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.
Question Yesterday I went in to a local chain restaurant. When I walked in there was a group of about 10 employees sitting and eating in the dining area, which was separated by a short hallway to the ordering area. As I left the ordering area I slipped and fell in a pile/puddle of salsa that was on the ground, twisting my knee and ankle, and also staining my tan pants. I was on the ground, crying, and not a single employee asked if I was ok. They just stared. I had to ask the women who took the orders for ice. While she was getting it, as I was still on the ground crying, the phone rang and the manager walked right by me to get it, without saying anything. The large group of employees also just sat and stared not saying a single word. I limped past them on my way out carrying my bag of ice still crying, and no one asked if I was ok, asked if I needed medical attention, or to do an accident report. An apology, or at least some empathy, would have been great. As I got back to work I called corporate, and was directed back to the store manager and filed an accident report. He said their insurance company would contact me within 24hrs (which has passed). I called the manager back today telling him that I may need medical attention, and he told me I should wait for a call from the insurance. My ankle/foot is still sore. I was going to give it a day or two to see if it felt better, but it is still sore. What should my next step be?
Answer Dear CJ,
Get to a doctor ASAP. Even if they do not ever admit liability, you will be able to get your medical bills paid. Plus, why suffer in pain? Why wait until the swelling goes down and there is no proof of your pain?
I am answering this quickly so you can get to the doctor tomorrow. If you cannot get there during the day, go to the ER. You need medical attention to that ankle.
Your fall and injury sound very difficult in terms of pain and long term suffering. I would surely push for a recovery against the restaurant. You may find friends, the restaurant, and maybe even an attorney giving you reasons why you should NOT make a claim. But I BELIEVE YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO SUCCEED AND MAKE A CLAIM for not only your medical expenses, but also your LOST WAGES AND YOUR PAIN AND SUFFERING AND LOSS OF ENJOYMENT OF LIFE. Hence, I am going to put in a lot of information on the key issue of liability.
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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 patrol for clean-up versus the burden in cost. Plus, I think that a customer did not spill all that much. And, in addition, the staff was right near, and they should have been responsible to see this mess and take care of it. Since the cost of having staff look for spills would be minimal and it would ensure spills are cleaned up, and since the consequences of falling are really severe injuries, THE CONCLUSION IS THAT THE RESTAURANT BREACHED ITS DUTY OF CARE OWED TO PATRONS.
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 restaurant IS NOT AN INSURER OF YOUR SAFETY. You can recover ONLY if you can show that the restaurant 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 restaurant will raise this defense in an effort to reduce your award.
The duty of the restaurant toward its patrons is one of affirmative obligation to inspect and to remove any dangers, such as a spilled meal.
Now, let’s look at your own liability. They will say that you should have seen the mess. 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 one-third 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. Without telling anyone about your visit, you and a friend should go into the restaurant and spot the area and take some photos. Show the eyelevel distractions of what would have caught your eye as you walked down the hallway.
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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 restaurant just yet. Leave that for later. http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0216.htm Evidence to Support Your Personal Injury Insurance Claim of Premises Liability, Slip and Fall.
GET WITNESS STATEMENTS: if you know of anyone who has experienced a slip and fall or even a near-accident there, then you can use their statement. Also, take a moment to get the statements of any witnesses down in writing. 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
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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.
OK, CJ—now it is to learn how to submit and settle your own personal injury insurance claims—DO IT YOURSELF SETTLEMENTS.
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, CJ: 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.
