A receipt from a restaurant indicates that the customer ordered a number of alcoholic drinks. After a few hours the same patron is involved in a serious accident. If an attorney is investigating possible Dram shop liability the receipt is crucial. But it doesn’t automatically establish whether the restaurant served a person who was clearly intoxicated or if employees did not follow the correct procedures. The most relevant evidence could be what transpired between those drinks ordered.
To understand the pattern, you need to look at the alcohol service as part of a real hospitality business. It is not enough to simply count drinks after an incident.
A receipt is a document of the sale but is not a requirement of the buyer
Point-of-sale data can be used to determine when transactions occurred, which drinks were purchased, and how the charges were allocated to the tab.
The receipt may not reveal the manner in which the drink was ordered. It is not always possible to know who drank the drinks, if they were shared or what the bartender was watching.
An experienced Expert Witness can help attorneys interpret these records alongside surveillance footage, employee statements, and other available evidence. The objective is to reconstruct the entire service process without believing that each purchase will tell the complete story.
What are the things employees can observe in the real world?
The most important issue in disputes over alcohol-related service is whether staff could have had sufficient evidence to conclude that the client was drunk. The relevant indicators could include impaired coordination, unusual speech difficulties, balance issues or observable changes in behavior.
But these indicators still need some context. The actions recorded in surveillance footage may not be a result of alcohol. Investigators should also consider the camera’s angle, recording quality, employee position, and if a particular behavior was evident to the staff.
Preston Rideout brings experience as bartender, manager of the bar as well as nightclub general manager and director of operations for bars in these assessments. His practical experience allows him to make connections between the obligations and limitations of employees who work in hectic hospitality settings.
Written Training Doesn’t Always Describe Real Practice
In the majority of alcohol-related investigations the questions revolve around the employee’s training. Did the establishment offer seller-server training? Were employees taught to recognize potential intoxication? Did management discuss procedures for refusing additional service?
These questions are essential to responsible alcohol service, however looking at training certificates on their own may not answer them.
It is possible for an establishment to have comprehensive policies but not consistently implement the policies. In the other case, an employee may have followed the guidelines even if the incident was tragic.
An operational review includes training materials and testimony from employees. Also, it considers the oversight of management as well as any actions that are documented during the incident. Defense attorneys and plaintiffs will benefit from the distinction between the presence of an actual policy and its execution.
Timeline often sheds light on important information
Imagine a customer being served drinks by various bartenders in a busy evening. It is possible that the initial employee noticed a regular behaviour. Following a shift change, a second employee may serve a second drink. A manager might have intervened later.
Without reconstructing the timeline these decisions may appear to be a continuous act of service. Reviewing all the data including transaction logs and staffing schedules, as well as surveillance footage and incident report together, will reveal who knew when and what. It’s much better to discover the absence of footage or insufficient reports than relying on speculative speculation.
Industry Practice and Legal Liability are Different Issues
Hospitality professionals can help explain and evaluate if a venue adheres to the accepted operating procedures.
The court is still the duty of determining liability for legal reasons. There are different laws in every state that govern the legal responsibility of alcohol retailers.
Rideout Hospitality Consulting assists plaintiff and defendant attorneys across the United States with review of the case, analysis of operations, written opinions, and depositions. The company’s focus is on alcohol-related decisions and staff training.
The most robust analysis explains what the Evidence Cannot Show
An alcohol-related incident may cause a lot of damage, but the severity of the event cannot establish every earlier fact.
Lawyers should be able to recognize the documents available and their limits and also how employees should have been required to act under the specific circumstances.
An analysis of hospitality is a thorough way to separate assumptions from documented actions and to determine if the venue’s practices are in line with recognized standards or not. The courts are then able to assess the actual events rather than relying solely on the lessons they have learned.