Bar and Restaurant Accidents – How to Prove Negligence

Have you been injured in a bar or restaurant accident in Fort Myers, San Carlos Island, Sanibel or Fort Myers Beach? Do you think that the manager will admit they were at fault and make sure that their company pays for all your medical bills and lost wages? Don’t bet on it. These corporations train their people and managers to deny responsibility or minimize the problem. Understand this – if you are injured in any type of commercial establishment then you should be ready to fight for your right to full, fair and complete compensation. But how do you do that? You find and call the best Fort Myers personal injury lawyer you can to get the help that you need.

Since 1963, the personal injury attorneys at Wolfson & Leon in Fort Myers have defended the rights of injured victims throughout Florida and they are ready to help you too. Just call them for your free consultation at 239-777-9954 and find out about your rights under Florida law.

Here are just some of the more popular restaurants and bars in the Fort Myers Beach area:

• Nervous Nellie’s of Fort Myers Beach
• Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille
• Sunset Beach Tropical Grill and The Playmore Tiki Bar
• Matanzas on the Bay
• Parrot Key Caribbean Grill
• Nauti Parrot Dock Bar
• Dixie Fish Company
• The Whale
• Charley’s Boathouse Grill
• South Beach Grille

Fort Myers and the surrounding areas enjoy some of the most beautiful waterways and Gulf views in the world. As a result, patio bars and restaurants of all kinds can be found in Sanibel, Captiva, San Carlos Island, Fort Myers Beach, Bonita Beach, Naples and Marco Island. Aside from the views and the “vibe”, you are also sold the unspoken promise of safety from these dining and drinking establishments.

This promise is the same in any retail store. Come in and buy what we are selling. You don’t need to be on guard – we will keep you safe. No need to look down for each step you take – we will keep the floors reasonably safe for you. This also applies in restaurants and patio bars. Come in and stay a while. Enjoy our food and drinks. We will provide you with a safe place to enjoy yourself. But what happens when that promise of reasonable safety is broken?

Say you trip and fall in a patio bar or slip and fall in a restaurant. Most places will have people help you and offer to call fire rescue. Most managers will take a report as well. This makes the injured person feel that the manager was concerned. But most likely, the evidence collection process started before you even fell and it is all directed at clearing the bar or restaurant of blame. How does this happen?

First, more and more places now have video throughout their establishments. So, there is a good chance the customer was on tape before the fall and up through the fall as well. Now you might expect that they would share the video with you – but they usually won’t without a court order. If it is up to a defendant, they only give you the tape after you have given your deposition. That is why the Fort Myers slip and fall lawyers at Wolfson & Leon routinely file motions to compel production of any videos before our clients testify. More often than not, courts will compel a defendant to provide the tape before their deposition.

Even if they provide the tape, defendants will typically employ this line of defense:

• Defendant was not negligent
• Plaintiff was solely at fault
• Even if defendant was partially at fault, it was still mostly the plaintiff’s fault
• No matter about fault, the plaintiff had those medical conditions before – known as pre-existing conditions
• Even if the defendant was at fault and the plaintiff was injured, the plaintiff is being unreasonably greedy and is a bad person

What can you and your attorney do to fight these defense tactics? There are ways to overcome these hurdles and get you the full compensation that you deserve. Your Fort Myers slip and fall attorney can:

• File a public record request to the city or county government for all the building permits; code violations; inspections and any other documentation about the structure where you were hurt
• File another public record request for any prior calls for injuries at that location to determine if the defendant had notice of the problem that resulted in your injury
• Investigate court records for any other personal injury lawsuits filed against that defendant
• Ask to inspect the area where you were hurt; if the defendant refuses, then the request should be made to the court which will most likely issue an order allowing the inspection
• Have experts review the evidence and attend the inspection. These experts can include engineers and ADA (American Disability Act) specialists

Your trip and fall lawyer will be searching for building code violations and prior instances of notice to the defendant that the injury causing mechanism was known to the defendant and should have been repaired, replaced or at a minimum, required an adequate warning so you did not get hurt.

These are the building blocks for proving the fault of the defendant patio bar or restaurant. Once the evidence is collected and the defendant sees that the defenses may not be successful, then it is more likely that the defendant and their insurance company will take a more serious approach towards negotiating a fair and complete settlement.

If you or a loved one were injured at a Fort Myers area patio bar or restaurant, then call the Fort Myers personal injury lawyers at Wolfson & Leon at 239-777-9954 for a free consultation. We are ready to answer your questions. We can help – call us now.