Sample Injury Claim Demand Letter for Slip and Fall on Ice

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Jane Ginsburg
2710 Main Street, Apt #237
Albany, NY 10502

March 4, 2020

ABC Insurance Company
123 Gray Street, Suite A
Albany, NY 10327

Attn: Ann Smith

Your Insured: Shelton Arms Apartments

Re: Injury on January 16, 2020

Claim Number:  PL000236

FOR SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY

Dear Ms. Smith:

As you know, I was painfully injured on January 16, 2020, at the Shelton Arms Apartments when I slipped and violently fell because of ice and snow that your insured allowed to accumulate on the front steps of the building.

I had to have emergency treatment for the severe sprain to my left ankle and scrapes and bruises to my hands and knees. The crippling ankle injury kept me off my feet and out of work for a full month.

The Albany area had endured freezing temperatures and wintry precipitation for several days. Your insured was notified that the front steps of the apartment building were slick and dangerous. Like any apartment dweller in New York, I expected our landlord to keep the steps and sidewalk cleared of snow and treated with salt or de-icer.

Everybody around here knows that in Albany, walks have to be shoveled within 24 hours of any snowstorm. It had snowed the day before, so I assumed the walks and steps would be safe by the time I got home from work on the evening of January 16, 2020.

When I got home from work, at around 9:00 p.m., I could see the landlord hadn’t touched the steps. There was no other way to get into the apartment building, so I had no choice but to try to go up the steps carefully.

I was wearing good winter boots and walking as carefully as I could, when my feet suddenly flew out from under me. My leg twisted as I tried to keep from falling. There was nothing I could have done to keep from falling on those dangerous, icy steps. I was severely injured through no fault of my own.

I am seeking compensation for the injury-related damages I suffered because of your insured’s negligence. Those damages include my medical bills, lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses, and my pain and suffering.

SUMMARY OF FACTS

Your insured owns the Shelton Arms apartment building at 2710 Main Street, Albany, New York. At approximately 9:00 p.m. on January 16, 2020, I was seriously injured when I slipped and fell on ice and snow that had accumulated on the front steps of your insured’s building.

I got home around 9:00 p.m. from my shift at the Pleasant Valley Nursing Home. Despite prior requests to your insured, the front steps had not been cleared or treated for ice. There was no other way for me to get to my apartment. I had to use the front steps to enter the building.

I was walking carefully and wearing low-heeled boots with good tread. I began to climb the steps to the front of my building with one hand on the masonry sidewall running along with the steps. In my other hand, I carried my purse and a tote bag with my work shoes and other belongings.

While climbing the steps to my apartment building, I suddenly felt my legs go out from under me. I screamed and tried to steady myself, but my right ankle turned unnaturally to the left. I immediately felt a searing pain in my right ankle. The pain was so severe that I thought my ankle was broken.

My hands and knees were scraped and bruised from the fall. My ankle was throbbing and already swelling inside my boot. I sat stunned on the snowy sidewalk in a state of shock from the pain.

One of my neighbors, Juan Gomez, heard me scream and came out to see what was happening. When he saw me on the ground in terrible pain, he called for his family to help. Mr. Gomez and his teen sons got me into the building, nearly falling themselves on the slick steps. Mrs. Gomez called 911.

The ambulance came and took me to Haley Hospital emergency department.

Three days before my catastrophic fall, I called the management office and complained about the steps being very slippery. No one responded to my complaints, and the steps remained icy and dangerous. I also spoke with other tenants in my building.

Mr. Juan Gomez said he called the landlord on January 14th and 15th to complain about the icy conditions on the steps. Ms. Anita Balor informed me that she called your insured on January 15th to report she had fallen on the same icy steps I slipped and fell on. Copies of their statements are enclosed.

INJURIES AND TREATMENT

When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics stabilized my ankle with soft splints and transported me to Haley Hospital emergency department. At the hospital, I was examined and treated by Dr. Irving Lazzar.

X-rays and a CT scan ruled out bone fractures. However, Dr. Lazzar diagnosed my injuries as a severe sprain to the Achilles tendon and deltoid ligament in my right ankle.

My ankle was wrapped with a compression bandage, and I was fitted for a walking boot to support the ankle while the tendon heals. I was ordered to stay off my ankle for at least two weeks, then begin gradual weight-bearing with the continued aid of crutches.

Because my nursing job requires me to be on my feet and moving through twelve-hour shifts, I was ordered not to work for at least four weeks.

Dr. Lazzar advised me to follow up with an orthopedist if I didn’t see improvement after two weeks. The doctor prescribed Tramadol for acute pain and released me from the hospital.

I was not willing or able to attempt icy steps on crutches, so rather than return home, I called my brother to pick me up from the hospital.

While waiting for my brother to arrive, I called the landlord and told him about my injury. He told me he meant to de-ice the steps but ran out of de-icing chemicals. He said he was sorry and would send someone over to de-ice the steps.

I stayed with my brother and his family for three days before going home to my apartment. By that time, the landlord had cleared the steps of ice and snow, but facing those stairs again was terrifying.

For a full month after the day my ankle was seriously injured, I was forced to hobble around on crutches. During that time, I continued to experience substantial pain and discomfort. I couldn’t drive, had trouble dressing and showering, and otherwise experienced significant stress and hassle caused by my injury.

My friends and family had to bring me groceries, and help me with laundry, cleaning, and other necessities. I missed being at work. I love being a nurse, yet I was stuck at home.

I was in pain, isolated, and frustrated, all because your insured failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent harm to tenants in his building.

I diligently followed the doctor’s orders and was able to slowly bear increasing weight on my right ankle. Although I’m still careful of that ankle, I returned to my nursing job on February 14, 2020.

WORK HISTORY

I have been employed full-time for the last seven years as a registered nurse at Friendly Nursing Home in Albany. Friendly is a skilled-care home, so my duties include passing medications, IV care, wound care, breathing treatments, and supervising a team of nursing assistants. I have to be able to move fast if there’s a patient emergency.

I typically work four twelve-hour shifts per week. I often work extra shifts as the need arises. Before your client’s negligence seriously injured me, I had a nearly perfect attendance record.

DAMAGES

The following is a list of my medical bills and other injury-related damages. Copies of my supporting documents are enclosed.

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DEMAND

To compensate me for the physical pain, emotional distress, and financial losses I sustained because of the negligence of your insured, I demand the total amount of $21,760 to resolve my injury claim.

Please respond within fifteen (15) business days. I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Jane Ginsburg
555-325-2462
janeg@example.com

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