Food Truck Accidents: Mobile Vendor Liability

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A person hurt by a food truck may have been struck on the road while the truck was moving or injured at the service window while it was parked and selling, and Georgia law reaches the two settings through different statutes. Georgia also regulates food trucks directly as “mobile food service establishments,” which need a permit and are subject to inspection by county boards of health.

How Georgia Regulates Food Trucks

Georgia’s food service statute defines a “[m]obile food service establishment” as “a mobile food service unit operating from a single base of operation and under the managerial authority of one permit holder,” and includes mobile food service establishments among food service establishments (OCGA 26-2-370(2), (3)). “It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a food service establishment without having first obtained a valid food service establishment permit” from the county board of health (OCGA 26-2-371).

A truck permitted in its county of origin may operate in other counties whose boards of health recognize the permit, and those boards verify its standing on “the Department of Public Health’s permit inspection data base” (OCGA 26-2-379(a), (b)(2)). The truck “may be subject to periodic and unannounced inspections in any outside county where its permit has been recognized,” and if an inspection finds a violation, a county may issue a court citation, end the truck’s authorization to operate there, or require a remediation plan (OCGA 26-2-379(d), (f)).

On the Road: The Operator and Its Driver

An employer is liable for an employee’s torts committed on its orders or while carrying out its business, whether careless or deliberate (OCGA 51-2-2). When a food truck’s driver causes a collision while working, that statute frames the question whether the operator answers for the driver.

At the Service Window: The Premises

Customers who walk up to buy food come by invitation, and whoever owns or occupies the selling site owes them ordinary care to keep it and its approaches safe (OCGA 51-3-1). A truck may sell on land it does not own, so a claim for an injury at the window can involve the vendor, the owner of the lot, or the organizer of an event.

When equipment on the truck fails, a claim can run to the equipment’s manufacturer. The statute asks whether the equipment was merchantable and reasonably suited to its intended use when sold new, and whether its condition at sale caused the injury (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(1)).

A Truck on City or County Property

A city must receive a written claim within six months of the event (OCGA 36-33-5(b)); a county claim not presented within 12 months after it accrues or becomes payable is barred (OCGA 36-11-1).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a food truck need a new permit in each county?
A permit from the county of origin “shall be recognized by all counties pursuant to Code Section 26-2-379” (OCGA 26-2-371). Before operating elsewhere, the truck submits its permits and planned locations to the outside county’s board of health, which may refuse recognition if the permit is not in good standing or “for public health and safety concerns”; recognition authorizes operation “subject to the ordinances of such county or city” (OCGA 26-2-379(a), (b)(1), (c)).

What must a food truck do each day for water and waste?
Operators “shall be required to return to their base of operation at least daily or more often if needed to service their unit with fresh water and to empty their wastewater tank” (OCGA 26-2-379(h)).

Can the lot owner or event organizer share the fault with the vendor?
They can. A vendor, a lot owner, and an organizer can each be assigned a share of fault, the statute requires the fault of all contributors to be weighed, and each pays only the share assigned to it rather than a joint liability (OCGA 51-12-33(b), (c)).

  • OCGA 26-2-370(2), (3); OCGA 26-2-371; OCGA 26-2-379(a), (b)(2), (d), (f), (h)
  • OCGA 51-2-2
  • OCGA 51-3-1; OCGA 51-1-11(b)(1)
  • OCGA 36-33-5(b); OCGA 36-11-1
  • OCGA 51-12-33(b), (c)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about food truck injury claims under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Who is responsible depends on where the injury happened, who controlled the truck and the site, and the specific facts. A person injured at or by a food truck should seek medical care and consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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