How To Sue A Restaurant

By Stephen Chambers. Last Updated 21st November 2024. If you have sustained a personal injury while eating out, you may want to learn more about how to sue a restaurant. This guide could help you understand more about the the process for making a personal injury claim and how much compensation you could be entitled to if your claim is successful.

To help you understand whether you’re eligible to seek compensation for the injuries you sustained, we have provided examples of how someone else’s negligence could have caused a restaurant accident.

Additionally, this guide will explore how a No Win No Fee arrangement could benefit you if you wish to hire a solicitor without paying an upfront fee for their services.

If you are ready to take action, you can:

  • Use the live chat feature on your screen
  • Call us on 0800 408 7827
  • Fill out the contact form with your details on our website and an advisor can call you back.Waiter taking an order from customers in a restaurant

 

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How To Sue A Restaurant For Personal Injury

The party in control of a public place, referred to as an “occupier,” owes a duty of care to all visitors to that premises as per the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. The law requires that occupiers take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of any visitors.

In order to begin a restaurant accident claim, you will need to demonstrate the following:

  1. A restaurant owed you a duty of care.
  2. They breached this duty by failing to take steps to ensure your reasonable safety.
  3. This breach resulted in an accident in which you were injured. 

What Evidence Can I Use For A Public Liability Claim?

Now we’ve explained how to sue a restaurant following an accident on the premises, we’re going to provide some examples of how you can prove your case. The evidence you gather will serve two purposes. First is to demonstrate the fault of the occupier in causing the accident, and second, it will show what injuries you sustained and how serious they are.

Gathering evidence is a key part of the personal injury claims process, and examples can include: 

  • Your medical records showing your injury
  • Photographs of the scene of the accident or of your injuries
  • CCTV footage of the accident
  • Incident report form or accident book entry
  • Witness contact information (so a statement can be taken in the future)

Contact our advisors for more information. They can also answer questions such as ‘Can you sue a restaurant for food poisoning?’.  

Examples of Accidents in Restaurants

There are several ways that an accident could occur in a restaurant. It is worth noting that if an accident happens, you must be able to prove it was caused by the restaurant’s failure to uphold the duty of care they owed you. Examples might include:

  • Slips caused by a wet or slippery floor: For example, you may have slipped on a spill that was not properly cleaned up or signposted with a wet floor sign. As a result, you may have sustained a broken cheekbone or concussion after a slip, trip or fall.
  • Poor maintenance: The person in control of a restaurant may have failed to carry out regular risk assessments to highlight and address any hazards that pose a risk. As a result, you may have sustained a cut on furniture that is broken, or a broken rib or broken nose after tripping on a loose floorboard that hadn’t been signposted.

These are only a few examples so if you would like to discuss a different accident that caused you harm, our advisors can help.

They can provide you with more information on how to sue a restaurant. Simply, call the number above for more information.

How Much Compensation Could I Get After A Slip Or Trip In A Restaurant?

A slip, trip or fall accident in a restaurant could result in various types of injuries which could range in severity.

As such, the severity of your injuries may be taken into consideration when valuing your claim. Additionally, other factors could influence the overall settlement you receive, such as:

  • The future prognosis
  • The impact the injuries have had on your quality of life

Call our team for a free valuation of how much your claim could be worth.

How To Sue A Restaurant For An Allergic Reaction

According to the NHS, an allergy is a reaction your body has to certain foods and substances. They affect around 1 in 4 people in the UK at some point in their lives.

An allergy can cause a number of symptoms that may vary in severity. In serious cases, you could be hospitalised and may need emergency medical care.

If you have experienced an allergic reaction to food in a restaurant due to a failure to take reasonable steps to prevent you from experiencing harm, you may be eligible to claim compensation.

For example, you may have informed your server that you had an allergy to one of the 14 main allergens. However, they may have failed to ensure the message was passed to the kitchen. As a result, you may have gone into anaphylactic shock.

In these instances, you may be eligible to seek compensation for the harm you sustained.

Speak to one of our advisors on the number above for more details on how to sue a restaurant for an allergic reaction or for food poisoning.

How Much Compensation Could I Get For Suing A Restaurant?

General damages seek to award compensation for the pain and suffering you experienced as a result of any physical and psychological restaurant injuries you have sustained.

As each case is different, the award you receive under general damages will vary depending on factors unique to your case. For instance, medical reports can highlight the full extent of your injuries when valuing how much they’re worth.

Furthermore, guidelines from the Judicial College are often referred to by solicitors to help them when valuing a compensation claim. The guidelines set out bracket compensation amounts associated with corresponding injuries.

The table below includes these guideline amounts. However, you should be aware the figures are not reflective of what you could receive as each claim is unique. Also take note that the first entry is not based on the Judicial College guidelines.

InjurySeverityCompensation Bracket
Multiple Very Serious Injuries Plus Special DamagesVery SeriousUp to £250,000+
Ankle Injuries Very Severe (a)£61,090 to £85,070
Hand InjuriesSerious Hand Injuries (e)£35,390 to £75,550
Brain DamageLess Severe (d)£18,700 to £52,550
Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips Moderate (b) (i)£32,450 to £47.810
Back InjuriesModerate (b) (i)£33,880 to £47,320
Skeletal InjuriesDamage to Teeth (f)Up to £46,540
Leg Injuries Less Serious (c) (i)£21,920 to £33,880
Knee Injuries Moderate Knee Injuries (b) (i)£18,110 to £31,960
Wrist Injuries Less Severe Injuries (c)£15,370 to £29,900

It is also possible your compensation payout may consist of special damages. The financial expenses incurred as a result of your injuries are covered under special damages.

For example, if you have had to take time off work because of the harm you sustained, you could claim back the loss of wages incurred. Other examples of special damages include medical expenses or any travel expenses.

You must provide evidence to support your claim for special damages, such as receipts or payslips.

What Are The Terms Of No Win No Fee?

If you have valid grounds to claim against a restaurant for injuries or an allergic reaction, then you could contact our advisors about getting support from one of the solicitors on our panel.

Our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors can support personal injury claims against a restaurant under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A benefit of working with a solicitor under such an agreement is that you won’t need to pay them for their services either before your claim starts or while it’s being processed. Also, if your claim is unsuccessful, then you don’t need to pay your solicitor for their work.

If your claim succeeds, then your solicitor will take a small, legally capped percentage from the compensation awarded for your case. This is known as a success fee, and details of how it works should be outlined in the CFA you sign.

To learn more about how to sue a restaurant with help from a No Win No Fee solicitor, contact our advisors. In addition to answering your questions, they can also offer you free advice for your particular case. You can connect with them today by:

A personal injury solicitor explains how to sue a restaurant to a client.

Learn More About How To Sue A Restaurant

You may find the following resources useful:

You can learn more about restaurant accident claims or other types of claims from our guides:

We hope this article has helped you understand how to sue a restaurant. However, if you have any additional questions, please get in touch on the number above.