Suing another Christian because of a fall. Should I do it or not?

[Johnboy60]

Never sued anyone before till now. I fall in a restaurant parking lot because of a pot hole filled with ice. Fall on my face and broke my nose and went too the hospital ER. The restaurant is being sold by real estate and is not being kept up on maintenance so the parking lot has many pot holes. They are selling the building and parking lot mainly for the land so the building will be torn down. Do I have too sue the owner's or the insurance company? Will I have too go to court? I just want my medical bill paid which will be 1500 or more dollars.

Thanks.

 

[Daniel9v9]

I guess this is somewhat an American problem.... If possible, I would encourage you not to sue, on the basis of Matthew 5:25, though the context is a bit different!

It's unfortunate to end up with a bill like yours, but it's better to suffer wrong than to argue over it in court. It would be better to resolve it outside of court.

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

You could sue if you wanted or at least tell them you will be contacting a lawyer, its a bluff and they may be like "No, please don't contact a lawyer, here take some money!". Though for $1500, if they don't care and would rather go to court, it could cost you more then that $1500. You may break even or just end up owing money instead. Especially if the court decides to go with the others persons counterclaim (if they file one).

 

[Johnboy60]

The owner was on the property when I fall and never said a word too me. He acks like no big deal. Employee's told him I fall in the parking lot but didn't come out of the restsurant.

 

[Johnboy60]

My medical deductible is 2200.00

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

Did you make a police report? Because if you did go to court you would need some evidence possibly showing you made a record about what happened. I also wonder if any places nearby had a security camera outside that caught you fall. More evidence.

 

[Johnboy60]

Went by ambulance too the Hospital ER and had my girlfriend and a employee right on the spot saw me fall.

 

[Brian Mcnamee]

u need a lawyer who will ask for pain and suffering too. if you go to small claims you will have more trouble; if you get a lawyer he will ask for 1/3 but more money and they are better paying you off then going to court. If they are selling the building you can get a lean so you get paid out of escrow. Unfortunately the owner should have got your info and offered ahead of time to pay. Those verses that talk about not suing is between brothers in the LORD. This guy is a stranger and not stepping up. If you have those bills not covered you are a saint to just ask for them to be paid. I think you will have to get tough to get anything.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Never sued anyone before till now. I fall in a restaurant parking lot because of a pot hole filled with ice. Fall on my face and broke my nose and went too the hospital ER. The restaurant is being sold by real estate and is not being kept up on maintenance so the parking lot has many pot holes. They are selling the building and parking lot mainly for the land so the building will be torn down. Do I have too sue the owner's or the insurance company? Will I have too go to court? I just want my medical bill paid which will be 1500 or more dollars.

Thanks.

In New Zealand we have what we call the Accident Compensation Corporation to cover cases just like yours. They would have paid your medical bills and granted you time off from work and paid 80% of your salary during that time.

There must be lawyers who specialise in accident compensation. You would be well advised to consult with one, especially one who will charge you legal fees only if you win the case. I know someone who was unfairly dismissed from her job. She got a lawyer and got a settlement which included the employer paying the legal fees as well. It would be good if you could get a lawyer who could get you a similar settlement.

From a Christian perspective, the restaurant owner is not a fellow Christian. This is not one Christian suing another over a personal grievance. This is a commercial case involving health and safety. I don't know if there is an occupational health and safety agency in your state. If there is, they could prosecute the restaurant under health and safety legislation if it exists in your state, and award you compensation. So Paul's comments in 1 Corinthians would not apply in your case.

We have a government occupational health and safety agency in New Zealand, that would prosecute the restaurant owner under its legislation. The injured party would have received compensations through Accident Compensation Corporation, but restaurant would be fined as well.

So, these things are worth considering and I wish you the best of British luck!

 

[Grace2022]

Never sued anyone before till now. I fall in a restaurant parking lot because of a pot hole filled with ice. Fall on my face and broke my nose and went too the hospital ER. The restaurant is being sold by real estate and is not being kept up on maintenance so the parking lot has many pot holes. They are selling the building and parking lot mainly for the land so the building will be torn down. Do I have too sue the owner's or the insurance company? Will I have too go to court? I just want my medical bill paid which will be 1500 or more dollars.

Thanks.

