds that restaurants can be held liable for injuries caused by other customers and patrons. For example, if a restaurant was aware that a patron is aggressive or otherwise dangerous, but failed to protect another patron from being hurt by the dangerous patron, the restaurant will be held liable for any resulting injuries.
Schedule a free consultation with our premises liability attorneys to discuss your particular situation. Give us a call at (214) 883-1700 and let’s figure out your best legal strategy together.