CanI sue someone who chipped my tooth with a bottle at a party?
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CanI sue someone who chipped my tooth with a bottle at a party?
I was at a party. This girl was jumping around with a bottleand she hit my tooth. She said she was gonna pay me back but she never did. She said she’s not paying because it was an accident. Can I sue her and make her pay for my tooth?
Asked on December 21, 2011 under Personal Injury, Florida
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
The girl is liable for negligence for accidentally chipping your tooth with the bottle. Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable person would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).
In order to prove negligence, you will need to prove duty (of due care) mentioned above, breach of duty (failure to exercise due care by jumping around with a bottle), actual cause, proximate cause and damages.
Actual cause means but for the girl jumping around with the bottle, would your tooth have been chipped? If the answer is no, which appears to be the case, actual cause has been established. Proximate cause means were there any unforeseeable, intervening events which would relieve the girl of liability. If the answer is no, proximate cause has been established. Damages means the amount of compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit. Your damages should include the dental bill, compensation for pain and suffering and if applicable documentation of any wage loss. Compensation for the dental bill is straight reimbursement. The dental report 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 dental bill. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
In addition to the girl being named as a defendant in your lawsuit, the owner of the property where your injury occurred is also liable because a property owner is liable for a guest's injuries and should be named as a defendant in your lawsuit. It may be possible to settle your personal injury claim with the property owner's insurance carrier. If the case is settled with the property owner's insurance carrier, the property owner would NOT be named as a defendant in your lawsuit; the girl would still be named as a defendant and your lawsuit would proceed against her. If the case is NOT settled with the property owner's insurance carrier, the property owner would also be named as a defendant in your lawsuit.
If the case is NOT settled, you will need to file your lawsuit prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
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