Fast-food floors are hard tile that spends the day collecting hazards: drink-station overflow and ice cubes, grease tracked from the kitchen, freshly mopped stretches between the counter and the restrooms, spilled sodas near the drive-thru walk-up window. When a customer falls at McDonald's, the shift manager is supposed to document it — and what happens after that depends heavily on who actually owns that restaurant.
Here is the detail that trips people up: the large majority of McDonald's locations are owned and operated by independent franchisees, not by the corporation. The company responsible for your fall is often a local operating business you have never heard of. Identifying it, getting the incident report, and preserving the video are the three jobs in front of you.
- Counter & register — Dropped items and tray spills in the highest-traffic part of the store.
- Beverage station — Ice and drink spills on hard floor at a self-serve fountain.
- Dining room — Tray spills and tracked-in weather across a wide seating area.
- Restrooms — Wet floors after cleaning, often without a staffed sightline.
- Condiment station — Sauce packets, straws, and drink residue on the floor near a self-serve counter.
- Entry vestibule — Rain tracked in from the parking lot pools on hard floor just past the mat.
- Drive-thru lane — Outdoor pavement with vehicle traffic, oil drips, and weather exposure.
- Parking lot & drive-thru queue — Curb transitions and a lot that also functions as a vehicle queue lane.
What happens after you report a fall at McDonald's
Tell the shift manager immediately and make sure an incident report is created before you leave — in a fast-moving restaurant, an undocumented fall can effectively un-happen by the next shift change. Get the manager's name, ask who owns the location (franchise operators are often identified on posted licenses or receipts), and photograph the floor, your surroundings, and anything like a mop bucket or missing wet-floor sign.
The report typically goes to the franchisee's management company and its insurance carrier, not to McDonald's corporate. That means the follow-up call may come from an insurer you do not associate with McDonald's at all. Keep every name, number, and claim reference. If the location happens to be corporate-owned, the claim routes through the corporation's process instead — one more reason pinning down the owner early matters.
Why McDonald's won't just hand you the report — or the footage
Whether the owner is a franchisee or the corporation, the incident report is an internal record made in anticipation of a claim, and counter staff cannot release it. It has to be formally requested from the responsible entity — which, again, is often the local franchise operator. The camera footage is the urgent piece: restaurant surveillance systems, especially at smaller franchise locations, keep recordings for a limited rolling window, often days to a few weeks depending on the system. Some smaller systems run on the shorter end of that range, which makes speed even more critical than at a big-box store.
What a preservation-of-evidence letter does
A preservation-of-evidence letter, sent to the franchise operator (and, where appropriate, to the corporate entity as well), demands in writing that the incident report, all camera footage of the fall and the period before it, cleaning logs, and shift schedules be preserved. It removes the easiest defense outcome — evidence that simply no longer exists — because destruction after written notice carries legal consequences. We help injured customers identify the correct owner, get the letter delivered fast, and then request and pursue the records. We never claim to hold the report or footage; our job is making sure the restaurant cannot lose them.
What to do right now
Get medical attention today, and keep the shoes you were wearing — sole condition is often an issue in restaurant falls. Photograph your injuries as they develop, keep your receipt (it helps identify the operator and timestamp your visit), and write down everything: the time, the exact spot, the hazard, the manager's name, and any witnesses.
California generally allows two years to bring an injury claim, but a franchise restaurant's video may not survive the month. Move on the footage first: identify the operator, send the preservation letter, then request the incident report in writing. If you want help with any of those steps, start now — this timeline rewards the fast.
Who you're actually up against at McDonald's
This is the single most important fact for a McDonald's claim: the corporation almost certainly doesn't own the restaurant where you fell.
- Franchise structure
- Approximately 95% of McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. are independently owned and operated by franchisees, per McDonald's own most recent SEC filing. The party responsible for your fall is very likely a local franchise operator — a separate small business — not McDonald's Corporation.
- Franchisee insurance
- McDonald's operates its own captive insurer, Golden Arches Insurance Ltd. (GAIL), which is described as helping franchisees meet the general liability insurance requirements in their franchise agreements — confirming that franchisees are contractually required to carry their own coverage.
- Corporate-operated locations
- For the roughly 5% of U.S. locations McDonald's operates directly, no claims administrator could be independently verified — we won't name one without a source. In California, litigation against company-operated stores is often filed against "McDonald's Restaurants of California, Inc."
- Why this matters
- A preservation letter and a claim need to go to the right party. Confirming whether the specific location is franchisee-run or corporate-operated is one of the first things we do.
Franchise structures and ownership can change per location. The exact operator of the store where you fell is confirmed before anything is sent.
Sources for company and claims details
Checked August 14, 2026. Processes can change; confirm the recipient before sending correspondence.
Fell here? Start your request now — the sooner the preservation letter goes out, the better the chance the footage still exists.
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