RESTAURANT LAWSUITS!
Don't let them ruin your life or your business.Restaurant liability insurance ensures the financial stability of your business by protecting you from lawsuits.The restaurant owner or manager is faced with a daunting list of responsibilities. Their first priority is ensuring the safety of the staff and customers. Check out this excellent Restaurant Insurance Checklist.There's a real-life legal game show going on.Live in California or some other lawsuit happy state? Then you know all about the legal version of a real-life game show in which ordinary people attempt to win big jackpots when restaurants make simple mistakes.
The latest couple to sue a restaurant is Taylor Dill-Reese and Dominic Wilson, parents from Michigan who are claiming "emotional distress" from an incident in which an Applebee's waiter mistakenly served their toddler, Dominic, a margarita instead of apple juice.According to Yahoo News, the lawsuit contends the boy's blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit for drunk driving and the 15-month-old suffered from hangover symptoms, including headaches and nausea, for several days afterward.
Though Applebee's is not disputing it inadvertently served the boy alcohol, the restaurant has a different version of how much alcohol was in the drink and how serious the health effects were.The apple juice snafu recalls other lawsuits against restaurants in which the public perceived restaurants to be deep pockets from which they could gain some cash.One of the most famous lawsuits reported from Consumer Attorneys of California, involved the McDonald's coffee incident in which a female passenger in a car suffered third-degree burns when scalding hot coffee spilled onto her absorbent sweat pants after she placed the cup between her legs and lifted the lid to add cream and sugar.Unlike the Applebee's incident, McDonald's knowingly served ultra-hot coffee, but the hamburger chain could not control what a person did with the coffee once it was served.
In a more bizarre, a small family-owned southern California restaurant was sued by so-called disabilities advocates for placing its bathroom mirror two inches higher than the height required by state regulations.As reported in Faces of Lawsuit Abuse, the plaintiffs argued the height of the mirror inflicted damages on them each time they visited the bathroom, but they neglected to tell owner, Ron Piazza, about the problem until they racked up enough visits for a lawsuit. Once notified, Piazza immediately raised the mirror's height, but it was too late. BOOM! Into court they went incurring large amounts of wasted time and money.
The latest couple to sue a restaurant is Taylor Dill-Reese and Dominic Wilson, parents from Michigan who are claiming "emotional distress" from an incident in which an Applebee's waiter mistakenly served their toddler, Dominic, a margarita instead of apple juice.According to Yahoo News, the lawsuit contends the boy's blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit for drunk driving and the 15-month-old suffered from hangover symptoms, including headaches and nausea, for several days afterward.
Though Applebee's is not disputing it inadvertently served the boy alcohol, the restaurant has a different version of how much alcohol was in the drink and how serious the health effects were.The apple juice snafu recalls other lawsuits against restaurants in which the public perceived restaurants to be deep pockets from which they could gain some cash.One of the most famous lawsuits reported from Consumer Attorneys of California, involved the McDonald's coffee incident in which a female passenger in a car suffered third-degree burns when scalding hot coffee spilled onto her absorbent sweat pants after she placed the cup between her legs and lifted the lid to add cream and sugar.Unlike the Applebee's incident, McDonald's knowingly served ultra-hot coffee, but the hamburger chain could not control what a person did with the coffee once it was served.
In a more bizarre, a small family-owned southern California restaurant was sued by so-called disabilities advocates for placing its bathroom mirror two inches higher than the height required by state regulations.As reported in Faces of Lawsuit Abuse, the plaintiffs argued the height of the mirror inflicted damages on them each time they visited the bathroom, but they neglected to tell owner, Ron Piazza, about the problem until they racked up enough visits for a lawsuit. Once notified, Piazza immediately raised the mirror's height, but it was too late. BOOM! Into court they went incurring large amounts of wasted time and money.
10 Tips For Buying Restaurant Insurance
that will actually work for you.One area in the restaurant business you do not want to skimp on is insurance.Good insurance protects you and your restaurant business from a wide variety of unanticipated problems and disasters.
The most common types of insurance available includes:
1. Property Insurance - Protects your property in case of fire or other events. It may not cover natural disasters, such as floods or earthquakes (see below for a policy that does.) If you have any kind of mortgage on your business and/or equipment, then you must carry a property insurance policy.
2. General Liability and Excess/Umbrella Liability - These are the two policies that protect you in the event someone gets injured or sick eating in your restaurant. i.e. slips and falls in your restaurant, (whether it was your fault or not). Most restaurants need a minimum baseline limit of $1,000,000 plus an excess umbrella limit of $1,000,000 or more depending on the size of your customer pool.
This is a must have in today’s sue-happy world.
3. Liquor Liability - Serve alcohol in your restaurant? Then you must have Liquor Liability protection. Most states require that any establishment holding a liquor license carry liquor liability as part of their total insurance package. It helps protect you against the large lawsuits that will surely come your way if a customer has too much to drink and drives and hurts themselves or someone else.
4. Commercial/Business Automobile Liability - If you and some of your employees use vehicles for your restaurant operation, don't rely on your personal auto insurance policies. They likely will not respond to "business" related accidents. Double-check with your insurance advisor first.
5. Workers Compensation Protection For Your Employees - Protects you if an employee is hurt or becomes ill at work. Most states require that all employers carry some type of workers comp.
6. Employment Practices aka: Human Resources Problems InsuranceThis insurance protects you and your business from employment-related lawsuits brought on by employees - disgruntled or not. Covers such claims as: discrimination charges, all types of harassments, wage and hour disputes and other human resources management-type exposures.
