AboutDoctor Settlement Expertise 27 years of front line plaintiff`s trial lawyer experience in PERSONAL INJURY INSURANCE CLAIMS. Along with other attorneys and insurance adjusters, we have created a website to help injured people settle their own personal injury claims. With the help from feedback from hundreds of satisfied members, www.settlementcentral.com has become THE AUTHORITY for Internet personal injury insurance claim settlements. I am humbled and honored if people can benefit from my experience and current volunteer work in helping injured people. I hope I can explain things in a manner that is useful for the questioner. If not, do not hesitate to e-mail me and I will take a second shot at it! Best Wishes for your physical and financial recovery.
Experience
Life Experience: 27 years of front line plaintiff's trial lawyer experience
Organizations: American Trial Lawyers Association (AAJ)
Washington State Trial Lawyers Association
Awards and Honors:
I am humbled and honored everytime I am selected to help injured people. And when people give feedback that they have benefited from my experience and current volunteer efforts, then that is a double honor and award for me.
I was on vacation the week of 7-21 in Las Vegas, Nevada while in the arcade bathroom I slipped on some water and when I attempted to grab the sink to get my stability the sink fell to the floor and I fell on top of it. The porcelain cut me on my face and several other places: I had 27 stitches on the right side of my face, 8 stitches on my left wrist and 5 stitches on the right side of chest. I have never had anything like this happen to me, how should I proceed the correct way? Is it worth me suing what could I expect to get? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Isabel
Answer Hi Isabel,
You have two ways to show negligence against the hotel. First is that they made the floor too slippery with marble polished to a shine. Second is that they should have foreseen slipping and therefore made the sink more stable against someone falling into it.
If you cannot show negligence in either of those two ways, then at least you might be able to get your medical bills paid inasmuch as they likely DO have insurance to pay for injuries on the property, up to some amount such as $5,000 per occurrence.
Let's take a review of premises liability law. There is no automatic liability against a business; one has to show negligence on their part. But in this case, one can weigh the benefit of providing a non-slip floor around the shower and a safely secured sink versus the burden in cost. Since the cost would be minimal to put in floors that look like marble and still afford some traction, and to install sinks that will withstand someone falling on them, and since the consequences of falling and breaking a sink are suffering really severe injuries, THE CONCLUSION IS THAT THE HOTEL BREACHED ITS DUTY OF CARE OWED TO PATRONS.
OK, Isabel, that is the argument that you will make to the adjuster. She might tell you that such flooring and sink installation is "standard" and "approved" through the industry. But you have to stand your ground by giving her some facts. Go to the Internet and research the dangers of highly polished marble flooring, or whatever flooring you slipped on. Get enough facts to put your case to her.
Also argue in rebuttal that with a high number of slip and fall instances throughout the hotel industry, it is FORSEEABLE that someone might slip in her hotel, and if they did, the sink MUST be secured since it is FORSEEABLE that a guest could dislodge it and break it.
Premises Liability (Slip Or Trip And Fall Accidents) http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3006.htm is an excellent review of premises liability or slip and fall accident confusion as to liability. There are three good examples on that page to show you the difference between liable property owners and those whom one cannot sue.
The hotel IS NOT AN INSURER OF YOUR SAFETY. You can recover ONLY if you can show that the hotel was negligent, and even then, your award will be reduced TO THE EXTENT OF YOUR OWN NEGLIGENCE IN FAILING TO WATCH WHERE YOU WERE WALKING. The hotel will raise this defense in an effort to reduce your award.
The duty of the hotel toward its patrons is one of affirmative obligation to inspect and to remove any dangers, such as a loose board in the floor or a spilled meal. But there is also an affirmative duty to protect the patrons from a foreseeable risk if the cost of that protection is reasonable. In this case, the cost of a safe traction floor and secured sink are minimal.
For example, what if their city county building code were to require a secure fastener to hold up all sinks, but these sinks were not upgraded? I would call their building department and speak with a building code specialist and ask her about the requirements for securing a hotel sink.
