How do I ask a store to pay for the serious injury I got there?

September 23, 2024 10:59 AM

This weekend while entering a grocery store I walked past a mangled, low-lying piece of metal embedded in the parking lot where someone had hit a stop sign. The stop sign had been removed but 2 inches of the stump was still there. I cut my foot on it very badly and had to go to the emergency room to get a LOT of stitches. Since then, several people have told me that I should get the grocery store (a major national chain) to cover the emergency costs but no one can tell me how to do that.

I know that lawsuits like this don't usually go as well as media coverage would have use believe, but the emergency room was expensive and this was a wildly dangerous thing to have in the parking lot. I wish I'd talked to a manager in the moment but I was losing a lot of blood very quickly and trying to stop that as quickly as possible. Do I call the store manager? Someone at the corporate center? Do I need a lawyer? Is this pointless to actually try? I know you are not my lawyer, and this is not legal advice, but I truly have no idea how to even start trying to ask.

posted by a hat out of hell to Work & Money (17 answers total)

You probably do need a lawyer, yes. I am not one but it strikes me that it may be difficult to prove your case without things like camera footage or the like, because presumably no one else saw your injury at the time.

But yes, I think you definitely need a personal injury lawyer.
posted by Alensin at 11:09 AM on September 23

Sorry, don't mean to threadsit but two employees saw me: a security guard and an employee near the store drawn by the commotion (it was a lot of blood, people were pretty alarmed). I was also within sight of the security cameras, if that helps.
posted by a hat out of hell at 11:12 AM on September 23

This is exactly the kind of thing that a personal injury lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction can advise you about.
posted by Handstand Devil at 11:14 AM on September 23

I work at a grocery store chain, and one of my job duties is overseeing the response to incidents like yours.

Go back to the store as soon as possible and take a picture of the hazard. Do that TODAY.

Go to the store in person and talk to a lead or manager to file a report. Let them know that you expect to be compensated as you were injured by a clear and present hazard. They will, presumably, escalate this to corporate or directly to their insurance company. The insurance company will reach out and request that you file some paperwork allowing the hospital to release the relevant medical records. If they aren’t shady they will cover your medical bills, plus some extra for pain and suffering. The payout for pain and suffering is negotiable. Don’t take their first offer.

Getting a lawyer might get you more money, but it will drag the process out for much longer. And, any additional payout might be eaten up by lawyer’s fees.

Depending upon the cost of medical care, and how much you might want on top, small claims court could be an option. I don’t know the small claims court system in your area, but here (CA) the max payout is $15k. Threatening small claims court in writing is a good way to speed up the process.

I hate to say it, but keep your expectations for a payout realistic. My guess for a pain and suffering payout would be somewhere around $10k, based on my limited information on your claim.

Happy to answer additional questions in this thread or through MeMail.
posted by sacrifix at 11:21 AM on September 23

Having a lawyer could drag the process out, but it also would mean that someone who knows what they're doing will handle everything and not fall for any cheap tricks. It's also possible that having a lawyer would make them take you seriously and make a better offer more promptly. Having a zealous advocate is a fine thing. It would cost you a decent chunk of whatever final amount you receive though, so that's worth keeping in mind. Talking to them is usually free to begin with in any case, and it doesn't hurt to see what a couple have to say.
posted by teremala at 11:27 AM on September 23

Get a lawyer! Do not fill anything out without getting a lawyer! The "report" you fill out for the store or the store's insurance will be used against you!!
posted by Mid at 11:28 AM on September 23

The question about getting a lawyer depends on what's important to you. I do agree to go get a photo (or send someone who can get one for you) of the post immediately before the store fixes it. I would not file a report or talk to anyone at the store, at least until you decide if you're retaining a lawyer or not.

One of the nice things about retaining an attorney is that they handle all communications with all parties for you, which can be a relief. If you have health insurance and that is covering some or all of your ER visit and subsequent medical treatment, they will want to subrogate that to the store's insurance and get reimbursed. An attorney can negotiate with all parties to maximize how much you get, including by reducing how much your health insurance gets reimbursed from the total settlement.

