what is a fair settlement amount for a slip and fall incident at a restaurant?
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what is a fair settlement amount for a slip and fall incident at a restaurant?
My wife and I were on our way to our table at a restaurant when my wife slipped
on some water next to our table. She hurt her left foot and right knee as a
result of the restaurant’s negligence…
Asked on November 28, 2017 under Personal Injury, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
There is no one-size-fits all answer: it depends on the extent of the injury--it's severity and how long it lasts--and on the medical bills. You should get payment of all out-of-pocket bills (anything paid by you, not health insurance). You only get "pain and suffering" for serious injuries resulting in months or more of disability and life impairment. A few weeks of a sore knee or foot, for example, and may having to wear a brace for a few weeks, is typically not worth anything like $20,000; probaby the $1,500 is a much more appropriate amount.
As a rough rule of thumb (a very rough one, because pain and suffering awards are very fact-specfic and subjective, and hence hard to categorize), pain and suffering is usually between 1 and 2 times medical bills. If the medical bills are around $1,100 or so, then again, a $1,500 offer is well within the ballpark.
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