Elderly Woman Sues Red Lobster, Claiming She Was Served Too Much Booze

A lawsuit filed this week in Harris County alleges that a location of Red Lobster in Webster served an elderly woman so much alcohol that she fell and sustained multiple injuries in the restaurant’s parking lot.

Filed on Monday, the lawsuit claims that Marlene Spencer, an 82-year-old resident of the Brookdale Senior Living Center in Clear Lake, walked to the bar at the Red Lobster on Bay Area Boulevard in Webster. When she got there, the suit says that the restaurant “sold, served and provided numerous alcoholic beverages” to Spencer, until she became “more than obviously intoxicated.”

When Spencer attempted to leave the restaurant, she allegedly fell in the parking lot, breaking her hip and arm and sustaining a head injury. According to Spencer’s petition, when she arrived at the hospital, her blood alcohol content (BAC) was a staggering 0.31 (more than three times the legal limit).

It appears that Spencer was a regular at the Red Lobster bar in Webster, too — according to the suit, Spencer’s daughter allegedly had “multiple” conversations with staff at the restaurant urging them not to serve her mother too much alcohol. Spencer is seeking unspecified damages for mental anguish and payment of medical expenses related to the incident.

Red Lobster has not responded to the suit in court, but Eater has reached out to the chain for more details.

UPDATE: A spokesperson for Red Lobster provided the following statement in response to Eater’s request for comment:

“Red Lobster has strict policies and procedures when it comes to the service of alcohol. We take these guidelines very seriously and ensure our team members are properly trained and follow these procedures when serving alcohol. Beyond that, I can’t provide additional information because this is an ongoing legal matter.”