BTW, even if you don't pursue a claim with the store, your health insurance may reach out to you to find out if it happened on a commercial property and pursue subrogation on their own, so don't be surprised if that happens. I don't think you'd be involved if that happens other than explaining your side of what happened to your insurance company, though I'm not sure about that. (When this happened to me there was no negligence on the part of the property owner so it was not pursued further.)

An attorney will typically take 1/3 of the total settlement off the top (not just your portion), so if you don't have a lot of ongoing medical expenses or long term/permanent damage in terms of pain, mobility, etc, the lawyer fee can really eat into how much you get after your health insurance is reimbursed. But if you are looking at something that will incapacitate you for a while or even leave you with a permanent decrease in function, that's when the scale might tip toward getting a lawyer. They have ways to calculate all of that when they go to the store's insurance carrier for a settlement. Of course if you have a lot of out of pocket medical bills or are uninsured, that changes the calculus too.

A lawyer will probably let you know if they think it's a worthwhile case to pursue -- consultations are usually free.

In the meantime, get that photo and start keeping track of every expense that this injury has caused you - medical bills of course, but also are you having to Uber around because you can't drive or walk? Are you in PT as part of your recovery? Are you missing any wages due to time off? Do you have to order takeout because you can't cook, or did you buy a shower seat because you can't stand in the shower? That kind of stuff. Additionally, keep any records from your doctors, especially if they include information about long term impacts to your mobility.

Source: my partner was hit by a car and shattered part of his knee and was on crutches with 0 weight bearing for 4 months and will have permanent pain and stiffness in that knee. We hired an attorney and are so glad we did, but we were also lucky that the driver accepted responsibility and had good liability coverage from her insurer. Even with that it took a year to get the settlement.
posted by misskaz at 11:41 AM on September 23

I slipped on an icy driveway at a grocery store (not a chain) and hit my head and eventually had to have meniscus surgery on my knee. I immediately talked to someone in the store and they said they would reimburse me for torn clothing and that they were aware of the ice but hadn't had a chance to take care of it. When I became aware of the extent of my injuries I went back to the store and filled out an Injury/accident report. They also referred me the claims department of their liability insurance carrier.

I was looking at extensive medical bills and to being out of commission from my usual activities for quite a while. I then decided to hire a personal injury lawyer. At that point the grocery store was left behind and the rest of the process was waiting to know the full extent of my injuries, to finish all medical care related to my fall and the negotiating with the insurance company. The process took a year and a half. Eventually we settled for $30,000 which after the medical bills. the lawyer and I split the remainder 2/3 to me 1/3 to him.

I was expecting it to be a slimy process but it wasn't. The lawyer got paid for his negotiating skill, and I got paid for pain, suffering, and inability to conduct activities of daily living.

My experience was probably different from yours. For the first step, I would go back to the store and see if they have a claim form.
posted by Xurando at 11:57 AM on September 23

As others said, take a photo of the stump, multiple angles, get a copy of your ER visit, etc. all documented, document how many days you are out of work, your medical expenses, lost work, etc. Then approach the store, customer service counter, and ask to speak to the manager about filing an injury claim on their liability insurance on injury suffered on their parking lot. If you called ambulance in their parking lot, even better. They may have an record of it, but it's fine if they don't. They should give you a number to file a claim against their insurance. While you *can* get a personal injury attorney who can walk you through these steps, and it's POSSIBLE their insurance can low-ball you, ultimately it's your choice to involve an attorney or not. Good luck.
posted by kschang at 12:20 PM on September 23

(not your lawyer and all that)

1000% get in touch with a personal injury lawyer. As of right now you may understand your damages (medical expenses and some clean up costs), but you don't know the long-term effects of an injury like that (what if it gets infected? will you need physical therapy? are there lasting effects on what activities you can do? will you need to miss future work as a result?) and you don't know the circumstances of what the store did or should have done or what they knew or when. You shouldn't make statements to anyone, and definitely not to the store, before you've talked to an expert.

