Slip, Fell and Fainted at a Restaurant

[johny123]

My question involves an injury that occurred in the state of: ND

As soon as I opened the entrance door, I slipped over an slippery/icy floor, landed at my back and even hit my elbow and head, then lost consicousness. They had to call 911 and paramedics arrived and I gained my consiousness back. I felt just ok after that besides pain at my back, my elbow and little bit of headache. I went to the doctor after the dinner (which they provided for free) and doctor said that I probably fainted because of concussion or something. I might need to go do some followup x-rays, etc. because my body is still aching so I wanna make sure that everything is fine inside.

My question is, how should I proceed on this? Should I hire a lawyer to see if that restaurant is willing to help me or should I call the owner of the restaurant personally? Please advise. Thanks.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If you want to consult a lawyer, by all means consult one. The consultation will be free.

[SChinFChin]

Here's what happened in a "slip and fall" case similar to yours. I'm the owner of the business where a customer of ours "slipped and fell" coming in. He didn't faint, but had photo's taken of himself all black and blue the next day. He was advised by people to call me, the owner.

He called, saying that he's incurring some legal expenses, pain and suffering, and wanted to know what could I do. I told him to send me a doctors bill, and only from that could determine the extent of his injuries. He left me his phone number. ALthough I passed the 30 days required of me to notify my insurance company, I notified them.

A month went by, I heard nothing, I called the customer, he told me he's being treated, and is awaitng a bill from his doctor. Then, 3 months went by, he bought a bill in, from his chiropractor, showing $3,000 worth of theatments. I told him I'll send it to my insurance. I would've covered it myself if it was under $300.00, but I didn't tell him that.

A few more months went by, and he asked me if he can contact my insurance company. I told him the insurance is working on it, and I gave him the phone number.

Later on, he told me the insurance company blew him off, and he's going to get a lawyer. A few more months went by, he told me he interviewed a number of lawyers, 3 or 4 as I reall, who declined the case, but the last one took it.

I heard nothing for another six months, then one day he came by to ask for the phone number of my insurance, and if I have the name of the contact, case number and so forth. I asked him if his lawyer shouldn't be handling this. He told me his lawyer told him that he's negotiating with the insurance, then stopped taking his calls, after that, the lawyer couldn't find the file.

I called the insurance company up, and they told me that he should be dealing with his lawyer, not me, and I shouldn't get involved. I told him it was his choice to go to his lawyer, and I'm not involved.

I learned from the insurance company later that his lawyer tried to bully, but when it didn't work, taking the case to court wasn't worth it, so his lawyer didn't want to say he was dropped, so told him the file was lost.

I guess the long and the short of it is if you were the only one that slipped and fell that night, after dozens or more customers came through the door, the burden may be on you to show that it wasn't a case of "you didn't look to see where you were going", but it was the restaurant that was negligent. And if you were that seriously hurt, you would've gone to emergency rather than enjoy a meal. I'm glad at least you got a meal out of it.

In other words, I don't see a case here where a lawyer can make a killing out of contingency fees.