Hi
In my view go ahead. This is law and your need to be compensated. You have rights under law, you have expenses incurred due to their negligence. You are not doing anything wrong. I hope it all goes well for you.
I hope you are ok now as you have suffered pain, must have been awful for you. X

 

[St_Worm2]

Have you made a claim with the property owner's insurance company yet? If so, have the refused to pay your medical bills?

If they have not refused, why not wait until you find out what they are willing to do? Getting a lawyer and suing simply means that someone else, the lawyer or law firm, will end up with 1/3 of your settlement $$ in the end. You may need a lawyer eventually, but why not talk to their claims adjuster yourself and see what they are willing to do first. You will probably (hopefully) find them to be reasonable and willing to compensate you for your medical bills and your additional expenses (which should include something over and above all of that for "pain and suffering"). Hopefully you will not need a lawyer, and you will not need to sue anyone or go to court.

You could also call your own insurance agent and ask them to advise you how to proceed.

 

[Johnboy60]

Never in my life saw so much blood coming out of my nose. like a waterfall. No pain in the nose for some reason.

 

[Johnboy60]

Have you made a claim with the property owner's insurance company yet? If so, have the refused to pay your medical bills?

If they have not refused, why not wait until you find out what they are willing to do? Getting a lawyer and suing simply means that someone else, the lawyer or law firm, will end up with 1/3 of your settlement $$ in the end. You may need a lawyer eventually, but why not talk to their claims adjuster yourself and see what they are willing to do first. You will probably (hopefully) find them to be reasonable and willing to compensate you for your medical bills and your additional expenses (which should include something over and above all of that for "pain and suffering"). Hopefully you will not need a lawyer, and you will not need to sue anyone or go to court.

You could also call your own insurance agent and ask them to advise you how to proceed.

Owner never did contact me about fall and medical bills. My lawyer wants to start tomorrow but I will wait till I talk too the owner of the building. All I want is medical bills paid. I had No pain and suffering for a broken nose for some reason.

 

[St_Worm2]

BTW, be sure to keep all of your medical records, and keep a journal detailing everything that happened to you, and every way you've been inconvenienced ("harmed") by this accident. This would include your car expenses and time going to the doctors, time off from work, and anything else that this incident caused to take you out of your routine and effected your normal life.

If you want an insurance adjuster to pay, you have to give him/her a reason(s) to do so, because they have to justify it to their superiors (particularly the "pain and suffering" part). Pictures of the injury are good to include as well, as well a detailed description of the injury, how badly it hurt, how long it will take to heal, and if it permanently changed something about your face.

The more records, descriptions and details, the better.

 

[St_Worm2]

"Pain and Suffering" is what insurance companies call the additional compensation they pay out over and above the medical bills and other expenses, for the pain and inconvenience all of this has caused you (whether or not you are actually suffering any real "pain" or not).

Also, don't sign a check from the insurance company unless you are sure that all of your expenses have been covered/paid for already. They will often pay your medical bills as you send them to them however, but once you've signed the final check they've given you, the case you have against them is officially closed.

 

[Johnboy60]

I took pictures of the parking lot and found out after I got home the camera didn't have the date and time on the pictures and now I will have remake them?

 

[St_Worm2]

I don't think so. No one is questioning that this happened to you, and you have witnesses if they do. I was also talking about including pictures of your injury.

Again, I would contact your insurance agent, tell them what happened, and ask them what they would recommend. They will be acquainted with the insurance laws in your particular State.

If you have already retained a lawyer however, you need to let him/her handle everything from here on out (which they should do anyway since that's what you're paying them for ).

 

[Johnboy60]

I took pictures of my face four days ago but camera didn't stamp a date or time on the picture. Will I have to redo them?

One problem about going to court I said too my lawyer the owner told me at one time he wouldn't fix the parking lot because he is selling the property and now I'm not sure what is said after thinking about it. I would hate to put words in his mouth he didn't say.

 

[St_Worm2]

No. The doctors saw your face right after you were injured, right? They can confirm the pictures, but I doubt you will need them to.

Again, the idea of the journal, the pictures, the records and descriptions is to give the claims adjuster something to work with (so that he/she can document why they paid you the money they did), not to prove that you were really hurt (that's not in question by anyone, is it?).

If you already have a lawyer, don't involve anyone else or take anyone else's advice from this point forward however (as I said above). Doing only what they tell you to do from now on is in your best interest.

 

[Johnboy60]

This restaurant is owned by a family.