What to do if I was at a church sitting on a pew and leaned over a little but the pew fell on top of me crushing my ankle and twisting my hip badly?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What to do if I was at a church sitting on a pew and leaned over a little but the pew fell on top of me crushing my ankle and twisting my hip badly?
I went to urgent care and got X-rays. Is there anything I can do? Aren’t pews supposed to be bolted to the floor? They are very heavy.
Asked on December 4, 2015 under Personal Injury, Michigan
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
It would be advisable to contact the church's insurance carrier and inform that insurance carrier in writing that you will be filing a personal injury claim.
When you complete your medical treatment and are released by the doctor or are declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary which means having reached a point in your medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain your medical bills, medical reports, and documentation of wage loss.
Your claim filed with the church's insurance carrier should include those items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical 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 medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
If the case is settled with the church's insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the church's insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the church.
If the case is NOT settled with the church's insurance carrier, your lawsuit for negligence against the church must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.