A receipt in the restaurant shows a patron having a drink or two. Hours later, that customer is involved in a fatal traffic collision. The receipt is essential for attorneys investigating potential liability for dram shops. It isn’t a guarantee that the restaurant served someone who was clearly drunk, or if employees didn’t follow procedures. It’s possible that the evidence is more compelling depending on the actions that took place between orders for drinks.
In order to understand this sequence it is important to look at alcohol service as a hospitality operation, not only counting beverages following an event.
A receipt is an evidence of a sale and not a requirement of the purchaser.
The point-of-sale record is used to identify the date the transaction occurred, what beverages were purchased and what charges are assigned to the tab.
The receipt will not show the manner in which the drinks were ordered. It might not reveal who was drinking each drink and whether or not drinks were shared, or what the bartender was watching.
A certified Expert Witness can help lawyers interpret the records and also the surveillance footage, testimony from employees and any other evidence available. The objective is to reconstruct the service sequence without assuming that every purchase is the entire story.
What do employees see in the real world?
The central question in most disputes involving alcohol-related services is whether the staff had reasonable grounds to believe that the customer was intoxicated. Relevant observations could include impaired coordination, unusual speaking or speech patterns, difficulties maintaining equilibrium or noticeable behavioral changes.
These indicators require the context of. A single incident in surveillance footage may be unrelated to alcohol. Investigators should also be aware of the camera’s angle, recording quality the position of the employee, as well as the degree to which an incident was observed by staff.
Preston Rideout brings experience as a bartender, bar manager, nightclub general manager, and director of bar operations to these evaluations. His background in operation helps connect documentation with the obligations and limitations of staff working in busy hospitality environments.
Written Training Doesn’t Always Describe Real Practice
A majority of alcohol-related investigation investigations ask questions regarding preparation for employees. Did the establishment provide server-seller instruction? Did employees receive training on recognizing the signs of intoxication? Did management outline the procedure for refusing to provide additional services?
Although these questions are essential to the Responsible Alcohol Service, looking over only training certificates may not be enough to address them.
It is possible for an establishment to have comprehensive policies but not be able to consistently follow them. Employees may have adhered to the accepted standards of service regardless of whether the final result was disastrous.
A thorough review of operational elements includes the training materials, testimonies of employees supervision by management and incidents that are documented. The difference between a policy’s existence and its actual implementation could be significant for both plaintiff and defense counsel.
The Timeline often provides the key Questions
Take a look at a client served by multiple bartenders at the same time during an evening of high activity. The first bartender may have noticed normal behavior. After a change of shift an employee from another shift could have served an additional beverage. A manager could intervene later.
These decisions may appear as a continuous service when the timeline isn’t reconstitued. Reviewing personnel schedules, transaction records video surveillance footage, incident reports together can assist in determining who knew what and when. Records that are missing or not complete are also to be noted rather than rewritten with speculation.
Industry Practice and Legal Liability Are Different Issues
Hospitality professionals can explain and determine if a location is operating in accordance with recognized procedures.
The court remains in task of determining whether a person is legally responsible. There are laws that differ in every state that govern the legal responsibility of alcohol retailers.
Rideout Hospitality Consulting supports plaintiff and defense lawyers across the country by conducting case review operational analysis, depositions, written opinions, and trial testimony. Its activities include alcohol-related decision-making, staff training managerial procedures, and any other relevant hospitality operations.
The most thorough analyses can help explain what the evidence does not demonstrate.
The effects of alcohol-related accidents can have severe consequences, but the severity can’t be assessed by all the facts.
Lawyers need to be able identify the documents that are available and their limitations as well as the way employees would have been expected to act in the specific circumstances.
An exhaustive analysis of hospitality practices will separate documented actions from the assumed behavior and identify where the venue’s practices are consistent with or divergent from the accepted norms. The courts can then evaluate the actual event instead of relying solely on what they learnt later.