12 Million Reasons Why to Ensure a Competent Food Service Safety Program David Ludwig, MPH,RS - NEHA 2009

UC Restaurant LLC, Plaintiff vs. Maricopa County, Defendant No. CV PHX-MHM

U.S. Constitution - Amendment 14 Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. deprivedue processjurisdictiondeprivedue processjurisdiction

Federal Court System

Case Based on Constitutional Rights Violations Requesting a Monetary Settlement of $12,000,000.00Requesting a Monetary Settlement of $12,000, Would set Court Case Law for Due Process on Single Health Code ViolationsWould set Court Case Law for Due Process on Single Health Code Violations

Unfortunately Sometimes it is just about Money

Claimed by Plaintiff Violations noted by Inspector were not present Department gave Information to Media to harm business Operator did not have opportunity to have violation removed Negative Publicity resulted in loss of Name which they were attempting to Brand

Public Records Law

If you have them – You have to Show Them

If your Records are electronic - are you sure they are the same as the copy given to the operator? Were you able to capture and store an electronic Signature? Is your electronic data purged routinely or at time of closure?

s Included

Everything is Discoverable What you send then Delete does not necessarily get Deleted by the Recipient What you Say can Hurt You – What you put in Writing Definitely Will Hurt You

Deposition Time

The Opposing Attorney is not Your Friend They will do anything to Discredit You What you say in your Deposition may come back to Haunt You!!

Mock Trial - $50,000 Practice

Gain Insight into the Juror’s Thought Process With multiple Jury’s you can change your Strategies If you have a good chance of losing – you might consider settling!

Trial - 2 Weeks

Only 8 Jurors for Federal Case

Jury Selection may be as important as the Trial itself The Jury to render a decision for the Plaintiff must be Unanimous Amount of Award is based on Compensatory Damages

The Plaintiff’s Case Violations noted by Inspector were not present Department gave Information to Media to harm business Operator did not have opportunity to have violation removed Negative Publicity resulted in loss of Name which they were attempting to Brand

Make Sure that you have a Signed & Up To Date Public Information Request

Plaintiff Called Witnesses I was called to review Awards and SOPs Called Supervisor – questioned Evaluation and SOPs Called Inspector – questioned Violations

Being a Good Witnesses Listen to the Attorney’s Question Be cognizant that they may be asking more than one question – ask them to simply ask one Don’t be bullied for an answer – let the Jury know that answering the question may be confusing When cross examined and redirected don’t waffle or discredit yourself Direct your answers to the Jury members rather than their attorney

Standard Operating Procedures

Have a Descriptive Title for your SOP Have a Good Numbering System Be Specific in what is Required Never Ever – Reuse an SOP Number

Award System

Evaluations The Plaintiff reviewed Employment and Evaluation Histories for All Staff “Improve work quality in the area of food inspections. Goal: Write more violations. Improve the percentage of critical violations. Increase average score.”

What you Write on an Evaluation maybe interpreted much differently than what you meant or what was understood Utilizing measures comparing individuals is Quantitative – Need to follow up with Qualitative Measures

Critical Violation Issue

Multiple Major Violations

Data Issues – Start Time

Disputed Signature

The Dreaded Flip Chart Flanhad

Never Ever Ever Make Something Up It is always better to be embarrassed than to guess or make something up If a violation is Corrected at time of Inspection describe what was done to correct the violation on the inspection form

Witness In Chief That is the fancy name I am called for 2 weeks getting to sit through the entire trial You are both Expert Witness and someone who attempts to assist your attorney in questioning witnesses You’re also the individual looked upon as the Defendant

The Conspiracy Story When Planets Align

When meeting with someone – write everything down including when and how you contact them

Using an Electronic Calendar

It can be Erased without You Knowing

Deleted

Expert Witnesses They are used by both sides in an Attempt to Strengthen their Case They are paid by the side they represent – monetary amounts are often told to the Jury Their Scope of Testimony is limited to their area of Expertise Doing your homework in Deposition can Cancel the effect of an Expert

The Flea Flicker Making the final bid at Who is Telling the Truth The only one more Surprised than I – was the Plaintiff’s Attorney And this was the second time he was left nearly speechless!

The Verdict We Won but at a Cost of - $500, to fight this case

Increased Mentoring by Supervisors in the Field – Standardization of Staff Ensuring our Electronic Data Collection is reproducible Re-Organization – Specialization and Delivering a High Quality Product to Our Customers

2008

Questions