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My friend who worked her way through college in the restaurant business described what would be going through her mind if a "group of girls" showed up at a busy time.
According to her, few waitresses want a group of women in their section, especially during a busy time. They ask for all sorts of extras. "Would you be a dear and bring us...." They split entrees, drink little alcohol, homestead their tables and leave little tips.
So right in the midst of a rush, a group shows up and asks for some chips and such as one of the girls is having troubles with her blood sugar.
I am not diabetic but on occasion have had low blood sugar to the point of passing out. I don't care if it's a restaurant, bar, mall. If I am able to ask for help I would hope whoever I ask would help or find someone who can help. I would do the same for anyone if I could help them. God help us as a society if we have evolved to a point where people have lost the ability to have compassion for humans in need of help if they are capable of doing something.
I am not diabetic but on occasion have had low blood sugar to the point of passing out. I don't care if it's a restaurant, bar, mall. If I am able to ask for help I would hope whoever I ask would help or find someone who can help. I would do the same for anyone if I could help them. God help us as a society if we have evolved to a point where people have lost the ability to have compassion for humans in need of help if they are capable of doing something.
The point is the victim's friend did nothing and then chewed out a worker for not acting fast enough.
If you're going to equate being a customer in a restaurant to being a guest in someone's home, you're in for a lifetime of disappointment.
Well like it or not, restaurants and in fact all businesses have a legal "Duty of Care" to their customers. It may vary by state, but in general restaurants are expected to aid customers in distress, injured or ill. This is a legal concept that any business owner is aware of or should be.
It includes getting them first aid if they need it whether they are busy or not.
So, yes if I am unable to help myself I expect the first employee of the restaurant who becomes aware to do something. And legally, they probably have a greater responsibility to help me than my "party" does.
If they don't, I wont be disappointed. If I survive, I just wont eat there again because they will have lost my goodwill and I will also share that story with others, again damaging their business. If I suffer permanent injury or die, I or my family will meet them in court and let a judge/jury decide the penalty for their negligence and failure to follow the law.
The hostess was not smart enough to assess the situation and either render the assistance a reasonable person would or call 911. The hostess put the restaurant at liability should the girl have died or fainted and cracked her skull. She made a bad business decision all around and needs more training.
Obviously, once OP got the managers attention, he knew what he was required to do and chose to provide OJ rather than call 911.
Just a guess, but he's probably seen this scenario more than once if he's been in business long. It happens with some regularity in all large businesses, workplaces, restaurants, etc.
If you are having a heart attack and noone is helping you because they are busy seating people and it's not their job would you be ok with that?
Of course they would not be ok lol and actually it is their job by law to get you help even if all they do is call 911. They better stop everything else they are doing and do it in a reasonable amount of time also or they will be facing possible punitive damages on top of whatever they face as liability for negligence.
I know. None of this makes sense. 10 minutes is a darn long time to stand around and wait for someone else to do something.
If the shaky, weak-kneed dinner companion had been someone I cared about, I would have had no trouble whatsoever nabbing sugar packets from the nearest table.
If I thought the situation was serious, I would have nabbed their sweet tea as well.
Yes, I agree with both of your statements on this. I was "on the fence" seeing both sides earlier, but there were things the companion could have easily done instead of waiting ten minutes. Don't blame it all on the restaurant employees that are most likely under a strict policy not to intervene or could risk losing their jobs.
Of course they would not be ok lol and actually it is their job by law to get you help even if all they do is call 911. They better stop everything else they are doing and do it in a reasonable amount of time also or they will be facing possible punitive damages on top of whatever they face as liability for negligence.
Do you honestly believe that punitive damages are due to someone who sits for ten minutes without the chips that were urgently requested?
A duty to rescue is a concept in tort law describing a circumstance in which a party can be held liable for failing to come to the rescue of another party in peril.
>>Such a duty may also arise where a "special relationship" exists. For example:
Emergency workers (firefighters, emergency medical technicians, etc.) do not have a general duty to rescue the public within the scope of their employment. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled in Warren v. DC that the police have no duty to protect any citizen not in custody, and cannot be sued for their failure to protect.[5]
Parents have a duty to rescue their minor children. This duty also applies to those acting in loco parentis, such as schools or babysitters.[6]
Common carriers have a duty to rescue their patrons.[7]
Employers have an obligation to rescue employees, under an implied contract theory.[8]
Property owners have a duty to rescue invitees but not trespassers from all dangers on the property.
Spouses have a duty to rescue each other in all U.S. jurisdictions.[9]
In the United States, as of 2009 ten states had laws on the books requiring that people at least notify law enforcement of and/or seek aid for strangers in peril under certain conditions: California,[10][11] Florida,[10][12][13] Hawaii,[10][14] Massachusetts,[10][15] Minnesota,[10][16] Ohio,[10][17] Rhode Island,[10][18] Vermont,[10][19] Washington,[10][20][21] and Wisconsin.[10][22] These laws are also referred to as Good Samaritan laws, despite their difference from laws of the same name that protect individuals that try to help another person.[1] These laws are rarely applied, and are generally ignored by citizens and lawmakers.[1]<<
The dinner companion was not in immediate peril here, as evidenced by her surviving 10 minutes of inattention.
The restaurant does not have a duty to rescue unless she is in peril. Even then, their duty would be to call 911. Presumably, the hostess would have allowed this group to call 911.
Surely, at least one of the girls had a cell phone and could have called 911 to come to their assistance.
Low blood sugar attacks happened to me on occasion, until i gave up sugar and "white" foods completely. Once I had a similar situation to this one, and it happened because we were driving around trying to find a specific location and got lost. I made my husband pull into a chain restaurant and get me some ice cream immediately. (That's what worked fastest and best for me.) We walked in the door, him leading me, (I get kind of incommunicado when this happens) and he said "Get me some ice cream FAST!!!" All three of them jumped and ran for ice cream and watched in amazement as I inhaled it. Kinda funny when I look back at it...
Luckily for me it was late morning and the lunch rush hadn't started.
If a guest in my home was in danger of passing out, I would immediately clear off a sofa or a bed. It sounds like the situation here wasn't as nearly as serious as the woman survived ten minutes of waiting for somebody to do something.
No one is advocating restaurant managers refuse potential patrons a glass of juice because they forgot to take their medicine or skipped lunch.
What I'm saying is that it ridiculous to blame the restaurant staff for the limited problem-solving abilities of her dinner companions.
So in your home you would act immediately, but if you were an employee of a restaurant you would take your own sweet time responding to someone indicating they have a medical situation even if you don't clearly understand what it is. Gotcha.
Just so you know, you would be violating the law and putting your employer at risk for damages in a lawsuit. Maybe they would be mitigated by the OP problem solving abilities or the sick persons failure to eat lunch or take medicine.
The OP however took the appropriate first step to ask the restaurant employee for help as anyone with any common sense knows they are required to help.
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