There are many horror stories connected with restaurants, especially involving discovering all kinds of unpleasant things in the food. Some of the stories are real. Others are urban legends. And that’s the problem.
If you discover a roach in your food, you have been damaged by the restaurant and are entitled to some sort of recompense. But you must also prove that it’s the restaurant’s fault… after all, people have been known to sneak objects into their own food as a way of creating a bogus claim. (Incidentally, many people believe that most claims against restaurants are phony. The woman who sued McDonalds because she was injured by hot coffee has become the object of much derision, yet her injury was severe, and her claim was actually very legitimate.)
So what’s the best way to sue a restaurant? Actually, it’s best if you can resolve the issue as soon as the incident occurs. Ask to speak to the manager, show him or her the problem, and be clear about what you consider to be a reasonable remedy. If you get it, then all is well, and you will have neither the hassle nor expense of a lawsuit.
If you do decide to sue the restaurant, you’re going to need hard evidence to prove your case. It will be helpful to have witnesses, so if anyone sees what happened, try to get their names and phone numbers right then and there. Get the names of any restaurant employees who were involved in or saw the incident. Write down all the pertinent facts: what happened, who saw it, where did it occur, and the exact time. Remember, you can’t go into a courtroom with a vague grievance. You’ll have to be able to prove how you were harmed, and to come up with a reasonable amount of compensation you’re demanding.
Then, it’s time to consult an attorney. Present all the evidence you’ve collected. Your attorney will then be able to advise you whether or not you have a case, and how much you might stand to collect. A letter from your lawyer to restaurant management (you’ve already found out who they are!) might suffice. But if it doesn’t, you can proceed with your suit. Depending on the amount, you may want to sue in small claims court. Your lawyer will be able to advise you on this as well.
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my 14 yr.old son. ate burger king last night,and got really sick after eatting a rodeo burger,all night he votmit and woke up doing the same he has sezuires and is on meds. he’s unable to keep his medicine down that’s endangering his health can i sue? .if so for how much or if ur a lawyer can u help me?
We can’t give individual legal advice. We do recommend that if you want to pursue legal options, document everything that happened (including who was present as witnesses, etc) and then consult a lawyer. If you don’t know one call your local bar association and they can recommend one. In general, the principle of “the sooner the better” applies when consulting a lawyer about such matters, since people move away, forget things, etc. etc.
we went to local pizza place and had a buffet, my son burned by pizza sauce.how can i sue the restaurant? and I didn’t say anything to that time. should I go back to tell or talk to manger
While eating out with my family I was harassed by the emplyees regarding breastfeeding my five month old. The manager refused to come and speak to me and instead chose to call the police. Since this occured my 5 and 3 year old daughters have been having nightmares about mommy going to jail and the baby not being able to eat. Do I have any legal case in this matter?
last night i went out to a pizza place with some family, and my 4 month old son. well the waiter took our drink order, we all ordered water. when he braught us our water, he served over my 4 month old while he was sleeping and spilled the tray of ice cold water over my sons head, if he would have been sleeping with his mouth opened he could have drowned, his heart could have stopped and he coulda went into shock, could have been a tray of pizza that dumped on him. i have plenty of witnesses, and i know our waiters name. im just trying to figure out how good of a case i have got…any ideas? email me..lost_cause00420@hotmail.com thanks
The replies on this site are ridiculous!
Jackie – how about feed your son something healthy if he’s already experiencing medical problems. Take one factor out of the equation and maybe your sons health will improve (ie stop feeding him fast food!)
Juliana – Don’t leave your son unattended in a place where there is the potential for him to burn/injure himself and you’d have no problem. You’d probably try and sue if the pizza was too cold too huh?
amy ashworth – It is perfectly understandable that someone at a RESTAURANT would have a problem with you popping your breast out to feed your baby. Other people are eating there and I’m sick of mothers just thinking they have the right to gross me out. I can’t whip out my genitals or my breast out anywhere without someone putting up a fuss, why should you be able to? (Oh and on the topic of filing suit… good luck!) Most ridiculous question I’ve ever heard!
JoAnn – you’re just off in space somewhere. He spilled water on your baby. It was a mistake. Neither you nor your baby were injured… correct? So you want to sue because somehow in your mind you actually believe your baby could DROWN and its heart COULD have stopped and he COULD have gone into shock… all this from a glass of water being spilled on it. NOTHING HAPPENED! How would you sue? What would you tell them?
You guys are bottom feeders. Get real jobs and stop looking for handouts. Oh and it sounds like most of you are neurotic mothers with major spelling problems. Pass some better lessons on to your kids than how to con the system. No wonder the US economy is in the shitter.
If I go to a restraunt, and the food is absolutely terrible (burned/over cooked/stale), the order was completely wrong, and the manager still insists on full payment, do I have a case in small claims court to get a refund? Is there an inferred contract of any type between the restaurant and the customer that says that the food will actually be edible and as expected?
friday late night i went to wing stop and fell they had no sign slipped and fell at the time i ask to speak with the manager i call the next day since im having so much pain and i figure out that the person who i spoke to wasnot even the manager
the simply didnt want to take care of the situation im very hurt i dont know were to start
Hi, so I went to 1/4 Burger Express. After eatting half of my burger, I took another bite and bit down on something hard which hurt my tooth. I looked and saw that it was a plastic bread bag clip in my burger! I got a refund but the cook who was the only employee at the time, refused to give me his last name, any contact info of the manager/owner, or a receipt. I took alot of pictures of the burger and the few of the establishment. -I honestly think the cook was the manager because he claimed to have worked their for 20 years and never made a mistake like that before, but indeed he messed up this time! If it were hair, I wouldn’t have stressed the situation but really a bread bag clip??? What should I do? …I have the address, time, amount, first name, and witness. They establishment also has the mishap on surveillance.
Recently my Wife and I ate at T.G.I Fridays and our bill was 41.99$$… We ended up getting charged 85.67!
Im going to bring this further than their attention, just got to know how. Thanks.
Last week my husband & I went to dominos pizza . I got off with my 3 year old sun while i was paying for the pizzas my son was getting a coke from the vending machine. when suddenly i hear my son crying and thats when i turned around to see wat had happened he was in the floor and the coke door was on top of him. It was a pretty strong door. i ran were he was and i moved the door from him picked him up but he wouldnt stop crying .None of the workers even helped me or asked me how he was. They were in a shock mode. A worker comes out of the back room and tells another worker that she had just called he manager and that he said for the cashier to give me the free pizza and to call 911. The ambulance got there examined my son and asked me if ii wanted to take him to the hos[pital but i had said no because i didnt think he had gotten hurt…
But the point here is that the door was suppose to been cheked right and that accident would of never happened, noe my son scream at night like that day . Can i sue the coca cola company for having the door unsrewed .