What to do if astone hit my foot at a home improvement store and gave me cut of about 1.5 cm?

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What to do if astone hit my foot at a home improvement store and gave me cut of about 1.5 cm?

The store;s claims adjuster is offering me $500 to settle. Should I accept the $500 or can I negotiate for more? The stone was used as an advertisement banner and was not secured. As I was walking down the paint aisle, it feel on my foot. The store is arguing that another customer caused the stone to fall down on my foot. Which is wrong; no one hit the stone. I have asked the adjuster to look at the video recorded when the incident happened but they it did not record the incident. Would you advise to negotiate for more than the $500 offered?

Asked on September 19, 2011 under Personal Injury, Maryland

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

You can continue negotiations and don't have to accept the offer from the adjuster. 

If you received medical treatment, you should obtain the medical bill and medical report.  Compensation for the medical bill is straight reimbursement.  The medical report will document the nature and extent of your injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering.  Compensation for pain and suffering is an amount in addition to the medical bill.  If you had any documented wage loss as a result of your injury, compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.

If you did not receive any medical treatment, you won't get much in terms of a settlement and the $500 if you aren't able to negotiate an additional amount may be reasonable.

If you had a medical bill, then you should get an amount in addition to the medical bill to compensate for pain and suffering.  If there is scar, reject the $500.  A scar would be worth considerably more.

If the case is settled with the insurance company, NO lawsuit is filed.  If the case is NOT settled with the insurance company, you will need to file a lawsuit for negligence against the store prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.

It may not be worth it to file a lawsuit if you don't expect to get much more than the $500 because you would have to consider the time and costs involved in litigation, etc. versus accepting a settlement offer and ending the matter now.


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