Legal Question in Personal Injury in Maine
eye and head injury
I was shopping in the greeting card section of a walmart store in Maine and a long fluorescent bulb fell on my head and shattered into a million pieces on the floor. I received a contusion on the top of my head and glass in my right eye. After a couple of hours of poking, and eye irrigation, The emergency room doc was able to remove a piece of glass from my eye. due to the scratches on my eye, I had to follow up with an opthomologist the next day. This doc removed two more pieces of debris from my eye. My eye is better, and my two day headache finally went away, and the doc says that she does not forsee any permanent damage. I feel like I am getting the run around. Walmart is not accepting responsibility for this. They gave me a long distance phone number for Hallmark who they say is responsible. How do I know what amount to settle for? What if something happens with my eye in the future/
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: eye and head injury
Generally the owner/operator of a premises is ultimately responsible for injuries caused by poor design or maintenance. You may not be able to show exactly who was negligent, but clearly these lights should not fall on customers' heads, so it appears someone did something wrong. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart has a national reputation as a terrible defendant in claims like this: they litigate brutally, even unfairly, to avoid paying just damages. Still, they are the logical target of your demand for justice (not Hallmark).
As for the amount of damages, add up all your actual out-of-pocket losses (total medical bills, not just your co-pay; the value of any time lost from work, even if you got sick pay; any property damage) and any likely future costs (future medical treatment must be backed up by a doctor's opinion), then ask for about 5 times that amount to account for general damages of pain, worry, activity limitations, etc.
Good luck.
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