A receipt from a restaurant indicates that a customer ordered several alcohol-based drinks. Hours later, that customer is involved in a fatal traffic collision. The receipt is crucial to an attorney who is investigating possible Dram shop liability. The receipt is not required to demonstrate that the establishment provided a clearly drunk patron or that the employees failed to follow the correct procedures. It’s possible that the evidence is more persuasive by looking at the events that occurred between orders for drinks.
Understanding the order of events requires an examination of alcohol service as an actual hospitality business, not just the counting of drinks after an incident.
A receipt is a record of a purchase, not the condition of a customer
The records at the point of sale will reveal the date and time transactions occurred, what drinks were purchased and the costs included in a bill.
The receipt may not reveal the customer’s behavior when the drink was ordered. The receipt might not show the individual who drank each drink in the event that drinks were served in a shared manner, and how the bartender was observing.
An experienced Expert Witness can help attorneys interpret these records alongside surveillance footage, employee statements, and other available evidence. The aim is to reconstruct the service sequence without assuming that each purchase will tell the complete story.
What could employees actually observe?
One of the most crucial issues in alcohol-service disputes is whether staff could have a reason to believe the client was drunk. These could be evidence of diminished coordination, atypical speaking or speech patterns, difficulties maintaining equilibrium or noticeable behavioral changes.
But these indicators require context. Any single action recorded in surveillance footage could have a reason that isn’t related to alcohol. Investigators should also consider the quality of the video position of the employee and camera angles.
Preston Rideout brings experience as Bar manager, bartender as well as nightclub general manager as well as director of bar operations in these assessments. The operational knowledge he has gained helps him make connections between the responsibilities and limitations of employees working in bustling hospitality establishments.
Written Training Doesn’t Always Describe Real Practice
In all alcohol-related investigation the questions revolve around the employee’s preparation. Does the establishment provide the seller-servers training for its employees? Did employees receive training on recognizing potential intoxication? Management explained the procedure for refusing to offer any additional services?
The answers to these questions could be in the certificates of training but they’re not enough.
It is possible for an establishment to have comprehensive policies but not consistently implement them. Employees might have adhered to established service guidelines even if the end outcome was tragic.
A review of operations examines information on training materials as well as employee testimony. The review also examines supervision by management and any actions that are documented in the incident. The difference between the existence of a policy and the actual implementation of it can be significant for both defense and plaintiff counsel.
The Timeline often provides the key Questions
Take a look at a client served by several bartenders the same time during the course of a busy evening. It is possible that the initial employee was observing a typical behavior. After a change of shift an employee from another shift could have served another drink. Then, a manager could have intervened.
The decision-making process could be seen as an ongoing process when the timeline isn’t recreated. In reviewing transaction records and staffing plans, as well as video surveillance and incident reports It can be useful to know who was aware of what, and at what time. Missing footage or incomplete records should also be identified rather than rewritten with speculation.
Legal Liability and the Practice of Industry are two distinct issues
Hospitality professionals can help explain and determine if a location is following recognized operating procedures.
These laws do not replace a court’s ability to determine the legal liability. The laws for liquor shops differ between states, and also the conditions where alcohol suppliers could be liable for civil actions.
Rideout Hospitality Consulting provides support for defense lawyers and plaintiffs in the United States through review of cases, operational analysis and written opinions, trial testimony, depositions and other types of evidence. The work of the company includes alcohol-related decision making, staff training, managerial practices, and other hospitality related operations.
The most robust analysis explains What the Evidence Doesn’t Show
The effects of alcohol-related accidents can have severe consequences, but the severity is not determined by all the evidence.
The attorney must be aware of the available records along with their limitations, as well as the expectations of employees in the circumstances.
An analysis of hospitality can be a thorough method to separate assumptions from documented actions and to determine if the venue’s practices are in line with recognized standards or not. This distinction can help courts assess what actually happened rather than relying solely on what was revealed following the fact.