Every day numerous amounts of people walk into McDonald’s, Taco Bell, KFC, Wendy’s, Burger King, and other fast food restaurants to order their hamburgers, tacos, or other food and beverage items. While some stay and eat their food at the restaurant, others take their items to go. In either event, anyone who walks through the doors of a fast food restaurant should be free from danger. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
Fast food restaurants frequently have spilled drinks on the ground, ice cubes that have fallen near the soda machine and are melting, or freshly mopped floors. It is a restaurant’s duty to safely clean and maintain the premises and warn customers of any potential dangers, such as wet floors. This means that restaurants need to mop floors cautiously and place warning signs around the wet area. Additionally, warning signs and quick cleanups need to be done when drinks are spilled on the ground.
When safety measures aren’t taken and restaurants fail to act safely and protect customers on their premises, people can suffer needlessly in the following ways.
- A fast food restaurant employee mopped the floor but failed to place warning signs or orange safety cones to notify customers of the wet floor. As a result, a man slipped and fell on the wet floor, injuring his wrist and back.
- A fast food restaurant didn’t have nonslip mats under the soda machine and failed to clean up the liquid spills from spilled drinks and ice cubes in a timely manner. As a result, a woman slipped on the slippery floor and suffered a broken arm.
If something like this happened to you, it is important to use your phone to video tape or take pictures of the accident scene. For example, photographs can reveal that there were no orange cones, caution signs, or nonslip mats in the hazardous area. Additionally, having witnesses who saw your fall and can testify to the dangerous conditions can help your claim. By having proof that the restaurant was negligent in their cleaning procedures and placement of safety cones, you should have a strong case for compensation.
While it may seem like your case is open and shut, it is also critical to your case outcome that you take the following steps to strengthen your Florida slip and fall claim, including:
- Seek medical treatment immediately. In Florida, you only have 14 days from the date of the accident to seek medical care. If you fail to do so, you may no longer have a claim for damages. It is best to seek immediate medical treatment for the sake of your health and so that you do not jeopardize your claim.
- Save your shoes. Stop wearing the shoes you fell in and put them in a sealed container. The other side will want to inspect them if a lawsuit is filed to make sure your shoes were not worn out or defective in any way.
- Say “no” to a recorded statement. If the fast food restaurant or their insurance company asks you to give them a recorded statement, simply say “no”. It is never a good idea to give a recorded statement, especially without an attorney present.
When you have suffered harm at a fast food restaurant or any type of restaurant, you may have a personal injury claim for your medical bills, lost income, and even pain and suffering. To find out more, you should speak with a lawyer about your case specifics. Contact the Law Office of David Benenfeld at(954) 677-0155 for a free consultation with a slip and fall lawyer in Fort Lauderdale today.
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