What to do if I brike my tooth on a piece of metal in a cookie?
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What to do if I brike my tooth on a piece of metal in a cookie?
My back tooth broke while eating a cookie. I spit my tooth and a piece of metal, that looks like a bullet fragment, was in my mouth. I have the tooth and the object in a sandwich bag. I called my dentist office answering machine to make a appointment for my tooth (2nd upper molar). I would like to know if I should hire a lawyer?
Asked on December 18, 2011 under Personal Injury, New Jersey
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
It would be advisable to be represented by a personal injury attorney.
You could sue the manufacturer of the cookie and the seller (store) where you purchased the cookie. Your lawsuit would have separate causes of action (claims) for negligence and strict liability.
Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable manufacturer would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to produce a product that is not defective.
Strict liability means liability whether or not due care was exercised.
The manufacturer and store (seller) are both liable for negligence and strict liability. The store is liable even if it could not have known the product was defective.
When you complete your dental treatment and are released by the dentist, obtain your dental bill, dental report and if applicable documentation of any wage loss. Your personal injury claim filed with the insurance carriers for the store and manufacturer should include those items. Compensation for the dental bill is straight reimbursement. Compensation for wage loss 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. If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the insurance carriers, reject the settlement offers and file your lawsuit for negligence and strict liability. If the case is settled with both insurance carriers (manufacturer and seller), NO lawsuit is filed. If the case is settled with one of the insurance carriers, only name the party with whom the case is not settled as a defendant in your lawsuit for negligence and strict liability. If the case is not settled with either party (manufacturer or seller), both are named as defendants in your lawsuit for negligence and strict liability. 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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