Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
13 yr. old daughter injured at local McDonalds
My child sliced a finger on torn, jagged laminate covering the ladies restroom door as she exited, at our local McDonalds while there with her friend and friends parents. She was rushed to ER where stitches were needed. I returned to McDs to speak w/Mgr. and inspected/photographed door. was given incident report to complete. That was it. Her medical expenses were close to $5,000. I wrote ltr. to Ins. carrier for the Franchise owner included all records/bills, but after almost 6 months, rec'd letter stating they were not liable for the injury!? Daughter still has numbness in the finger as well as scars and will NOT go near any McDs after her trauma there. What can we do? And why would I be given a FRANCHISEE(DBA) instead of McDs as a contact?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: 13 yr. old daughter injured at local McDonalds
The owner of the establishment is the franchisee, not McDonalds. You should take the case to a lawyer to sue. What you describe appears to be a pretty straight forward case of premises liability to me. For further information, go to my website www.mwrothinjurylaw.com and down load the free report, "Hidden Inside Secrets Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Know". Then get a lawyer. This can and should be handled on a contingecy basis.
Re: 13 yr. old daughter injured at local McDonalds
You should have contacted a personal injury lawyer earlier, but, at this point, you need to retain counsel.
This is how insurance carriers became wealthy. when there is liability, like this matter, they hold your matter at "arm's length", deny liability, and won't offer you a settlement. Frequently, when they do, they "low ball" you with an amount far less than they should offer, and force you to sign a release for a small amount of money. The trouble is that the "release" is a legal document, which almost certainly ends the case forever.
Lawyers do not charge you a fee in these type of cases, and work on contingency basis, which is frequently !/3 of the outcome, after the medical bills are paid. Sometimes, it will be four, five, even six years before a trial, since you must wait until the injuries are healed, or that they appear to be permanent.
You need advice, at once, much less a competent attorney to represent you.
If you need more, please feel free to e-mail, or call, my office.
Good luck, and, I hope your daughter is improving.