If an incident happens in a restaurant that results in an employee, customer, vendor, contractor, or other being injured, harmed, sickened, maimed, or killed, you can bet that the lawyers will circle around it, its business, and its assets like ravenous crows.
The judge, the jury, the restaurant customers, employees, vendors—and possibly even the media—will attempt to “shine the light of mediocrity” on those in charge.
And if you’re the restaurant owner, operator, employer, executive, or manager, then that means you!
So the question has to be, “Why would you make it any easier for them?” If you haven’t been already, you need to start protecting your employees, your customers, your business, and your bank account by implementing everything you learn as it pertains to employee and customer safety, health, and security.
Make no mistake about it; the scrutiny will be harsh for everyone involved. The decision-makers will be picked at and scrutinized like never before, but so will the employees and the vendors involved. Your restaurant and how you operate it will be dissected in ways you never before imagined were possible. They will be looking for anything out of compliance and outside of the reasonable and customary industry standards that took place before, during, and even after “little Suzy” lost her fingers on the bottom of the chair she was sitting in while trying to eat her dinner in your dining room or when “Uncle Mike” cracked his skull wide open on the slippery ceramic tiles on his way to your men’s room.
You may think we’re blowing this all out of proportion, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Do your own research. Google it; you’ll find thousands of examples all over the Internet.
The Absolute Brutality of Restaurant Cases
Many of these cases are much more than just your everyday, run-of-the-mill slip, trip, or fall, foodborne illness, or kitchen cut and burn (although those aren’t really run-of-the-mill either).
They include severed fingers, broken necks, crushed skulls, chemical ingestions, paralysis, contaminations leading to organ seizures and shutdowns, wrongful deaths, rapes, and murders; and they also involve armed robberies, brawls and bar fights, security breaches, building explosions, crimes upon humanity, and physical molestations; and, sadly, so much more.
Most of the cases that we’re referring to you’ve probably never heard about; and, for the most part, you probably never will unless something similar happens to one of your employees or customers in your restaurant or a restaurant nearby. We certainly hope that you never have to experience anything like them first-hand; however, we have—and we do—because we are not only authors.
What makes us truly different is that we also own and operate Restaurant Expert Witness—America’s most visible and prolific testifying and consulting forensic expert witness firm that deals with only restaurant and bar industry lawsuits, insurance claims, litigation, and pre-litigation matters. We speak from experience (probably like no others on the planet) with more than 350 cases and hundreds of pre-litigation consulting projects to our credit, which have allowed us the special insight, knowledge, and experience to provide this content to you from such a highly unique perspective.
Why don’t you hear more about these types of matters? Why don’t they appear on the headline news?
The answer is simple—protective orders.
Protective orders and confidentiality agreements are put in place by the attorneys and the judges to keep these matters quiet, confidential, and on the “down low”—at least, as much as reasonably possible anyhow. This allows these matters to be tried without much outside interference of public opinion. We call this the “not-so-public, public record.”
However, because of what we do for a living, we are privy to nearly every aspect of these incidents and what the hard evidence actually reveals. We see firsthand the restaurant industry and/or company policies, procedures, operating systems, and practices that the restaurants at the center of these underlying legal matters are (or are not) implementing. We see evidence of what is (and is not) the culture of safety created by the company and, in turn, echoed by the management from the “top of the heap” to the employees on the front lines.
We have probably seen more policy and procedural manuals from more restaurant industry organizations and establishments—the giants and the independents—than anyone on the face of the Earth. Of course, we’re not allowed to share this information, as we are bound by protective orders and confidentiality agreements, and we must shred or return all files at the conclusion of each case.
But the heartbreaking stories of the victims and the absolutely horrific pictures of those who were injured, harmed, sickened, maimed, and killed will be forever etched in our memories.
Money, Money, Money
These matters result in billions of dollars in claims, judgments, awards, damages, and citations each year. Countless checks are written to attorneys, investigators, court reporters, various experts, and others; and an unbelievable number of man-hours are expended by those who would be better served by running their restaurants than by answering interrogatories, pulling together discovery documents, and making appearances at depositions and trials.
As you may well know, making a profit in the restaurant industry is no easy task to begin with; so just imagine how difficult it becomes while you’re having to dedicate countless hours and relatively large amounts of money defending yourself, your business, your policies and procedures, your standards, your company culture, your actions, and the actions of your employees.
Because you must first understand how and why OSHA specifically applies to the restaurant industry before you can begin to comply with it, Restaurant OSHA Safety and Security is extremely helpful to those who need and seek guidance. Our readers are restaurant industry owners, managers, executives, support staff, vendors, and employees, as well as a significant number of lawyers, insurance executives and adjusters, industry insiders, educators, and media members.
OSHA for Restaurant Industry Employers, Employees & Risk Managers is written in plain, simple straightforward English. In short order, we will be offering OSHA for Restaurant Industry Employers, Employees & Risk Managers in the Spanish language as well.
Proper implementation of OSHA for Restaurant Industry Employers, Employees & Risk Managers will help make all restaurant employers and employees (at every level) better trained and more aware of safety, health, and security in any type of restaurant. Only then will your restaurant (or group of restaurants) be safer for everyone and anyone who enters the premises—no matter whether they are your employees, service providers, or others who rely on the products and services that you provide.
Want to learn more about Restaurant Expert Witness and the expert services we provide? Do you have a personal injury case that occurred at a restaurant or bar?
The highly sought after expertise of Restaurant Expert Witness could be the factor that secures a victory in your case. Call us at 800.300.5764 today for a FREE No Obligation Initial Consultation!
Or, to find out more about us and what makes us experts in the restaurant and bar industry, watch a video here or explore our website here!