We recently rented a dunk tank that malfunctioned due to being in poor condition, could we possibly have a case for personal injury?
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We recently rented a dunk tank that malfunctioned due to being in poor condition, could we possibly have a case for personal injury?
During the party, a steel beam (part of the cage to protect the person getting ready to be dunked) was hit by a ball and flew off into my daughters eye. We immediately rushed her to the ER, her eye was intact but severely bruised, swollen and lacerated around the eye from the beam. When we arrived home, further inspection of the tank revealed several of the bars were cracked, over welded or bolted back into place.
Asked on June 28, 2015 under Personal Injury, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
You need two things for a viable personal injury case:
1) Liability, or fault giving rise to an obligation to pay compensation. Poorly maintained or constructed equipment can give rise to liability.
2) Costs or injuries supporting receiving compensation. The law only provides compensation for actual costs or serious physical injuries (those causing significant impairment lasting months or more; impairment lasting days or weeks will not typicall support receiving much money).
If, as we hope, your daughter has no lasting injuries and your out-of-pocket medical costs are modest, there'd be no point in bringing a legal action: you'd need to hire a medical expert witness to testify as to the injury, and you would likely spend more on lawsuit than you'd get back.
On the other hand, if you daughter has some lasting impairment or you have thousands (or more) of dollars of current and future medical costs, then you may very well have a viable claim and should meet with a personal injury attorney (many of whom provide a free initial consultation; you can ask about this before making the appointment) to evaluate your case.
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