Torts

Any injury to an individual which is caused by another is called a tort. We have learned so far that these torts fall under three specific types, intentional, negligence and strict liability. I am sure that if I was to sit and reflect on the past that I would be able to recall being a victim, more than once, to some form of a tort and this is probably true for most people.

Most restaurants have worked so hard to get rid of any potential tort issues because of previous incidents(not necessarily incidents that happened to them but incidents that may have happened to other establishments) that it was a difficult undertaking to go out there and find some of these issues. It was very hard to visit a restaurant once and find five examples of torts. I had to choose somewhere I was familiar with and somewhere I go regularly so “TGI Fridays” seemed like a good candidate to fall under my scrutiny. I have been there many times and would usually have nothing bad to say about them but this time I was being mindful about it and really took everything in my surroundings into account.

The first thing I noticed after I walked in and was seated at my table, was the large decoration above my table in the form of a model airplane. It was quite large and was made of metal so I thought to myself, suppose I was sitting here eating and for some reason it was to fall. Somewhat unlikely it would happen to me at that point but what about the many other people who sit at the same table over a period of time, all it would take was one loose screw. They could really be in trouble if this was to happen and somebody got hurt. These decorations make the place what it is and improve the ambience so it would ruin it to get rid of them all together, but maybe a lighter material should be used in case it came crashing down. This would probably fall under strict liability should it happen unless it can be proven that it occurred through negligence.

They also have a full liquor bar at their restaurants and being open to the public for all ages to come in and dine, I am sure they have to be extra careful to whom they serve alcohol. I tested it by ordering a beer and sure enough they asked me for my identification. My test failed even though I was actually over the drinking age. The place was quiet and the waiters and waitresses were not too busy when I was there but is it not possible that if it was crowded and there were hundreds of customers that one drink may end up in the hands of a minor. This could really be costly under the “dram shop” circumstance of strict liability. I do not think there is much you can do to avoid this other than requiring identification from anyone who orders an alcoholic drink and strictly enforcing this. The issues so far were the most obvious to me and I could raise other problems they could run into by having a full liquor bar, like patrons becoming rowdy while drinking and watching a big game, which may lead to an assault, or even serving some of them too much alcohol and not cutting them off.

Another issue was water on the bathroom floor near to the sink. This clearly was not their fault and was probably just caused by another customer while he was washing his hands, however it was the restaurant’s responsibility to clean it up. I do not know how long it had been there but during that