How Not to Get Sued — Or, at Least, How to Mitigate the Losses by Dr. Joel Feigeheimer, Ph.D

How Not To Get Sued — Or, at Least, How to Mitigate the Losses

By Joel Feigeheimer Ph.D., Assistant Professor The Chaplin School of Hospitality Florida International University joel@realeats.org

Training, Training, Training!

I have enjoyed working in many facets of the restaurant and hospitality business over the years, from dishwasher to owner operator and now as a professor and an expert hospitality witness. What is an expert hospitality witness, you ask? I am the guy that gets hired by the attorneys and/or the insurance companies to assist in either prosecuting or defending restaurant operators and hoteliers in common lawsuits such as slip-and-falls and liquor liability, which are the two largest portions of my expert consultant business. Every single case is different, and they each have their own unique circumstances that brought the litigants into this position where they need to go to court to hammer out some agreement. I have, however, noticed many similarities in the cases as they are brought against operators, and in the way that operators can best ensure the safety of their guests as well as obtain release from negligence claims stemming from whatever issue occurred at their property. In our business, which includes hopefully many people eating, drinking responsibly

and enjoying themselves at your location, operators are often at risk. The problem is, what happens when someone slips and falls at your place or has too much to drink and causes some terrible situation that results in your operation being sued? An operator cannot ensure that nothing will ever happen to anyone at their place of business. Whether that is hospitality, or retail or a courthouse hallway, there is always the possibility of a slip and fall. One might think that these lawsuits are inevitable and that you cannot actively work to protect your name, business and reputation as a quality operator without being sued occasionally. Unfortunately, almost anyone can sue your business with little more than a story and some filing fees. How far that case moves forward is dependent upon many things. However, below are some tips that hopefully will keep your organization on the good side of the checklist ledger, to protect your guests and employees from any issues generated at your location. Slip and fall cases are a large part of my practice. I’ve observed that training and corporate culture provide some of the key differences between an operator who is tagged for negligence or even worse, gross negligence, and an operator who avoids that scenario. It is imperative for your operation to have, and reinforce regularly, policies and procedures related to not just what happens when someone slips and is injured at your facility, but also what the daily cleaning procedures are to keep your floor surfaces clean, free of debris and dry. Questions to ask yourself include: What have you done proactively on a daily or by shift-by-shift basis, to train your staff to be aware of and immediately address any hazards generated over the course of the business day? Has anyone trained the cleaning crew that you use to clean your facility? Have they been trained by corporate trainers or third-party trainers? Are they your employees or third-party contractors? Please note simply because you have an outside contractor to clean your hotel or restaurant, that may not excuse you from liability.

Slip and fall cases often have big payouts because some operators don’t put in writing these very basic procedures. As operators, we make sure that we train our staff on hospitality and proper food and service procedures. However, even though it is one of the biggest liability risks that we have as operators, we do not give nearly as much attention to training our floor cleaners and maintenance staff to follow all safety policies and procedures on a faithful basis. All employees must know how to address an emergency on the property. These are not one-size-fits-all kinds of concerns. But after a customer fall, operations that follow policies and procedures on how to properly report on the issue as well as taking care of the physical well-being of the guest, have a better likelihood of proving a culture of care and concern for the guest. Training that includes the use of daily cleaning logs, bilingual training prompts or even pictographs that show how to fix the chemicals or mop the floor or dry up the spill, show concern and preparedness on the part of the operator. It is not enough to simply have a manual, amazing video training, online resources and whatever new training options that come our way, if they are not actively reinforced by management. These resources are of no use unless every employee that has some type of responsibility to the guest regarding floor or table maintenance, is not only familiar with these training materials but also understands how their work as a bus boy, dishwasher or floor maintenance person is important every single day.

Will you get sued? Hopefully not, but as we are a high-volume, high-traffic industry, the likelihood of being sued over the course of your business tenure is pretty good. How you have trained your staff and your management about guest safety procedures will go a long way in minimizing or avoiding what could be costly damages to your bottom line and more importantly to your reputation for guest safety.