k, i fell at the grocery store.

my daughter and i were in the produce isle i turned the corner and walked into a huge puddle of water leaking from one of the fruit stand things. there was no sign and no way of seeing what i was walking into.

the night before, i had warned the manager that there was another small spill i nearly fell in, but caught myself.

this time the manager that showed up first was the same guy as the night before.... but when the second manager came, he said to the first 'see, i told you this needed to be cleaned up' - that means they knew it was there and did nothing to fix it.

the 2 women behind me that watched me fall told the manager that i had hurt my ankle and that they saw me do it. she suggested that they get an ace bandage to wrap it up in - they didnt - which is neither here nor there.

they had called an ambulance before they even came to see me, and by the time it got there, my ankle was pretty swollen. they asked me to go have it looked at.

nothing is broken, but it is very sore. they put me in a splint, wrapped it all up and put me on crutches. tomorrow i have to go to the doctor to have it checked and make sure theres nothing to bad going on.... im sure its just sprained - but it hurts pretty bad.


now, question...

what if anything would you expect the store to do for you?

cover any medical expenses......that's what they have insurance for....

I'm not one to encourage lawsuits, but...

An apology,
an explanation ( are they short staffed, inattentive staff [high schoolers?], leak that needs to be repaired, etc).
Pay medical expenses of course.

Past that, I guess that depends on what you think they should do.
Do you want compensation or some way of improving the standards in the store?

NDRU said:

me neither and unless the store makes a bonehead decision to not cover her medical expenses, then it's totally unnecessary...

roodboi said:

What Rood said... then wait to see how you heal... if it's a particularly painful recovery or the store (company) acts like a bunch of douches and gives you a hard time, then SUE!

This guy gives good legal...

http://lentillem.com/

roodboi said:

well, i shop at this store almost daily.

i know all the folks there, and they are all very nice to us - why wouldnt they be? i give them a lot of money.


but come on now, you KNEW it was there, and you failed to even warn about it..... now here i am jacked up and none of them are here to do the things that i normally have to do, im a single mom, so when im down, the house is not right.

im thinking that they could OFFER something, it would show that they are at least sorry that it happened

roodboi said:

Right. I'd never say "sue for a million!" but they should cover her bills, as you say. And if they don't, then maybe a lawsuit is in order.

This happened to my mom last month, but she actually broke her wrist and has been in a cast ever since. It was a brand new store owned by a local guy that is very well liked and who she knows personally.

Everyone who finds out about it tells her to sue...but sue for what? Our medical expenses are covered and she didn't miss any work.

What she did do was make damn sure they put up their slippery floor signs when it's needed. They do now.
[Edited 7/28/08 16:58pm]

nakedpianoplayer said:

which is exactly why you shouldn't sue...

people make mistakes all the time and obviously somebody there made a mistake for which you are now suffering...but, atleast in my opinion, this isn't a case of negligence that warrants a lawsuit...
as far as the lady suggesting the store put an ace bandage on your ankle, I'm sure she had good intentions but that would have opened a whole 'nother can of worms for the store...they could have injured you more by doing so...

I know this is an incredibly crappy situation for you but just give it time and see how the store is gonna handle things...

roodboi said:

thats kinda where im at, the ball is in their court now, since noone told me what to do when i got to the hospital, i didnt know how to answer the question of who to bill - me or the store. i think they billed me.

surely someone will call and see how im doing, at least i think they would.

PS, your sig make me giggle


.
[Edited 7/28/08 17:01pm]

nakedpianoplayer said:

if I were in your situation, I wouldn't wait for a call from the store, I'd contact them as soon as possible, whenever management would be there to speak with you...let them know what your injury is and see what their intentions are from this point on...keep good records and keep in contact with them throughout until the matter is finally solved...

I, of course, know nothing about this store or what kind of people they are but if they pay your medical expenses, I feel they have done their part...it would be a bonus if they showed true concern, offered an apology and maybe threw some bonus groceries your way ...however, it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't take those extra steps to make sure that your satisfied/content...if they dont' handle things to your liking, don't shop there anymore and spread the word...

