As I was walking out of a building I hit my forehead and nose on a glass door and broke my nose, requiring 10 stitches. At the emergency room they took x-rays, gave me a script for pain killers, and sewed me up.
Do I have a personal injury case to get compensation for my medical bills? And if so what can I expect as a settlement? Thanks.
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Answer
Dear Sam,
You may have the basis of a personal injury case. There have been many successfully cases of persons like yourself who have walked through what they believed was an open door, but which in fact wasn’t. Instead the “door” was entirely made of transparent glass…one that was cleaned so well so as to make it appear so transparent as to be “invisible”.
Contact your city’s Building Code Department. Ask them if there are any requirements for public buildings with glass doors for ingress and egress. You want to know the requirements the owners of the building have to place markings of some sort on an ingress or egress door so as to warn the public of the glass door’s existence and possible danger.
Building Codes in most cities require commercial properties open to the public to clearly mark glass doors as a warning to the public, so people don’t walk through the doors believing there wasn’t any door there. Commercial buildings also must have “shatter-proof” glass installed in their building’s ingress and egress doors.
Once you do some research, if you find the building’s owners violated the statute requiring warnings on ingress and egress doors, you will have the genesis of case.
For settlement purposes, take your medical bills and multiply them by at least 3x. That amount should be enough to cover your actual medical bills, your out of pocket expenses such a prescription and over the counter medications, your lost wages during treatment and recovery periods, and finally, an amount for pain and suffering.
So, let’s say your medical bills equaled $5,000 dollars. A reasonable settlement offer should be between $15 – $20,000 dollars.
Learn more here: Claims for Injuries on Public Property
The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.
Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.
We wish you the best with your claim,
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