A receipt from a restaurant indicates that the customer ordered multiple alcohol-based drinks. Within a couple of hours the same customer has been injured in a fatal accident. In the case of an attorney looking into potential liability for dram shops the receipt will be relevant. It does not have to show that the restaurant provided a clearly drunk patron or that the employees failed to adhere to the proper procedure. What transpired between the drink orders may be more telling.
Understanding the order of events requires an examination of the alcohol industry as a hospitality business, not just the counting of drinks after an incident.
A Receipt Records a Sale but not the customer’s condition.
The records at the point of sale may reveal when transactions occurred, what beverages were purchased, and what charges were included in a bill.
The receipt may not reveal what the customer’s actions were when the beverage was ordered. The receipt will not disclose who consumed each drink, if drinks were served in a shared manner, and the manner in which the bartender viewed it.
An experienced Expert Witness can help attorneys interpret these records alongside surveillance footage, employee statements, and other available evidence. It is crucial to decipher the entire sequence of services without thinking that every purchase will be the complete story.
What do employees really observe?
The most important issue in alcohol-related disputes is whether staff had recognizable reasons to believe a patron was intoxicated. These could be evidence of impaired coordination, strange speaking or speech patterns, difficulties maintaining equilibrium or any noticeable changes in behavior.
These indicators need to be contextualized. Just a single moment captured in surveillance footage might be a cause that is not related to alcohol. Investigators should take into account the camera angle, the quality of recording, employee position, and the degree to which an incident was apparent to employees.
Preston Rideout’s work as a seasoned bartender and bar manager, general manager of nightclubs, and director of operations for bars is evident in these assessments. His operational experience helps him link recorded evidence to the duties and limitations for employees who work in busy hospitality environments.
Written Training Doesn’t Always Describe Real Practice
Most alcohol-service investigations involve inquiries about preparation of employees. Does the establishment provide seller-server training to its employees? Did the establishment instruct its employees on how to recognize intoxication? Did management outline how to refuse additional service?
The answer to these questions might be in the certificates of training but they’re not enough.
A venue might maintain detailed policies without consistently implementing them. Conversely, employees may follow established practices in service even though the final outcome was devastating.
A look at the operational aspects include the training materials, testimonies of employees, management oversight and actions that were documented in the event. The difference between the existence of a policy and its actual implementation can be significant for both plaintiff and defense counsel.
Timeline often reveals crucial information
Imagine a person being served drinks by a variety of bartenders at a busy time. The first bartender may have observed ordinary behavior. A second bartender may have served a second drink after a shift change. Then, a manager could have intervened.
These decisions can appear as a continuous service in the event that the timeline is not reconstructed. Reviewing all the data such as transaction records and staffing plans as well as surveillance footage and the incident report together, can clarify who was aware of what and when. It’s better to know whether there’s any missing documents or footage instead of making speculations.
The issues surrounding legal liability and industry practice are different.
Hospitality professionals can define the operating standards of a venue and determine whether its behavior is conforming to these guidelines.
They do not take away the responsibility of the court to decide the legality of the liability. There are distinct laws in every state that govern the legal responsibility of retailers selling alcohol.
Rideout Hospitality Consulting supports plaintiff and defense lawyers throughout the world through case reviews operational analysis, depositions, written opinions as well as trial testimony. The company’s work focuses on alcohol-related decisions staff training, practices for management, as well as other relevant hospitality operations.
The most thorough analysis clarifies what the evidence can’t prove
The seriousness of an alcohol-related incident is not able to determine all previous facts.
Lawyers need to be able determine the legal documents accessible and their limitations as well as the way employees are expected to act in the given circumstances.
A thorough analysis of hospitality separates evidence from an assumption and helps identify where the venue’s policies matched or differed from accepted standards. This distinction can help courts assess the events that actually occurred rather than relying solely on what was discovered in the aftermath.
