A receipt from the restaurant shows a person having a drink or two. The next day the same person is involved in a serious accident. The receipt is essential for lawyers investigating possible legal liability of dram shops. The receipt doesn’t necessarily prove that the restaurant served a clearly intoxicated customer or that employees did not comply with the appropriate procedures. More revealing evidence might relate to what transpired between the drinks ordered.
To understand the flow of events, look at the alcohol service as a part of a genuine hospitality operation. It is not possible to take a look at the number of drinks consumed after an incident.
When Multiple Employees Serve the Same Customer
A Receipt Records a Sale, Not a Customer’s Condition
The record of the point-of-sale is used to identify the date the transaction took place, what beverages were purchased, and what charges are allocated to the tab.
The receipt won’t reveal the manner in which the drink was ordered. The receipt will not disclose the person who consumed each drink even if the drinks were shared, or what the bartender saw.
An experienced Expert Witness can help attorneys interpret these records alongside surveillance footage, employee statements, and other available evidence. The goal is to reconstruct the sequence of service without assuming that every purchase is the complete story.
What is the perception of employees in the real world?
The most important issue in alcohol-service disputes is whether staff had recognizable reasons to believe the patron was intoxicated. The relevant observations might include impaired coordination, unusual speaking or speech patterns, difficulties maintaining equilibrium or noticeable behavioral changes.
These indicators require contextualization. The actions filmed on video surveillance might not be a direct result of drinking. Investigators should also take into consideration camera angles, recording quality position of employees and whether particular behavior would be seen by the employees.
Preston Rideout brings experience as Bar manager, bartender, nightclub general manager, director of bar operations in these assessments. His experience in operations helps him make connections between the obligations and limitations of employees who work in hectic hospitality environments.
Written Training Doesn’t Always Describe Real Practice
The majority of alcohol-service investigations are focused on preparation of employees. Did there exist any training programs for the server-sellers? Did the establishment instruct its employees on how to spot intoxication? Management was clear on the reasons for refusing to provide additional services?
Although these questions are crucial to the Responsible Alcohol Service, looking over only the training certificates may not be enough to answer them.
The facility may have rules that are in place, but they fail to consistently implement them. In contrast the employee could have followed service standards even if it was tragic.
A thorough review of operational aspects of the policy includes documents for training, employee testimony, management oversight and actions that were documented in the event. Plaintiffs as well as defense attorneys can benefit from a clear distinction between the existence of the policy and its actual execution.
Timeline can provide answers to important issues
Imagine a person being served drinks by various bartenders on a busy evening. It is likely that the bartender who served the first patron was observing a typical behaviour. A second bartender may have served a second drink after the shift change. A manager could have intervened afterward.
Without retracing the timeline the decisions could appear to be a continuous action of service. When reviewing transaction records, staffing plans, surveillance footage and incident reports, it can be helpful to know who was aware of what and at what time. It’s better to know whether there’s any missing records or footage, rather than speculating.
Legal Liability and the Practice of Industry are Different Questions
Hospitality experts can provide an explanation of accepted operating guidelines and judge if the conduct of a place was in line with these practices.
They do not replace the courts’ responsibility to determine the legality of the liability. There are different laws for each state on the legal responsibility of alcohol retailers.
Rideout Hospitality Consulting provides support to defense attorneys and plaintiffs in the United States of America through review of cases, operational analysis writing opinions, trial testimony, depositions and other types of evidence. Its activities include alcohol-related management, decision making, training for staff management practices, as well as other hospitality related operations.
The most robust analysis explains what the evidence does not show
The gravity of an alcohol-related event cannot be used to determine the validity of previous events.
Attorneys must be aware of the documents available, the limits of those records, and the manner in which employees were expected perform under the circumstances.
An in-depth analysis of hospitality can separate documented actions from assumptions and provides a clear explanation of where the hotel’s practices matched up with or diverged from recognized standards. The courts are then able to assess the events in question rather than just relying on what they learnt later.