A receipt from a restaurant shows that a patron ordered several spirits. A few hours later the same person is involved in a serious accident. Receipts are crucial for attorneys investigating potential dram shops liability. However, it isn’t a guarantee whether the restaurant served an intoxicated customer or if employees failed to follow appropriate procedures. There’s a chance that the evidence will be more convincing if you look at the events that occurred between drink orders.
In order to comprehend the process, it is necessary to examine the alcohol service as part of a hospitality operation. It is not enough to simply record drinks following an incident.
A receipt is a record of a transaction, not a condition of the purchaser.
Documents at the time of sale can show when transactions took place, which beverages have been purchased, and what charges were included in a bill.
A receipt, however, generally does not reveal how a person was acting when the drink was served. It is not able to determine who consumed each beverage or whether the drinks were shared, or what the bartender was watching.
A professional witness can aid lawyers in the interpretation of these documents alongside interviews with employees and surveillance footage. It is vital to retrace the sequence of service without believing that each purchase will tell the complete story.
What are the things employees can observe in real-life?
A key issue in many alcohol-service disputes is whether staff had any evidence to suggest a patron was intoxicated. Relevant observations could include impaired coordination, unusual speaking problems, inability to maintain equilibrium or any noticeable changes in behavior.
These indicators require the context of. The actions recorded in video surveillance may not be related to alcohol. Investigators must also take into consideration the quality of the recording angles, the position of the employees and the camera angles.
Preston Rideout brings experience as a bartender, bar manager, nightclub general manager, and director of bar operations to these evaluations. His operational background permits him to link recorded evidence to the roles of employees in busy hospitality establishments.
Written Training Doesn’t Always Describe Real Practice
Most alcohol-service investigations involve inquiries about preparation of employees. Does the establishment offer employee training in the area of seller-server? Were employees taught to recognize potential intoxication? Did management explain the procedure for refusing to provide additional services?
These questions are central to responsible alcohol services, however looking at training certificates on their own may not provide the answers.
A business could have in-depth policies, but fail to consistently implement them. In the reverse scenario employees may have followed the guidelines even though it was a tragedy.
A review of operations considers the documents for training, testimony from employees monitoring by management, the actions that were documented during the incident. It is important for both plaintiffs’ and defense counsel to recognize the difference between the existence and effectiveness of the policy and the implementation of it.
Timeline often sheds light on crucial questions
Take a look at a customer who gets drinks from bartenders of different bars during a crowded evening. The first employee might have seen a typical behavior. Following a shift change, a second employee may serve a second drink. The manager could intervene later.
It’s possible to make these decisions appear to be one continuous action without reconstructing the time line. Examining all the information including transaction records, staffing schedules as well as surveillance footage and an incident report together, will reveal who knew when and what. It’s better to know the missing files or videos, instead of making speculations.
Industry Practice and Legal Liability are Different Issues
Hospitality professionals are able to describe the accepted operating procedures of a place and assess whether the conduct of the venue is in accordance with these standards.
They do not take away the legal responsibility of the court to determine the legal responsibility. There are various laws in each state concerning the legal liability of alcohol retailers.
Rideout Hospitality Consulting assists plaintiff and defendant lawyers across the United States with reviews of cases, analyses of operations, written opinions and depositions. Its activities include alcohol-related management, decision making, training for staff managerial procedures, and other hospitality related operations.
The Strongest Analysis Accounts for what the Evidence Cannot Show
Alcohol-related incidents can have serious consequences, but their severity is not determined by all the evidence.
Lawyers should be able to identify the documents that are available and their limits in addition to how employees are expected to act in the specific circumstances.
A thorough hospitality analysis will differentiate documented and assumed behaviours and explain where the venue’s practices are consistent with or divergent from the accepted norms. This allows courts to evaluate what happened instead of being based on what was later discovered.
