A receipt from a restaurant shows that a client ordered a number of spirits. A few hours later, the same customer is involved with a serious accident. The receipt could be useful to an attorney looking into the possibility of liability for the drunken shop. It isn’t a guarantee that the restaurant served a person who was clearly drunk or in the event that employees didn’t adhere to procedures. There’s a chance that the evidence will be more convincing by looking at the actions that took place between orders for drinks.
Understanding the sequence of events requires looking at the alcohol industry as a hospitality business, not just taking note of the number of drinks consumed after an incident.
Receipts record a sale not the status of a buyer
Point-of-sale data can be used to determine the time and date of transactions, the drinks were purchased, and the method of assigning charges to the tab.
A receipt is not able to reveal how a client behaved when served drinks. It may not be able to reveal the person who consumed each drink in the event that drinks were served in a shared manner, and what the bartender saw.
A qualified Expert Witness will assist lawyers in understanding the records as well as video surveillance, witness testimony of employees, and any other evidence available. The goal is to reconstruct the service flow without thinking that every purchase is the whole story.
What do employees see in real-life?
A central question in many alcohol-service disputes is whether staff had recognizable reasons to believe that a customer was drunk. Relevant observations could include impairment in coordination, abnormal speech, difficulty maintaining equilibrium, or any noticeable changes in behavior.
But these indicators still need some context. Just a single moment captured in surveillance footage may have a reason that isn’t related to alcohol. Investigators also need to consider how the recording is done 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. The operational knowledge he has gained helps him make connections between the obligations and limitations of employees working in bustling areas of hospitality.
Written Training Doesn’t Always Describe Real Practice
The majority of alcohol-related investigation focus on employee preparation. Did there exist any training programs for server-servers who sold the drinks? Did employees be taught to recognize potential signs of alcohol intoxication? Have managers explained to employees the procedure to deny service?
These questions are essential to Responsible alcohol service, but looking at training certificates on their own may not be enough to answer them.
It can be possible for a facility to have policies that are detailed, but not necessarily implement the policies. In contrast, an employee may have followed service standards even if it was not a good thing.
An operational review will look at information on training, employee testimony as well as management oversight and the actions that were documented during the incident. The difference between a policy’s existence and its implementation could be important to both the defense and plaintiff lawyers.
The Timeline often provides the key questions
Imagine a person being served drinks by various bartenders during a busy night. The first employee might have seen a typical behavior. Following a shift change, the bartender in question may have served a different beverage. Then, a manager could have intervened.
It is possible to make these choices appear to be one continuous act of service without having to reconstruct the timeline. In reviewing transaction records or staffing plans, video surveillance and incident reports, it can be helpful to know the person who knew what and the time. It is better to identify any missing footage or uncomplete records than to rely on speculation.
Legal Liability and Industry Practice are two different issues
Hospitality professionals can explain and determine if a location is following recognized operating procedures.
They are not a substitute for the courts’ responsibility to determine legal liability. The laws governing liquor stores differ across states, including the specific circumstances in which alcohol sellers could be subject to civil lawsuits.
Rideout Hospitality Consulting supports plaintiff and defense attorneys nationwide through case reviews operational analysis, depositions, writing opinions, as well as trial testimony. Its services include alcohol-related decision making, staff training managerial procedures, and any other hospitality-related operations that are relevant.
The most robust analysis explains what the Evidence cannot show
The gravity of an alcohol-related accident cannot be used to determine the validity of previous events.
Attorneys must understand the documents available, the limitations of the records and the manner in which employees were expected function under the conditions.
A thorough hospitality analysis will discern between documented and the assumed behavior and identify where the venue’s practices are aligned or deviated from established standards. This lets courts evaluate what happened instead of being based on what was discovered after the fact.