Legal Question in Business Law in Florida

No, probably not. There are two components to any lawsuit - liability and damages. You may have a legitimate claim that the restaurant was negligent, thus meeting the first element of liability. However, you have no damages. Therefore, you cannot meet the second element, and will likely not prevail in any lawsuit.

As a Franchise Attorney I basically agree with the other attorney answer and only add the following. Many people assume when something "bad" happens at a restaurant, they have a case. Often, they think of the McDonalds spilled coffee case. But in that case, the woman suffered third-degree burns on her inner thighs, buttocks and private parts, was in the hospital for 8 days, and had multiple skin grafts. Ouch! Now, that's a lot of pain and suffering, which equals damages. She tried to settle the case with McDonalds for a mere $20,000 but they refused. The jury awarded her $200,000 in damages. This amount was reduced to $160,000 because the jury found she was 20% at fault in the spill. The jury also gave her $2.7 million in punitive damages, which equals about two days of McDonalds' coffee sales at the time. The trial court subsequently reduced the $2.7 million punitive award to $480,000 -- or three times the $160k in damages. So, she ended up with a total of $640,000. Now compare her case with what happened to your brother discovering a twist tie in his toast - big difference. Consult with a good business or franchise attorney in your area for specific advice.

Mr. Franchise - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.

Franchise Foundations, a Professional Corporation