What are my rights if I fell 6 months ago on a sidewalk and broke my leg?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What are my rights if I fell 6 months ago on a sidewalk and broke my leg?
I had to have surgery on it. This happened out-of-state.
Asked on November 12, 2013 under Personal Injury, Oregon
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
You should file a personal injury claim with the property owner's insurance carrier where you fell. When you complete your medical treatment and are released by the doctor or are declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary which means having reached a point in your treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain your medical bills, medical reports, and documentation of any wage loss. Your personal injury claim filed with the property owner's insurance carrier should include these items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering which is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
If the case is settled with the property owner's insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed. If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit based on premises liability against the property owner.
If the case is NOT settled with the property owner's insurance carrier, your lawsuit against the property owner based on premises liability must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.