Visitor Question

Slip and Fall Accident Injury at a Restaurant…

Submitted By: Linda (NH)

I was leaving a restaurant after having dinner when I had a slip and fall accident injury. Their stairs outside were covered in ice. I used caution while descending the stairs and slipped, causing an extreme bruise to my hip and a bruise to the bone in my left hand.

The treatment is a brace on my wrist and hand with exercises, along with heat and ice therapy.

I am working with the insurance company on my own. I’ve been out of work for 4 days and out of pocket expenses come to approximately $1,200. I need to know how to calculate for bodily injury pain and suffering. Can you help me?

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear Linda,

Slipping on ice is like slipping on concrete! It is good to see you have been working with the restaurant’s insurance company. There really isn’t any calculation for bodily injury. Instead you are negotiating and calculating for the results of the bodily injury. The results should include the full amount of out of pocket expenses.

It looks as if you already have accumulated about $1200.00. Be sure to include reasonable amounts for future out of pocket expenses. Those would include doctors appointments, therapy, continued pharmacy prescriptions, and even a proportion of the amount of gasoline used during and after the fall while attending to treatment related issues.

(You can calculate gasoline expense by gauging the total distances to and from doctors’ offices, therapy sessions and the pharmacy and multiplying that by about $1.00 per mile. If you do that you will have a rough idea of money owed to you as gasoline reimbursement).

Pain and Suffering is another matter. The “going rate” for reimbursement for pain and suffering depends on the seriousness of the injuries, age of the victim, permanence of injury, loss of consortium, and persuasiveness of the negotiator. There is no tangible and accurate reference table you can depend on.

The relative amount over the last 10 or so years has been about 3 times your medical bills. When negotiating for themselves people will find the insurance companies normally offer much less. They are aware your leverage is minimal. They think the chances of your filing a lawsuit against the restaurant are small. As a result their offer for pain and suffering will be slight, if any.

You are on the right track. Start with 3-4 times “medicals,” and give it all you’ve got!

Learn more here: Slip and Falls on Ice and Snow

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,

Published:

One comment on “Slip and Fall Accident Injury at a Restaurant…

  1. Anonymous says:

    The room was dark and the floor had a slight step, like the floor was at an angle. While walking toward the room we were in it’s tough to notice the incline.

    I tripped and fell flat on my face. I have 2 artificial knees and they hurt for a month. I did therapy and my left hand hurt for 3 months, to the point where I could hardly use it.

    I went to therapy and had an MRI. The doctor said there was a contusion that looks good now, and most of the pain is arthritis, but my hands had never hurt before. Such a pain dealing with the restaurant’s insurance.

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