Lawsuits like this happen every day in every courthouse in the country, and if the conditions are as you report them you should have a very credible claim for compensation. The process doesn't have to be overly skeevy; you don't need to call someone off of a billboard or wear a neck brace or whatever cliches you may hear. You definitely will pay part of your settlement for their fees, but for a serious injury it's a pretty safe bet that you'll do well better with competent representation than you would on your own.

Hopefully you know some kind of a lawyer or you know someone who knows a lawyer; ask them for a recommendation for a reputable personal injury lawyer and most people will do their best to suggest one. I am a lawyer myself and I have never needed a personal injury lawyer, but if a friend asked for help I'd cast out the net and get some names. That's how it works in the profession.
posted by AgentRocket at 12:41 PM on September 23

Top priority is to get many photos of the metal thing, all angles, with a ruler, and showing the area so it's clearly in a pedestrian's reasonable line of walking. The store will be hiring someone to angle-grind down that metal stump as soon as they possibly can, so I would make sure to get the photos IMMEDIATELY, like, today. Also take the goriest photos of your foot you can, as it heals - bruising, stitches, etc. Any bloody images you can find. Everything else you can decide or follow up on later, but the hazard will be removed quickly and the gore will heal, so make sure you have that evidence in your pocket!

Speaking as someone who had to do my own protracted lawsuit after an injury, if I could go back in time I might have just taken a settlement (with hard-nosed negotiation) because in my case, the court case dragged on 5 years and it was draining. I probably got an extra $20K over what the settlement amount might have been, but amortized over 4 extra years, $20K didn't pay for the amount of headspace, time, meetings, documentation, paranoia any time I did something fun that a private investigator might be watching and then try to prove I was malingering, emotional energy, and the lawyer's fees... the extra money really wasn't at all worth it. Being DONE with something and being able to actually move on, has a dollar value too, I just didn't know it then.

Negotiate with all you have:
- Make them like you
- Make them feel sorry for you
- Cry and get emotional and elicit sympathy and care
- Gross them out with the gore photos
- Show them a glass of water with the amount of blood you lost
- Start being active on social media so they'll think you're a publicity risk - make them fear you
- Charm them with family stories or career successes

If I could go back in time in my case, I would have just gone balls-to-the-wall immediately for a few weeks/months of trying to negotiate the settlement amount up, and then take the money, cut my losses and move on like it never happened, not drag it out for half a decade to make $20K more!

In summary, it's just a line on an insurance report for them whether they pay well now or drag it out... but it's your body and it's your LIFE, and it's their fault anyway. It costs them LITERALLY NOTHING to compensate you properly for THEIR MISTAKE. So make the buggers pay!

Hope your foot heals well, so sorry that happened to you!!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 1:43 PM on September 23

Seconding the point that if you have health insurance and they end up paying any of the bills from this injury, you want them to know what happened. They may take action against the store as well.
posted by soelo at 2:59 PM on September 23

BTW, just because you retain a lawyer doesn’t mean you have to go to court. The lawyer can and likely will try to negotiate a settlement first. If you aren’t able to get what you believe you deserve through a settlement, then you can choose to go to court if you want. (If you go to court, the lawyer typically gets a higher percentage than 1/3.)
posted by misskaz at 4:04 PM on September 23

The insurance company for the supermarket is going to hope very much that you do not retain a lawyer, and that is all the more reason you should. The strategy is to lowball the payout.
posted by yclipse at 4:58 PM on September 24

One thing to consider is that if you choose not to settle and go to court, you may end up winning a smaller amount of money than you wanted or losing outright.
posted by Constance Mirabella at 6:21 PM on September 24

Just adding in that sometimes you'll need to find out who owns the parking lot/strip mall. Our grocery store has no control over the parking lot, so you'd have to contact the property owner and file through their insurance.
posted by annieb at 3:52 PM on September 25

Personal injury lawyers typically work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don't pay anything up front and they keep a certain amount the money you get - typically around 30% or 1/3, sometimes excluding expenses.

I think it would be a good idea to talk to at least two different lawyers before you decide whether or not to hire one. The consultations should be free and the lawyers should be willing to answer any questions you have about the process and their fees.
posted by maleficent at 3:29 PM on September 26