Lawsuit Started Against McDonald's... Is McD's Liable?

[smiley]

I've seen businesses of a similar style in OZ employ burly male security guards with a least a cosh - [fire arms not permitted]

 

[January]

you've seen Mcdonalds drive thru's in Australia have security guards?

Where?

I have never seen this.

 

[Paladin1950]

If I remember right, sometimes if someone just stands around watching someone get killed and not help in anyway, you can be charged with some type of crime. Then again, it may be it may be just in certain states.

 

[Jazzy1]

There would not have been a fight if he had stayed in his car and the wife would not be dead if she had stayed in the car. In California engaging is a fist fight most times is called mutual combat. The daughter thinks someone should pay for her father's mistake thinking he could engage in a street brawl at age 74 and be victorious.

 

[Been There]

A person getting out of their car to continue a mouth battle or to start a fight is dumb. I witnessed this on a road rage victim at a rest stop years back in California just outside of San Diego. The man that got out of his car got his butt beat bad.

I was coming out of the rest area after using the John and saw the end of the fight, if you want to call it that. What I didn’t understand was the there were 2 pretty good size men watching the fight, but did nothing to break it up. One man was carrying a weapon. The one guy in the fight probably had 4 inches and a 100 pounds on his opponent. The poor man laid there until someone called the EMT’s to come and attend to him. I hope he was ok, but I didn’t stick around after the police showed up.

 

[Jeni]

Are they sure NO one called 911? Businesses have policies regarding getting involved in any altercation.
Is this a franchise or an actual MCD corporate owned location?

Example if another customer called and might have said they were on the phone with them employees most likely would not make another call. If there are always calls and over 100 visits to same location, I doubt there would have been a rush to get there in time.

These homeless or vagrants are a big problem in many areas. Even if they are run off for a short time they come back to where either ppl have given them money or food. This does not help these folks only makes it harder for those who do not chose to enable and give money.

Sadly, few good Samaritans will get involved anymore especially if dealing with an unstable person that simply feel they have nothing to lose.

 

[StarSong]

The attacked couple are immigrants and the husband doesn't speak English. I wonder if that had any bearing on workers not calling the police.

Doubtful. Employees and bystanders wouldn't know that about them.

 

[gruntlabor]

Just an anecdote:
Years ago, loading my car in a Costco parking lot in the dark of winter, I was approached by two bums asking if they could help.
I'm offered help by bystanders all the time, and I appreciate and accept it all the time. These were bums.
I returned to the store, bellied up to the service counter, and said, "I was just approached or accosted, take your pick, by bums in the parking lot. If you can't keep your parking lot safe, I'm not coming back." The clerk disappears.
Seconds later, the floor shakes with about twenty guys running out the front door.
Returning to my car the two men were nowhere in sight. And I appreciated it. And I don't apologize.
We had recently had a 19-year-old mother of two shot and killed at a stoplight by a panhandler. And another young mother had been killed in a convenience-store robbery

 

[StarSong]

@gruntlabor, good for you!

Since semi-retiring and closing our warehouse, DH and I are nearly always home.

He likes grocery shopping, Costco runs, library runs, whatever, and is always willing to accompany me on outings (besides lunches with my friends). I enjoy spending time with him and feel much safer with him than when running errands alone.

 

[Rider77]

I guess it’s possible that the employees at MD’s could be sued, but I don’t know what their policies are in these situations.
I do wonder why one of the customers in line didn’t call 911.

I carry a weapon. Had he attacked me, I would still have been alive.

It's a fact that you can sue anyone for about anything. Is it true that in Britain a person filing a law suit and loses pays the defense cost of the opposing party? I feel that would eliminate some frivolous law suits.

 

[againstthegrain]

No body knows who called 911 when. Let's see if the accusations are proven in court. The plaintiff's lawyers have every reason to embellish in order to manipulate public opinion in order to cause McD's to settle w/out proving a damn thing.

 

[MACKTEXAS]

People working in McDonald's are often young, part time, or older employees, not trained or equipped to be of any influence in stopping a violent altercation that erupts unexpectedly between customers. The employees could be negligent if not at least calling 911. But, around here, I see no armed guards in McDonald's who could gain control of the situation before harm was done.

What about a department store, or a Dollar store? My Dollar store just has a young woman cashiering and maybe a stocker working. Things can get out of control between 2 customers and one or more parties may be armed. We're all at risk of being caught up in these situations in public. Each case would have to be looked at by attorneys, depending on the cricumstances, which will vary in every case - but in the case I just mentioned, I don't think the injured party would likely collect a vast sum of money from the store on a negligence claim, just because the 2 employees failed to break up the fight.

 

[January]

Are they sure NO one called 911? Businesses have policies regarding getting involved in any altercation.
Is this a franchise or an actual MCD corporate owned location?

reading post 18, it seems the complaint is that nobody called 911 when the vagrant guy was harassing people in cars - and reasonably so - whilst that is annoying it isnt an emergency
the couple then got out of their car, the lady was pushed forcefully to the ground, hit her head o n the concrete and at that point somebody called 911 and she later died of head injuries. -

Realistically how could they have predicted the situation would escalate that quickly or have that outcome?

 

[Jeni]

reading post 18, it seems the complaint is that nobody called 911 when the vagrant guy was harassing people in cars - and reasonably so - whilst that is annoying it isnt an emergency
the couple then got out of their car, the lady was pushed forcefully to the ground, hit her head o n the concrete and at that point somebody called 911 and she later died of head injuries. -

Realistically how could they have predicted the situation would escalate that quickly or have that outcome?

I agree a head injury can end badly and things like this go badly quickly. I was asking questions because sadly the urge to sue is a long expensive road and simple things like all the facts can turn a verdict quickly.
I feel there are so many lawyers that turn up at any and all thing tragedy

 

[smiley]

you've seen Mcdonalds drive thru's in Australia have security guards?

Where?

I have never seen this.

I didn't say MacDonalds I said of a similar style inside large shopping malls - the coshes are discretely attached to the guards uniform but obviously easily detached for rapid action if necessary?

 

[January]

oh yes Ive seen security guards in large shopping malls too. not really the same thing as a stand alone fast food drive thru though.

 

[RambleTamble]

Jose Juan Rangel was physically attacked while still inside his car before the confrontation moved outside.

According to the 2026 wrongful death lawsuit and 2024 news reports, the incident unfolded as follows:

• Initial Attack: While Rangel was sitting in the driver's seat in the drive-thru lane, the assailant (Charles Cornelius Green Jr.) lunged through the open driver-side window and repeatedly punched Rangel in the face without warning.
• The Escalation: The assailant then moved to the passenger side to target Rangel’s wife, Maria Vargas Luna.
• Exiting the Car: To protect his wife, Rangel exited the vehicle, at which point a physical struggle occurred on the pavement.
• Luna’s Injury: Luna subsequently exited the car to help her husband. During the struggle, she was pushed or bumped to the ground, causing the fatal head injury.

The lawsuit alleges that McDonald's employees watched the physical assault begin through the drive-thru window and on security monitors but did not call 911 or intervene.

 

[Been There]

It's a fact that you can sue anyone for about anything. Is it true that in Britain a person filing a law suit and loses pays the defense cost of the opposing party? I feel that would eliminate some frivolous law suits.

In most cases, it’s probably true, except if a lawyer thinks the complainant has a shaky case, the lawyer won’t take it on a contingency. He will expect the complainant to put up some dough before he/she accepts the case.