Dunkin Donuts, you have been on notice for a long time that your store designs and lack of safety barriers put your customers at risk and put employees working inside at risk. Hundreds of accidents over the years, dozens of injuries documented, tragic fatalities, and still no action. And now, another preventable accident, another preventable injury, and another failure to take basic safety precaution to prevent a simple vehicle incursion incident from becoming a vehicle-into-building accident. This latest example occurred in West Bridgewater,
Massachusetts this weekend, when a Toyota jumped a curb and struck a man entering the store.
Massachusetts this weekend, when a Toyota jumped a curb and struck a man entering the store.
See the great coverage from Maria Papadopoulos at the West Bridgewater Enterprise HERE. Scott Eisen gets photo credit for the photo, which in addition to showing how the car jumped the curb and how the pedestrian entering the glass door was completely unprotected, also clearly proves once again that wheel stops do not stop anything. Dunkin Donuts, stop wasting money on ineffective concrete trip hazards and invest just a little more in an actual steel bollard that meets ASTM specifications!
The Storefront Safety Council has assembled data on more that 7,500 crashes to date and with every month we learn more about the causes of vehicle-into-building accidents and how frequently certain type of businesses are struck. Month after month, coffee stores and restaurants are among the most often struck -- and month after month, Dunkin Donuts appears on the list, all too often involving injuries to patrons and employees. For a link to 2012 statistics, click HERE
Dunkin Donuts, you know how often your stores and those of your franchisees are struck. You cannot pretend that these crashes are rare and unusual. You are on notice that this situation is a persistent unsafe and hazardous condition and you have chosen to not correct this condition. Greater liability awards in cases just like this one in West Bridgewater will be the result. Underwriters and insurance carriers, now you are on notice that higher judgements will result because of the failure on the part of Dunkin Donuts to spend (or specify for franchisees) just a few thousand dollars per store in needed safety equipment. And plaintiff attorneys, you are also on notice -- plenty of admissible evidence exists that should be included in personal injury claims against Dunkin Donuts.
The Storefront Safety Council has assembled data on more that 7,500 crashes to date and with every month we learn more about the causes of vehicle-into-building accidents and how frequently certain type of businesses are struck. Month after month, coffee stores and restaurants are among the most often struck -- and month after month, Dunkin Donuts appears on the list, all too often involving injuries to patrons and employees. For a link to 2012 statistics, click HERE
Dunkin Donuts, you know how often your stores and those of your franchisees are struck. You cannot pretend that these crashes are rare and unusual. You are on notice that this situation is a persistent unsafe and hazardous condition and you have chosen to not correct this condition. Greater liability awards in cases just like this one in West Bridgewater will be the result. Underwriters and insurance carriers, now you are on notice that higher judgements will result because of the failure on the part of Dunkin Donuts to spend (or specify for franchisees) just a few thousand dollars per store in needed safety equipment. And plaintiff attorneys, you are also on notice -- plenty of admissible evidence exists that should be included in personal injury claims against Dunkin Donuts.
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