7. Life Insurance - Depending on your mortgage and financing arrangements you may need to carry a life insurance policy to satisfy your lenders. It is also a good idea to have life insurance, in case something does happen to you so that your family isn’t left with a restaurant they don’t know how to run and bills they can’t pay. The best way to manage a family's financial chaos should you die prematurely is with a quality life insurance policy.Additional Types of InsuranceHere are some other types of insurance you should purchase for your restaurant.
8. Loss of Business Income/Profits Insurance - If you lose sales through a specific covered cause of loss, this type of policy can recoup some or most of your income. Keep in mind that premiums and deductibles may make you break even, depending on how you buy this insurance. Our advice: Always purchase Business Income insurance. Your restaurant will surely go under after a disaster without it.
9. Food Contamination InsuranceIf you lose power, because of fallen power lines or a storm, and the entire contents of your walk-in freezer spoil, this policy would pay to replace the food. Yes, this is a must have coverage for restaurant owners.
10. Specific Perils/Disasters InsuranceThis covers many natural disasters that property or general liability insurance doesn’t. Events like earthquakes, floods or power outages due to either, may be covered under this insurance.Additionally, use a trusted insurance advisor when buying insurance when you are opening a new restaurant. They will know the local and state laws pertaining to how much insurance you need and can help you decide how much more you want to carry.
Good insurance matters. Lawsuits and disastrous misfortunes are no fun. Protect your restaurant with good insurance for peace of mind and continued success.The latest disasters for restaurants comes from data breaches. This type of loss occurs when personally identifiable information that you control and must protect falls into the hands of online crooks.
For example, hackers get into your credit card point-of-sale data system. This new risk is protected by a new insurance product called, CyberRisk Insurance. Want to learn more? Check out our page, Hospitality Insurance. Want to read about other restaurant lawsuits?
Please don't hesitate to contact us anytime for assistance. The more you have to protect, the more you have to lose. I look forward to talking with you soon. Bon appétit!-
The most common types of insurance available includes:
1. Property Insurance - Protects your property in case of fire or other events. It may not cover natural disasters, such as floods or earthquakes (see below for a policy that does.) If you have any kind of mortgage on your business and/or equipment, then you must carry a property insurance policy.
2. General Liability and Excess/Umbrella Liability - These are the two policies that protect you in the event someone gets injured or sick eating in your restaurant. i.e. slips and falls in your restaurant, (whether it was your fault or not). Most restaurants need a minimum baseline limit of $1,000,000 plus an excess umbrella limit of $1,000,000 or more depending on the size of your customer pool.
This is a must have in today’s sue-happy world.
3. Liquor Liability - Serve alcohol in your restaurant? Then you must have Liquor Liability protection. Most states require that any establishment holding a liquor license carry liquor liability as part of their total insurance package. It helps protect you against the large lawsuits that will surely come your way if a customer has too much to drink and drives and hurts themselves or someone else.
4. Commercial/Business Automobile Liability - If you and some of your employees use vehicles for your restaurant operation, don't rely on your personal auto insurance policies. They likely will not respond to "business" related accidents. Double-check with your insurance advisor first.
5. Workers Compensation Protection For Your Employees - Protects you if an employee is hurt or becomes ill at work. Most states require that all employers carry some type of workers comp.
6. Employment Practices aka: Human Resources Problems InsuranceThis insurance protects you and your business from employment-related lawsuits brought on by employees - disgruntled or not. Covers such claims as: discrimination charges, all types of harassments, wage and hour disputes and other human resources management-type exposures.
7. Life Insurance - Depending on your mortgage and financing arrangements you may need to carry a life insurance policy to satisfy your lenders. It is also a good idea to have life insurance, in case something does happen to you so that your family isn’t left with a restaurant they don’t know how to run and bills they can’t pay. The best way to manage a family's financial chaos should you die prematurely is with a quality life insurance policy.Additional Types of InsuranceHere are some other types of insurance you should purchase for your restaurant.
8. Loss of Business Income/Profits Insurance - If you lose sales through a specific covered cause of loss, this type of policy can recoup some or most of your income. Keep in mind that premiums and deductibles may make you break even, depending on how you buy this insurance. Our advice: Always purchase Business Income insurance. Your restaurant will surely go under after a disaster without it.
9. Food Contamination InsuranceIf you lose power, because of fallen power lines or a storm, and the entire contents of your walk-in freezer spoil, this policy would pay to replace the food. Yes, this is a must have coverage for restaurant owners.
10. Specific Perils/Disasters InsuranceThis covers many natural disasters that property or general liability insurance doesn’t. Events like earthquakes, floods or power outages due to either, may be covered under this insurance.Additionally, use a trusted insurance advisor when buying insurance when you are opening a new restaurant. They will know the local and state laws pertaining to how much insurance you need and can help you decide how much more you want to carry.
Good insurance matters. Lawsuits and disastrous misfortunes are no fun. Protect your restaurant with good insurance for peace of mind and continued success.The latest disasters for restaurants comes from data breaches. This type of loss occurs when personally identifiable information that you control and must protect falls into the hands of online crooks.
For example, hackers get into your credit card point-of-sale data system. This new risk is protected by a new insurance product called, CyberRisk Insurance. Want to learn more? Check out our page, Hospitality Insurance. Want to read about other restaurant lawsuits?
Please don't hesitate to contact us anytime for assistance. The more you have to protect, the more you have to lose. I look forward to talking with you soon. Bon appétit!-
