How much should I ask for injuries due to bee stings caused by my neighbor’s negligence?
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How much should I ask for injuries due to bee stings caused by my neighbor’s negligence?
I was mowing a lawn at the vacant house next to mine as I was contracted to do when bees attacked me from the side of the house next door. The bees have been at the house for several years and no obvious action had been made to remove them within the last 5 years. The bees covered my head, went into my ears, neck with addition stings on my legs and arms. I was transported to the emergency room in two separate incidents. I have suffered headaches, itching, swelling, nightmares and extreme anxiety, and general malaise. He received a citation from the city.
Asked on July 22, 2010 under Personal Injury, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
In PI cases, you can generally recover:
1) Unreimbursed or out of pocket medical costs (e.g. costs not picked up health insurance, medicare or medicaid, etc.)
2) Lost wages from not being able to work
3) Pain and suffering for serious injuries--usually at the level of broken bones or major, at least temporarily disabling soft tissue injuries; even if your headaches, itching, etc. rose to that level, if you only suffered it for a few days, the potential recovery is low.
4) Other out of pocket costs; e.g. did you have to hire someone to take care of your own home for a few weeks, because you didn't? Did you miss out on a vacation and experience nonrefundable costs because you were injured? Etc.
As a general rule of thumb, unless you suffered some degree of permanent disability--or at least a few months of pain, disability, etc.--or lost at least $2k+ of lost wages or other out of pocket costs, it would not be worth actually suing. It may be worth submitting a claim to the homeowner's insurance of the homeowner, even for a lower amount, and seeing if they deem it worthwhile to compensate you. An attorney can help you evaluate whether to take action, what kind of action to take, and also help with pressing a claim against insurance even if you later decide to not actually file a lawsuit. Many personal injury attorneys will provide a free initial consultation and may also work on contingency (i.e. they only get paid if you get paid).
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