Accidents earn their name by virtue of the fact that they are unplanned and can happen at any time. This is true when people who are eating at sidewalk diners suffer injuries at the hands of a drunk driver, or a driver who has lost control of his or her vehicle. Some who are injured in such accidents may wonder whether the restaurant holds some liability toward the injured victims as a result of their injuries.

When a driver loses control and drives onto the sidewalk area of an eating establishment and injures someone, it is important to consider all possible liability factors and potential sources for recovery. A good attorney will not rule out potential liability of the restaurant, as the restaurant may be at least partially on the hook for your injuries. Whether or not the restaurant is ultimately liable, depends on the facts and elements of your case.

One owner of a sidewalk restaurant stated that, “it is generally difficult to predict that a driver will drive onto the sidewalk area and cause property damage and injury to restaurant customers. As any restaurant owner will tell you, there’s only so much that can be done in order to keep the outdoor section of the restaurant safe, especially when it comes to out of control drivers that drive into outdoor eating areas. The first and best step restaurant owners can take toward keeping sidewalk eating areas safe is to ensure that all city and state safety measures and guidelines have been met.” A restaurant that fails to meet the city and safety measures, has a much greater chance of being found liable when injuries occur, even if those injuries were at the hands of a driver who drove onto the sidewalk.

It may be impossible for a restaurant owner or management to predict that a reckless or drunk driver will drive onto the sidewalk. But, in instances where a restaurant owner or manager has received a warning about a drunk driver in the vicinity, it is a legal requirement for the restaurant owner or management to notify and warn the diners the potential danger. In such situations, those customers eating outside should be moved into the property so as to remove them from the potential path of destruction. Such an action may prevent all manner of liability on the part of the restaurant. Another option the restaurant owner or management has is to notify the outside customers of the danger, so as to reduce fault in the event of an incident. In such cases, it is up to the owner and management to prevent injury or death from the potential sidewalk accident.

Additionally, it is necessary for the restaurant owner to ensure the maintenance and upkeep of his or her restaurant so as not to be held liable for failure to properly maintain the establishment. This requires the restaurant to clean up liquid spills or food on the floor, ensure that occupancy limits are not exceeded, and to keep the building and equipment well maintained.

One attorney stated that, “the plaintiff has the burden of proving that the restaurant was negligent or acted in a negligent manner. Such negligence can be proven in instances where the restaurant owner was aware of the pending danger, but took no action to warn or protect its patrons.” For legal representation by a law firm that focuses exclusively on the law on personal injury, contact a law firm of renowned professionals.

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Crowson Law Group is a law firm of renowned professionals whose sole focus is in personal injury matters. To hire lawyers in Anchorage with experience and expertise handling personal injury law matters, contact Crowson Law Group.