A recent client of Bartletts Solicitors reached an out of court settlement with a restaurant, after having a hot drink spilled over her by a member of staff. Mrs L was having lunch with a friend in the establishment when the waiter who was serving them spilled a pot of hot tea over her forearm, resulting in second degree burns. Mrs L was in severe pain and distress following the accident, and after staff administered basic first aid at the scene her friend decided to drive her to hospital, where she received emergency medical attention.
Mrs L was unable to work for two weeks following the accident, and was in constant pain and discomfort from the prominent burn marks on her forearm. She made a written complaint to the restaurant’s parent company, but did not receive a satisfactory response, and consequently decided to seek legal advice.
Our Legal Advice
Having read about our firm’s experience in claiming compensation for clients involved in accidents at restaurants, Mrs L contacted Bartletts, and subsequently instructed us to begin legal action against the restaurant. In outlining Mrs L’s grounds for making a claim, we highlighted the relative severity of her burn injuries, which were likely to leave long-term scarring. Restaurants have a legal duty of care not to cause undue harm to their guests, and must take all reasonable measures to protect them from the risk of injury.
In this instance, the restaurant waiter had not been paying proper attention as he served Mrs L her tea, and through his own carelessness had poured the hot drink over her arm, causing serious burn injuries. As his employer, the restaurant’s owners were responsible for the waiter’s negligence, and hence Mrs L’s injuries. Following an admission of liability, our client received just over £4,000 in compensation.
Case Study: Customer Burnt in Fast Food Restaurant
Bartletts Solicitors represented a client who made a successful personal injury claim for being burnt by a hot drink at a fast food restaurant. Mr T was visiting a branch of the fast food chain with work colleagues and was paying for four hot coffees when the member of staff who was passing him the tray inadvertently bumped against the counter, and the tray fell forwards out of his hands tipping the hot drinks over Mr T.
As one of Mr T’s colleagues and another witness later stated, the cashier was chatting to a co-worker at the time, and had not been looking in Mr T’s direction when he passed him the tray. Mr T sustained first and second degree burns to his upper body, forearms and hands from the scalding hot coffee, injuries that required hospital treatment and left him with blistered skin and burn scars which took months to fade.
Mr T decided to contact Bartletts Solicitors, and we advised him that he had strong grounds for making a claim against the fast food giant and agreed to represent him on a no win no fee basis. We argued that Mr T’s burn injuries were wholly the result of the carelessness of the member of staff who was serving him.
Had the cashier been paying reasonable attention when he was passing Mr T the tray of hot drinks, the accident would not have happened, and this amounted to negligence. After reviewing CCTV footage of the incident, the fast food chain’s insurers accepted liability, and we were able to negotiate a compensation settlement of £3,750 on our client’s behalf.
Case Study: Customer Burnt in Restaurant Drive-Through
A recent client of Bartletts Solicitors was badly scalded after hot coffee was spilled on her at a fast food restaurant’s drive-through. Ms F was in her car ordering two cups of coffee from the drive-through speaker post when the accident took place. As Ms F was being handed the hot drinks, the member of staff serving her was chatting to a colleague and inadvertently tipped the container towards her, causing coffee to spill from one of the cups onto Ms F’s shoulder and upper arm, resulting in second-degree burns.
It was later acknowledged that the plastic lid on the cup had not been attached properly, and the slight tipping of the container had been enough to dislodge it. Ms F’s burn injuries were disinfected and dressed at a local hospital’s accident and emergency unit, but continued to trouble her for weeks afterwards, prompting her to seek legal advice.
After reviewing the circumstances surrounding the accident, Bartletts advised Ms F that she had strong grounds for making a claim, and went on to represent her in a no win no fee claim against the fast food chain. In correspondence with the company’s insurers, we argued that the accident was primarily caused by the fact that the plastic lid had not been properly attached to one of the cups of coffee.
Furthermore, the employee on duty at the drive-through collection window was not paying attention when she handed over the hot drinks container, and was careless in tipping it towards Ms F and spilling the scalding coffee over her. The fast food chain was liable because it had failed to provide a reasonably safe environment for Ms F as a lawful visitor to their premises. Following an admission of liability, our client received £3,250 in compensation.
Solicitors Claiming Compensation for Burns in Restaurants
Bartletts Solicitors has successfully claimed compensation for both customers and employees burnt in restaurants across the UK. Provided your claim against a restaurant relates to an accident that has taken place in the last three years, we can represent you on a no win no fee basis. Contact our solicitors today for free legal advice that you can rely on.
Make a free compensation enquiry today
For specialist advice on your personal injury claim, call us now on Liverpool 0151 227 3391 or Chester 01244 645830 or Wrexham 01978 360056 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and we will soon be in touch.
