Who Pays After a Fall in a Restaurant or Bar?

If you’ve fallen in a restaurant or bar, typically the business owner or building owner pays for your injuries. If you’re an employee and injure yourself in a fall, you can usually apply for workers’ compensation.

You can talk to a New York slip and fall accident lawyer from Shulman & Hill to learn more about recovering compensation from a fall in a restaurant or bar.

Common Injuries From Falls in a Restaurant or Bar

Restaurants and bars are common spots for falling injuries to occur. Spills, grease spots, and clutter on the dining room floor are all possible causes of employee and customer falls.

Below are some common kinds of injuries from falls in restaurants and bars:

• Bruising and soft tissue injuries
• Joint sprains and muscle strains
• Broken bones and fractures
• Head injuries and concussions
• Mouth, face, and eye injuries
• Wrist, hand, and arm injuries
• Spinal cord injuries

Regardless of the severity of your injuries, you need to report the fall to the business owner or supervisor. Reporting the injury creates a paper trail of evidence that proves the accident happened and that you sustained injuries.

Premises Liability in New York and Falling Injuries in Bars and Restaurants

Premises liability is a legal doctrine that property owners and building managers can be liable for injuries that happen to guests on their properties. If a property owner knows about some hazard or dangerous condition, they must take steps to fix it or post a warning to guests.

If they fail to do so, and a guest sustains harm, the property owner can be liable for their injuries.

In the context of a restaurant or bar, several hazards can cause injury and justify a premises liability lawsuit:

• Spills that are not cleaned up
• Bunched up mats or carpets
• Grease slicks from the kitchen
• Clutter from tables and chairs
• Uneven walkways and door steps
• Poor lighting

A Property or Business Owner’s Liability Insurance Typically Pays for Falling Injuries

In most cases, if you fall in a bar or restaurant, you would file a liability insurance claim with the owner’s policy. Most businesses operating in commercial spaces carry general liability insurance, which is typically required by commercial landlords or lenders. This policy will pay for injuries that a guest might sustain while on the premises.

To prove negligence on the part of the owner, you need to show that the owner created the hazard or had actual or constructive notice of it and failed to address it.

To that end, a lawyer from Shulman & Hill can gather the following kinds of evidence:

• Photos and video recordings showing the hazard
• Communications with the owner about the hazard
• Prior customer complaints about the hazard
• Past accident and injury reports
• Eyewitness testimony

What Payment Can I Get After Falling in a Restaurant or Bar?

Depending on the nature and scope of your injuries, a team member from Shulman & Hill can pursue compensation for the following types of losses after a fall at a restaurant or bar:

• Emergency medical bills and future medical expenses
• Lost work income and other forms of employment compensation
• Reductions in your expected lifetime earnings due to disability
• Miscellaneous injury-related expenses
• Cost of replacement household services
• Pain and suffering, mental distress, emotional anguish

Pure Comparative Negligence in New York

New York is a comparative negligence state, so injury victims can recover compensation even from accidents where they share partial fault. Under so-called pure comparative negligence in New York, you can recover compensation even if you were up to 99% at fault for your injuries.

So if you fell in a restaurant or bar and it was partially your fault, you can file a claim against the owner. The catch is that any compensation you receive will be reduced based on your percentage of fault.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance for Injured Employees

If you are an employee and suffered an injury in a fall at work in a restaurant or bar, an attorney from Shulman & Hill can help you make a workers’ compensation claim. All businesses in New York are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, which pays for any injuries you sustain at work.

Workers’ compensation pays for your medical bills and replaces your weekly average earnings, up to a maximum amount. However, workers’ compensation will only cover your economic losses and won’t pay non-economic damages for pain and suffering.

You generally can’t directly sue your employer for injuries if they carry workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ comp is meant to be the sole remedy for work injuries. However, you can sue your employer if they don’t carry workers’ comp insurance or if they intentionally harmed you.

Contact a New York Personal Injury Lawyer From Shulman & Hill

Do you have more questions about payment after a fall in a restaurant or bar? If so, contact the legal team at Shulman & Hill online or call us today to speak to a personal injury lawyer in New York.