What are my rights if I purchased bacon and while eating it, broke my tooth on a foreign object?
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What are my rights if I purchased bacon and while eating it, broke my tooth on a foreign object?
I made myself a bacon sandwich a few days later and while eating it I bit into something that felt like a bone or possibly a small pebble. However, as I did, my tooth broke.Once I realized that I had bitten into something, I went to the bathroom and spit out what I still had in my mouth. There was a very small piece of something I couldn’t identify, looks like a chip of bone, possibly glass. This piece is hard enough to scratch a painted surface. The store was great and expressed their concerns, however due to the fact that this product is a provided by an outside vendor, their hands were tied and that I would have to proceed the claim with the manufacturer.
Asked on April 2, 2014 under Personal Injury, California
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
You have personal injury claims against both the manufacturer and seller (store). The store is liable even if it could not have known the product was defective.
Prior to filing a lawsuit, it may be possible to settle the case with the insurance carriers for the manufacturer and seller. When you complete your dental treatment and are released by the dentist, obtain your dental bills, dental reports and if applicable, documentation of any wage loss.
Your personal injury claims filed with the insurance carriers for the manufacturer and store should include your dental bills, dental reports and documentation of any wage loss. Compensation for the dental bills is straight reimbursement. The dental reports will document the nature and extent of your injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering, which is an amount in addition to the dental bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement. If the case is settled with the insurance carriers for both the manufacturer and seller (store) NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the insurance carriers, reject the settlement offers and file your lawsuit. Your lawsuit will have separate causes of action (claims) for negligence and strict liability. Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable manufacturer would have exercised to produce a product that is not defective). Strict liability is liability whether or not due care was exercised.
If your case has settled with the insurance carrier for one of the parties but not both parties (manufacturer and seller (store)), only name the party with whom the case has NOT settled as a defendant in your lawsuit.
If the case is NOT settled with the insurance carriers, your lawsuit for negligence and strict liability must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
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