Well, maybe if she had been wearing SHOES she wouldn't have been bitten on the toes and side of the foot. Most places have "no shirt/no shoes" signs but they allow flip flops and sandals.  To me, it's the same, especially when they can't wash their feet at some point in the month.  Or have we time traveled back to the barefoot 60s?  Maybe we're too poor to afford shoes now?  When I was in high school, they wouldn't let us wear flip flops, saying they were too dangerous. Now, flip flops seem to be the only "shoe" that people want and even men are wearing them.  

My guess is she also had a cell phone glued to her ear and wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, either.

First off there should not be any reptiles inb any establishment. Michael must be the manager who don't care about his customers and their injuries. Michael get a life and start feeling what that customer feels. 

Lighten up people. Why must there always be blame placed?  Wild critters can get into just about anyplace.  Just be aware of your surroundings no matter where you are. 

I grew up in the south, this is unfortunately the type of situation known well to those who live in the beautifull warm climate, as those who live in the cold climat deal with snow, ice and frost bite. it is unfortunate that such a thing would happen to anyone. it is not the rstaurants fault a it is not the fault of the individual who got bit. I hope that the restaurant checked to be sure there is not a nest somewhere in the store or close to, that is their only real responsibilty now that they aer aware of the possible situation at hand. sure they do feel bad and will do what they can to be sure it does not happen again, but reality is there really is nothing they can truely do to guarentee it will never happen again.  God Bless the lady who got bit, my prayers go out to you and your family and i hope you get better real soon with no lasting implication from the snake bite. they are such Nasty creature!, this is the onlt reason glad to live in a cold climate now, but the thuth be known i would move back to the hot in a heart beat and take my chances...Cj

I'm betting the snake was transported into the restaurant by someone, possibly as a sick joke - it didn't get there by itself. Not the restaurant's fault, nor the victim's fault. No one should have to wear boots into a restaurant just in case there's a snake in there. And the least at fault, the snake.  Unfortunate all around. I hope the woman is feeling better by now - that's a very painful bite..

That poor woma, glad she's ok since those baby copperheads release all their venom in one bite!  As for her wearing sandals, so?  As for the restaurant having a baby snake inside the door, things happen sometimes that are really no one's fault.  Maybe all restaurants should hire a snake hunter to check out the establishment before anyone enters!  Stores, too!  Yes that's sarcasm.  

Apparently you’re not from the south, as you have no idea about snakes. I’m sure no one put it there. Snakes crawl in places all of the time, and often get into homes, and other buildings in the south, on a daily basis. So, to your, I won’t call it stupid, but uneducated comment, yes, snakes do just get into buildings on their on. 

Wow, rattle snake bits are bad. I'm glad that the woman is going to be okay. When rattle snakes are young their bits are really bad. I had to kill a baby in my basement a couple of years ago. It was dark in the basement and I thought I was reaching down to pick up some trash. It was all coiled up ready to strike when I killed with my shovel. It's amazing how fast one can move when they need to. 

Of course, the guy, Michael, should never open his mouth again, or even more stupidity might leak out. And I truly feel for that lady, whom is, I'm sure, in no way, shape, or form, to blame for any of what happened to her by that snake. And I hope she makes, or has made a full recovery. All of that said, I believe the restaurant should have offered her more than a free meal (which they may have, but it did not say). Whether they knew about having snakes around or not, it being on their premises makes them liable. I believe I would have done more for the lady because they are risking being sued.  

Not the poor snakes fault; not the restaurant's fault. It is us, as humans, that are at fault. We should all be conditioning our extremities from birth. By strapping your flesh for 2-3 hours a day, you will reduce the risks of snakes fangs being able to penetrate that flesh. If you take it further and strap your flesh 3-4 hours per day and if you use a cat-of-nine tails whip for 2-3 hours per day, you will be able to deflect bullets with your flesh; just like Superman, but without having to travel from a distant planet. Or, you can just sit back and relax. Mother Nature and Her creatures were here before ANY humans. We've moved into their habitats and should just accept that there will be some outcomes that won't be beneficial to neither species. As we encroach on their homes, we should expect to be the recipients of their defenses. 

Okay, guys...first of all...she was not romping around in a field or in the woods, she was walking into the FOYER of a restaurant. I've lived all over the US, including where Copperheads and several types of Rattlesnakes are common, and never once have I anticipated a venomous snake to be in a restaurant. The restroom out at the lake, under a pile of rocks or sticks or leaf litter...yes. In a steakhouse? Nope. 

Secondly, I very much doubt anyone brought the Copperhead into the restaurant for funsies. Nobody with an ounce of self-preservation is going to be carting around a venomous snake in their pocket or bare hands, even if it's a neonate. People who handle snakes use snake hooks, or escape-proof plastic cases, which would've been very obvious to the restaurant staff and everyone entering or leaving the premises. 

Thirdly, most of the time, snakes don't bite through shoes, unless they're extremely thin canvas or mesh or something of that nature. I've had a Pygmy Rattlesnake I failed to see strike my hiking boot  around the top side of the arch of my foot (just regular boot, not reinforced or anything) and it literally got its fangs stuck, but they didn't go through all the way and get me. He got the hatchet shortly after, since there wasn't a safe way to remove him from my boot, or remove my boot from my foot without chancing him wriggling loose and striking bare skin.

Also, the thing about neonate snakes' bites being worse is a total load of bull. They're smaller than an adult snake, but their venom is no stronger, so even if they were to completely empty their venom sacs (which they don't do; they're born with the instinct to only use as much venom as absolutely necessary) it would still be a lesser venom yield than the bite of an adult snake.

Lastly, snakes are experts at getting into places. They can almost flatten themselves to go under cracks in doors, and have even been known to go into uncovered pipe access or cracks in septic tanks and storm drains. Especially if you live in an older house or a rural area and there are venomous snakes native to your area at all, don't discount them chasing a mouse or juicy bug up the drain of your bathtub, sink, or toilet. 

Newer construction tends to have additional failsafes to (hopefully) prevent that sort of thing from happening via one-way venting and things of that nature, but if your house was constructed prior to about 2010, don't count on those being in place and its best to always turn on the lights before sitting on the throne or stepping into the shower.

Thank you for your replies to every ridiculous comment on this thread.  Good grief... the ignorance is frightening in this world.

I smell a lawsuit.  

The comments are more pathetic than the snake bite.