I think they owe you an apology, nothing else.

Medical expenses can be covered by your own insurance, right.

nakedpianoplayer said:

Shit YOU knew it was there too, so wtf!?

Well...as a former Loss Prevention Mgr at a dept store, you have an EASY LAWSUIT!! Might as well cash on in. It was negligence on their behalf and you have their statements and witnesses.

I'll take a hunnid!!! Address forthcoming!!



Slip and Fall claims get settled all the time!

DexMSR said:

yes, you have a great case. BUT be prepared to endure public scrutiny of your private medical records going back many years, in the event you do decide to sue.

Jochem said:

Even if she has insurance there is always out of pocket expense. At least I don't know anyone who has insurance that covers everything 100%. And often it can end up being a LOT of out of pocket expense.

As for my opinion, I would hope they would cover anything your insurance doesn't. Nothing more, nothing less.

CarrieMpls said:

She can get much more in the name of negligence. I have seen claims of much less get much more at the store I worked in.

Sue the bastards. You warned them, they have insurance to take care of that. Then take a nice long vacation somewhere nice

DexMSR said:

Perhaps, but I don't think they owe her money beyond the medical. I don't believe in sueing for the heck of it.

CarrieMpls said:

You may not think so, but in the eyes of the law...negligence is a huge liability.

A friend of mine fell in a supermarket and hurt her leg. They didn't want to do anything. she took them to court and won a decent amount of money for their negligence.

Cover the medical part. I fell (Black Ice) at the University of Minnesota and broke my elbow a few years ago. People wanted me to sue the crap out of the University, but I could not. Why? It was a simple mistake. Plus, I just don't believe in suing folks all willy-nilly. But the U did cover my medical (physical therapy and other items that came along). They also covered the month and half salary that I missed because I could not work.

So have them cover the medical and other out of pocket expenses.

JellyBean said:

Ya but this wasn't a simple mistake, she notified them more than once about spills. It was negligence. She doesn't have to sue the crap out of them, but she can teach them a lesson. What if an old lady fell and broke her hip? What if someone cracked their head open?

First, they are not going to apologize...because to apologize is to admit fault. Their insurance company and their attorney would advise them not to do that.

You must sue them. In fact, if you have insurance, your insurance company (if they find out how you were injured) will insist on it - because they do not want to pay the medical bills for an accident that was the result of someone else's negligence.

Things you should recoup: your medical expenses (which will go to your insurance company, less any deductibles you pay), loss of work (even if you have sick time, you deserve compensation for having to use it for an injury that was avoidable), any other expenses (like help around the house or with your kids), and pain and suffering.

The fact that they are nice to you is neither here nor there. Your injury was the result of negligence on their part. This is not a matter of "suing for the heck of it."

An personal injury attorney will take your case on a contingency - which means you won't owe any money unless they collect. So you needn't worry about not having money for an attorney. And do not - I repeat, do not - allow yourself to be rushed into settling. Don't settle until you are absolutely sure you are healed and that there will be no more expenses.

I don't understand some of you.
It's like you are saying she should sue just because she can.

Next thing you know the world is full of "Caution: Wet Floor" signs just because everyone is affraid they are getting sued for negligence.

Is that what you want?

And exactly what is the negligence here?

Maybe they had it repaired the day before but somehow it started leaking again.
Then she can sue the company, the company can sue the repair man, the repair man can sue the factory that delivered the crappy rapair materials, or he can sue the school he was in to learn his crappy skills...

Or maybe the company called a repairman and they had to wait for a couple of days to get it fixed. They placed a warning sign and somebody's kid started playing with the sign and took it somewhere else.
Than she can sue the company, the company can sue the kid...

I'm telling you: Next thing you know the world is full of "Caution: Wet Floor" signs.

Wait. I think this is gonna be the new American dream.

Get yourself into the "Caution: Wet Floor" sign business.









Ok, I'm getting carried away here.....