What should we ask for my wife got injured at a store by one of its employees?
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What should we ask for my wife got injured at a store by one of its employees?
She was reaching for her bag when the employee turned the bag thing and my wife’s finger was cut on a sharp, broken piece of metal. She told the cashier, but the response she got was, “Oh.” She then went to the service desk and one woman refused to get her a bandage. The second woman told her there were no first aid kits there. Finally, after 15 minutes, a third woman got her a bandage. My wife ended up having to go to the emergency room when she left to get her finger glued shut. Walmart has admitted to it being their fault, are going to cover the bill and want to settle this out of court because protocol wasn’t followed. What should we do?
Asked on May 29, 2014 under Personal Injury, Michigan
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
Your wife should ask Walmart for the name, address and telephone number of its insurance carrier.
When your wife completes her medical treatment and is released by the doctor or is declared by the doctor to be permanent and statonary which means having reached a point in her medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, she should obtain her medical bills, medical reports, and documentation of any wage loss.
Her personal injury claim filed with the insurance carrier for Walmart should include these items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will document the nature and extent of the 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. Without knowing what the medical report says or if there are residual problems after completing treatment, it is not possible to determine the amount your wife should claim. for pain and suffering. If there are no residual problems after completing medical treatment, ask for quadruple the medical bills for pain and suffering, but not expecting to get that. That is just the beginning of negotiations. If there are residual problems or permanent loss of use of the finger, etc., then much more should be demanded for pain and suffering. If there is a scar, that would warrant additional compensation for pain and suffering.
If the case is settled with Walmart's insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed. If your wife is dissatisfied with settlement offers from Walmart's insurance carrier, she should reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against Walmart.
If the case is NOT settled with Walmart's insurance carrier, your wife's lawsuit for negligence against Walmart must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or she will lose her rights forever in the matter.
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