Visitor Question

Who’s responsible if a delivery driver is injured in a restaurant?

Submitted By: Dan (Hooksett, NH, USA)

We deliver meat and poultry to restaurants. Our delivery driver slipped on a restaurant’s slippery kitchen floor and hurt his back.

Who is responsible for the medical part of the injury in this situation? Is the restaurant’s business liability insurance liable, or is the driver’s only recourse filing a workers’ comp claim? Thanks for any information you can give to explain the liability in this scenario.

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear Dan,

In this case, the driver is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits and separate compensation from the restaurant for the driver’s medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, full lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Here’s how it works: The driver will file a workers’ comp claim. Under workers’ comp, he or she will be entitled to compensation for his or her medical and/or chiropractic bills, out-of-pocket expenses (for medications, bandages, costs of travel back and forth to treatment, etc.), and about two-thirds of his or her lost wages.

The driver can file an altogether separate claim against the restaurant’s insurance company. By doing so, the driver will likely be entitled to benefits similar to those of workers’ compensation, with two important differences…

Under the driver’s restaurant negligence claim, the driver will be entitled to compensation for ALL lost wages and pain and suffering.

There is a caveat. Once the driver’s restaurant liability claim is settled, the driver will have to reimburse the workers’ compensation insurance company for any and all monies they paid out as benefits. This would leave the driver with the excess of wages between two-thirds and full wage loss, and the amount received for pain and suffering.

Learn more here: Workplace Injury Claim Guide

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

Published:

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