What level of responsibility does a company have to protect a customer? If a business' failure to keep a customer safe results in his or her death, should the business be sued for negligence? That's what one family is doing after a woman and her two daughters were killed in a domestic dispute at an Ohio Cracker Barrel restaurant in April, 2012.
A couple and their two 10-year-old daughters were sharing a dinner at the Brooklyn, Ohio, Cracker Barrel restaurant when the woman told the man that she was leaving him. The man became enraged and made threats to kill her and the girls. He then left the restaurant.
The 42-year-old woman panicked and called the police, as well as a friend. After that, she asked the restaurant's manager to allow her and the children to hide in the walk-in cooler. The manager refused, not wanting to get involved.
The 52-year-old man returned with a gun and shot the woman and girls to death. Police shot and killed the man.
The brother of the woman - the executor of her estate - is now suing Cracker Barrel for not making an effort to come to the rescue of the woman and children. His lawyer claims that the family was left to fend for themselves, while employees refused to offer help. The wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the business has a duty to protect customers, but was negligent in failing to live up to that duty. The brother is seeking more than $25,000, not including punitive damages.
There are many situations that can warrant a wrongful death claim. Should Cracker Barrel be held responsible for the family's death? The results of this lawsuit will answer that question.
Source: The Plain Dealer, "Wrongful death lawsuit accuses Cracker Barrel of negligence in 2012 triple-murder," James F. McCarty, Oct. 11, 2013
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