If my daughter fell on a open cracked bottle of liquid at a store and her hand was cut open, would it benefit me to look into getting a lawyer?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

If my daughter fell on a open cracked bottle of liquid at a store and her hand was cut open, would it benefit me to look into getting a lawyer?

Asked on March 18, 2015 under Personal Injury, Indiana

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

There are two issues:

1) What were your daughter's medical costs (out-of-pocket costs only; i.e. not paid by insurance or by a government program) and did she suffer long-lasting or permanent disability or impairment? You can only recover compensation equivalent to your costs and the extent of the injury. If, as we hope, your daughter did not suffer long-lasting injury and if your out-of-pocket medical costs were relatively low, there's no point in suing: you'd spend more on a lawsuit than you'd get back for a few hundred dollars (or less) of medical costs and a temporary injury.

2) Was the store at fault? That's not a given: if the bottle had only just cracked or fallen on the floor and the store had no reasonable opportunity to clean it up, they would not be liable in the first place.

Therefore, it is far from certain that a lawsuit would be worthwhile.


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.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption