Restaurants are businesses that are legally required to keep their premises reasonably safe. If you or a loved one has been hurt in an accident on restaurant property, you may have a valid legal claim for compensation from the owner.

We provide personal attention to each of our clients and understand the emotional and physical consequences of an accident. Contact our firm today for a free consultation.

In order to protect the public, restaurant owners are legally required to maintain their premises safely, keeping them free from foreseeable dangerous conditions. If someone is injured and can show that their slip and fall resulted from unsafe conditions in the restaurant, the owner may be responsible for compensating the victim. Courts typically look for three situations in which a restaurant may be held liable for injuries to a patron. The owner or employee must have caused the dangerous condition, the owner or an employee must have known of the condition and failed to address it, or the owner or employee must have been reasonably expected to know of and address the condition because it should have been discovered in the exercise of reasonable care.

To show that a restaurant owner was negligent, the court must determine whether the defendant acted responsibly. If the owner knew of a hazard, such as a slippery floor, and failed to address the problem, this may be evidence of negligence. A claim for compensation may require investigating the restaurant’s procedures to address potential hazards, including cleaning and maintenance routines.

A restaurant owner’s liability for a slip and fall accident may be demonstrated by establishing the four elements of a negligence claim: duty, breach, causation, and damages. A breach of the duty requires showing that the owner or an employee knew of a hazard and did not warn about it, or failed to address the situation. An injured victim must also demonstrate that the failure to keep the restaurant safe caused their harm directly, and there was not an intervening cause. This may be shown through evidence that but for the defendant’s conduct, the accident would not have taken place. As the final element, the victim must present damages in the form of economic and non-economic costs and losses. Medical costs and missed work wages may be recoverable, as may be more subjective forms of harm like pain and suffering.

In all premises liability lawsuits, the victim must have exercised reasonable care. While walking to a restroom, for example, a restaurant patron is expected to obey “wet floor” signs and other indications of potential hazards. If a victim’s carelessness contributes to an accident, however, the rule of comparative negligence still allows for a limited amount of compensation according to the defendant’s responsibility for causing the harm.

At The Cassisi Law Firm, our restaurant slip and fall attorneys have helped many victims pursue the compensation that they deserve. Our injury lawyers also have represented individuals in Brooklyn and the Bronx, as well as Suffolk and Nassau Counties.

We can provide a free, no-obligation consultation. Call 718-441-5050 or use our online form to set up an appointment.