In many restaurant liability cases, the defendant will argue that the injury was caused by a “rogue employee” acting outside the scope of their employment. However, as a restaurant expert witness, I often find that the root cause of an incident—whether it is an assault, a delivery driver accident, or a food safety failure—traces back to Negligent Management.

To prevail in these claims, attorneys must look beyond the specific incident and audit the operational culture of the establishment.

Here are the three pillars of management negligence we analyze in litigation.

1. Negligent Hiring

Did the restaurant exercise reasonable care when selecting the employee?

• The Standard: For positions involving high public trust (like bouncers) or driving (delivery drivers), the standard of care requires background checks.
• The Red Flag: If a restaurant hired a bouncer with a known history of violence, or a delivery driver with a suspended license, the management is directly liable for the resulting harm. I audit HR files to see if these checks were performed before the offer letter was signed.

2. Failure to Train (Negligent Training)

It is not enough to hand an employee a handbook. Training must be verified and ongoing.

• “Pencil Whipping”: I frequently see training logs where an employee ostensibly completed 8 hours of safety training on their very first day—an impossibility in a busy kitchen.
• The Reality Gap: If a server over-serves a guest (Dram Shop liability), the defense will produce a “signed” alcohol policy. My job is to deposition the manager to prove that while the policy existed, actual practical training never occurred.

3. Negligent Supervision & Retention

Liability often attaches when management knew (or should have known) an employee was dangerous or incompetent but failed to act.

• Constructive Notice: If an employee had three prior write-ups for “horseplay” in the kitchen, and then caused a severe burn injury to a colleague during a prank, management is liable for negligent retention.
• Enforcement: A policy that is consistently ignored by management ceases to be a policy—it becomes evidence of a broken standard of care.

Key Takeaway: You cannot manage what you do not measure. A lack of paper trail regarding discipline, training, and hiring is often the strongest evidence that the restaurant failed its duty to the public.