Legal Question in Personal Injury in New York

My wife purchased a wooden board at a local merchant. An employee dropped the board on top of her foot while loading it into our van. While at the time she thought that she was not seriously injured and left the premises on her own, she woke up that night in excruciating pain. A subsequent visit to the doctor revealed a bone bruise and possible fracture. However, she was constrained to go to work (she is a teacher) in a wheel chair for the next 10 days, which was followed by the use of crutches for another 10 days. Although the medical bills were not high, the pain, suffering and embarrassment for her was considerable. The companies representatives offered her a total of $1660 for lost hours only. We feel this is unfair. Does she have a case to receive increased compensation for the pair, suffering and embarrassment. This settlement also fails to consider the time I had to spend driving her back and forth to work. We are residents of NYC.


Asked on 4/07/14, 9:03 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Matthew Schroeder

It sounds like your wife may have a good personal injury case against the business. If you retained an attorney, a claim would likely be made for substantially more money than what is currently being offered. It appears that the company's representatives are only willing to provide compensation for your wife's economic damages (lost wages and/or medical bills) and are not making an offer which will compensate her for her non-economic damages, ie. pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. If you would like to discuss this matter further, please call me at 212-532-1200 for a free consultation.

Matthew A. Schroeder, Esq.

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Answered on 4/07/14, 9:22 am

It appears your wife has an actionable claim. If the injury was not serious, you might consider proceeding in Small Claims court which offers a $5,000 maximum recovery but swift resolution and no attorneys' fees. VTY, M. E. Zuller

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Answered on 4/07/14, 10:42 am


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