My three year old daughter bent down to pick up a toy off the ground of a large retail store at the mall...the seating had sharp unprotected edges and the corner jabbed her forehead. I thought it was just a bump but then blood started to gush everywhere and I looked and saw a piece of her skin stuck to the sharp corner of the "block" seating....she had to have dermabond stiches. Is this store liable for the injury?
2006-10-24 05:46:13 · 13 answers · asked by Heidi L 2 in Health ➔ Other - Health
First off...I had a very good "eye" on my daughter and was holding her hand when this occurred...my intentions are not to sue over this, but to ensure safer equiptment and be sure that in the future if any head trauma results from this, she will not have to worry about paying for it. This happened yesterday and I filed the report in the store and took her to the ER right after...as to the officers comment...I am aware of hazards that exist in my home or outdoors...I had confidence that any large business would consider these things ahead of time.
2006-10-24 06:07:09 · update #1
i'm sorry to hear about your daughter's injury. i'm sure it was really scary for you. i don't know if they should be held liable or not, it's a tough question. they're not required to have child friendly seating but it would be nice if they did.
you should consult with an attorney to find out for sure. i'm not supporting people who are sue-crazy, but as a mom i'm sure you just want to make everything as safe as possible for your child. i would be satisfied with just getting them to install safer seating for their patrons, as i'm sure you would be.
2006-10-24 05:52:53 · answer #1 · answered by megan33wz 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Was the person on the bike in the wrong? Were they riding the wrong way, or against a red light? Did they run through a stop sign, and that's why your b/f hit them ? We need more information. Seeing as how the person on the bike had no helmet, was riding a bike at night that had no light on it, and they were dressed in black from head to toe ... this is just stupid. I'm fairly certain that the person on the bike will be held responsible for part of why this happened. Depending on where you live, I can understand the headlight being broken, and if it was dark enough for lights to be on, most auto parts places are closed at that time, so the person above who said that anyone can fix a headlight is barking up the wrong tree. You can only fix a headlight if you can get a new one, right? The person that he hit has a head injury because they weren't wearing a helmet and riding in the dark on a bike with no light, while wearing black clothing. NOT SMART. This is very sad :( I hope they will make a full recovery. How much trouble your boyfriend will be in depends on whether the person on the bike was in the wrong when he got hit. My best guess is that your b/f will be partially responsible. Best of luck, and Godspeed to everyone P.S. So, the person on the bike crossed in the middle of the block, and didn't see the one headlight of your boyfriend's car? Even with only 1 headlight, ANYONE can still see a car coming, or at least hear it - unless your guy drives a hybrid and it doesn't make that much noise. I think the biker looks more negligent than your guy ... but I'm not a lawyer. However, if I was on a jury, it would be the bikers fault - absolutely. No helmet, no light on the bike, dark clothes, crossing in the middle of the block ... how do you miss a car coming unless you don't look?
2016-05-22 07:26:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My first impression is that yes, the store should at least pay for her medical care. However, it depends on when the store was notified - if a lot of time has passed, it might be too late. If you notified them right when it happened, or the same day, allowing them to fill out an incident report, then they should pay for the medical bills. Most stores, if they know a patron was injured, will offer you a settlement that is a bit more than the billed amount, because they don't want you to sue them. If they do offer you a settlement, it's up to you whether to take it and pay the bills, or take it as an admission of guilt and get a lawyer to sue them (which could take years of course).
If several days or weeks have gone by between the injury and the time you notified the store, then you might be out of luck. But best idea is to check the laws in your state or consult a lawyer.
2006-10-24 05:57:48 · answer #3 · answered by LisaT 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This could get tricky. The store is definetly liable for damages occurred, however, unless you filed a report with someone that day and you can prove you were in the store, or better , took a photo of the seat, you would have a better case. Go back and check if they fixed the seat or not, if not take a photo of it, take a couple and then talk to a lawyer who charges after payment is received. With proof, a company will most likely settle out of court, especially with an injury to a child.
2006-10-24 05:57:43 · answer #4 · answered by PDK 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm really sorry to hear about your daughter. I know it's scary when your child is injured and requires medical attention. However I encourage you to step back and think about this- Is it really worth suing over? It's a nasty gouge yes, but don't you think the more civilized thing to do would be to speak with the store manager and indicate the problem with the block seating? I'm sure they'd appreciate knowing about the incident and having the opportunity to correct the problem. People are so quick to sue these days... I'm not saying it's not their fault for putting something sharp like that where someone could be injured by it... but are you really willing to get lawyers, courts, years of paperwork and all that hassle involved over a co-pay and dermabond stitches? Your daughter is okay isn't she? It stinks that it happened but I would think that you'd be more grateful that she's okay rather than money hungry for a store to pay for the nasty gouge she got... Best wishes to you and your daughter. I hope all is well and she heals quickly!
2006-10-24 05:59:50 · answer #5 · answered by annathespian 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One of the worst things in this country is that people can sue for anything. It was NOT negligence on there part and this will more likely than not, never happen again. If you were watching your child then this shouldn't have happened. As for the store being liable, I really don't think it is because the "block" didn't move and it wasn't hidden. Hopefully your kid turns out fine and everything blows over but if you are still upset you should talk to the manager of the store to see if they will remove the block seating.
Was this a children's store? If not, then I think you should just forget about the whole thing.
Sorry to hear about your kid.
2006-10-24 07:12:51 · answer #6 · answered by butterstma 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
In a situation like this, the store is likely to offer to pay the medical expenses without you needing to get a lawyer or "sue for damages". I would contact the manager of the store, explain what happened and ask if they (or their insurance company) will reimburse you for the medical expenses you incurred. They will most likely do so, just to avoid the time & expense of legal action.
If you decide to sue the store, you should consider exactly what your legal damages are. If your daughter is not permanently impaired and is likely to recover fully in a short time, what damages would you have beyond the medical expenses you incurred? I don't think there is a great deal of money damages here - probably not enough to gain serious attention from a personal injury lawyer.
2006-10-24 06:02:54 · answer #7 · answered by Xeod 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No because you'd have to prove negligence and how were they negligent? They weren't. Accidents happen. Keep a better eye on your child.
What if she had bent down outside and bumped her head on a light pole? Or a tree in a neighbor's yard? Would you want to sue? It's just not the answer for everything.
2006-10-24 05:56:35 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
absolutly you could win this case, you wont be a millionair out of it, but they defiantly FOR SURE will be liable for the doctor visit and stitches, and maybe very very very little less then 500$ for pain and suffering, plus lawyer fees. .. dont push the $$ or you wont win, just get what you need to pay for the med bills and maybe a giant new toy for her.. Definatly take this case to a lawyer who will let you pay them after the case is over and you win.... This is why major companys have liability insurance.. just for cases like this..
2006-10-24 05:56:08 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes but this is not going to make you rich. it will pay for the cost of the doctors, and maybe pain and suffering. what the court will do is make you whole. meaning put you back in the place before the accident. so you are not going to end up owning the mall or anything. you will just get money to cover the costs of her injury.
2006-10-24 05:57:58 · answer #10 · answered by lidakamo 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