Now, once again let’s look at your own liability. It will not defeat your claim, but your negligence can be used to reduce the amount of your award. So here is your lesson: assume that they will claim that you are at least two-thirds at fault, and be prepared to defend on the basis set forth above.
DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED about that defense, but just be aware that it will be raised if your claim has any value.
Gather Evidence: photos and witness statements
GET PHOTOS
Take your cell phone or small camera and take some photos of the area. GATHER ALL EVIDENCE NOW: DO IT QUICKLY AND QUIETLY, without notifying the hotel just yet. Leave that for later.
GET WITNESS STATEMENTS: if you know of anyone who has experienced a slip and fall or even a near-accident on any similar flooring, then you can use their statement. Also, take a moment to get the statements of your family or friends down in writing regarding the incident and your injuries and your suffering. Prepare them that way for what they will be asked later on. Witness Statements Settle Personal Injury Insurance Claims http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0196.htm
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Be Prepared for the Kinds of Questions they Might Ask of you.
Of course we would like to avoid giving any recorded statement, so ask the questioner to send a list of questions since you do not think well in quick pressure situations. Fat chance she will do that, but you could try. At a minimum, you need to be prepared for an interview.
Read below about the significant back and soft tissue injury that I AM SURE WILL COME over the days following this injury. Be prepared to mention small aches and dull aches that you notice at night.
We have not made up a list of questions to expect for the premises liability part of the free side of my website, so you will just have to use the following as a guide to the range of questions to expect. This is a list of questions insurance adjusters ask http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0207.htm injured claimants.
Here are two pages that tell what to do now if you have already given a recorded statement to the adjuster.
Here is a series of pages that you can review. Take what makes sense to you and don't worry about the rest. Just get a flavor of how the system works without spending a ton of time right now.
By the way, did you know that getting an early settlement is a favorite trick of the insurance adjusters? Please see my website wherein we show Insurance Claim Adjuster Secret Tactics http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0092.htm
Do It Yourself Advantages, or do these claims need an attorney? As for an ATTORNEY, this does not seem to be a case that involves any legal issues in dispute nor any large or complex damages. Why should you pay someone one-third to do what you can do yourself? Do-It-Yourself Personal Injury Claims; Eliminate Personal Injury Attorneys' Fees; Save Thousands of Dollars Settling Your Own Insurance Claim http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3011.htm
Without having to join my website, I have given a lot of free information on handling insurance claims without having to join as a member. Read the module at "5 Easy Steps to Do-it-Yourself Insurance Claim Settlement" http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0102.htm
This stuff is not rocket science, but it will take some effort on your part to read and cut and paste letter examples and to communicate. But hundreds of people are doing it each day, and they are getting good results.
What if you get only two-thirds the way to your settlement goal? Well, you can get as big a settlement as you can and then turn it over to an attorney and save a lot of fees. Thus, you could go it alone just to get an insurance settlement offer, and then take that insurance settlement offer to a personal injury attorney, thus exempting the amount of the offer from her fees. Do It Yourself Personal Injury Settlement Offer Reduces Personal Injury Attorney Fees http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0109.htm
FINAL TOPIC: Effective communication with insurance claims adjusters. Establish Firm, Professional, and Positive Relationships With the Insurance Injury Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0059.htm
Always communicate with the adjuster in writing, showing your own analysis of value. It is OK I guess to have one call or so, but no more. Always have your information and ammunition in writing to give to the adjuster.
Let him know that you are FIRM IN YOUR RESOLVE to get what you are demanding (NOT "asking", since that invites a counter-offer, but instead "demanding" as fair and reasonable compensation) by asking him what the options are to resolve the matter fairly should he not agree to a reasonable claim value. In other words, let him know that you will go through with a court filing if need be.
Remember these tips, do your homework, print out your evidence, show resolve to get your fair settlement, and you will DO JUST FINE.
I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
