A receipt in the restaurant shows a patron drinking a variety of alcohol drinks. The next day, the same customer is involved in a serious accident. For an attorney investigating potential liability for dram shops, the receipt is relevant. The receipt does not necessarily prove that the restaurant provided a clearly drunk patron or that employees did not follow proper procedures. It’s possible that the evidence is more persuasive when you consider the actions that took place between orders for drinks.
Understanding that sequence requires examining alcohol service as an actual hospitality service, not just recording the amount of alcohol consumed following an incident.
A receipt is a document of the sale but is not a stipulation of the purchaser.
Documents at the time of sale will reveal the date and time transactions took place, what drinks were bought, and what charges were included in a bill.
However, a receipt generally cannot show how a customer was acting when they were served a drink. It’s sometimes difficult to identify who consumed the drink, even if they were shared, or even what the bartender noticed.
An expert witness with experience will assist lawyers in understanding these records in relation to surveillance footage, employee statements and other evidence. The objective is to reconstruct the sequence of service without believing that each purchase is all the story.
What is the perception of employees in real-life?
A key issue in many alcohol-related disputes is whether staff could have a reason to believe the client was drunk. Some of the signs that could be relevant are impaired coordination or speech, difficulties maintaining balance or shifts in behavior.
But these indicators require some context. A single act recorded on surveillance footage could have explanations unrelated to alcohol consumption. Investigators must also look at camera angles, recording quality as well as the positions of employees, and whether the particular behavior could have been visible to staff.
Preston Rideout has experience as manager of a nightclub, bar manager, director of bar operations and bartender. His operational background helps connect documents with the duties and constraints of employees working in busy environments.
Written Training Doesn’t Always Describe Real Practice
Most alcohol-service investigations involve concerns about the preparation of employees. Did there exist any training programs for the servers-sellers? Was the establishment able to teach its employees how to identify intoxication? Did management explain how to refuse additional service?
These questions are central to Responsible alcohol service service, but reviewing training certificates alone may not answer them.
The venue may have policies implemented, but fail to follow them consistently. Employees might have adhered to the accepted standards of service even if the final result was tragic.
An operational review considers training materials, employee testimony monitoring by management, the actions that were documented during the incident. Both defense and plaintiff attorneys will benefit from the distinction between the presence of the policy and its actual implementation.
The Timeline often provides the key Questions
Imagine a client who is served drinks from different bartenders during an evening of crowded. The first employee might have observed ordinary behaviour. Following a shift switch another bartender might have served a different beverage. Managers could have intervened in the future.
In the absence of a timeline to reconstruct that is the case, these decisions could appear to be one continuous act of service. Retrospectively reviewing transactions records, staffing schedules video surveillance footage, incident reports all together will aid in determining who was aware of what and when. Missing footage or incomplete records should be identified rather than replaced with speculation.
Legal Liability and Industry Practice are two distinct issues
Hospitality professionals are able to explain the recognized operating practices of a restaurant and establish if its conduct is in accordance with these standards.
The court remains in task of determining whether a person is legally responsible. There are distinct laws in every state that govern the legal responsibility of alcohol retailers.
Rideout Hospitality Consulting supports plaintiff and defense attorneys across the nation through case review, operational analysis, written opinions, depositions as well as trial testimony. The company’s focus is on alcohol-related choices and training for staff.
The most robust analysis explains what the evidence cannot show
A drunken incident could have devastating consequences, but the severity of the result can’t be determined by the prior facts.
The attorney must understand the information available to him along with their limitations, as well as the expectations of employees under the conditions.
An exhaustive analysis of hospitality practices will discern between documented and assumed behaviours and explain where the venue’s practices are in line with or differ from the norms. The courts will then be able to judge the events in question instead of relying solely on what they learnt later.
