Can I claim for breaking teeth in a fall if I slipped on spilled milk in grocery store?
Whether or not you can claim for breaking teeth in a fall will be dependent on the circumstances in which you sustained your dental injury and if you could be considered to be partially liable for causing the accident. Although all grocery store’s owe their customers a duty of care when it comes to maintaining safe, hazard free surroundings where spillages are cleaned up within a sufficient amount of time, there are times when this will not always be possible. For instance, if you sustained your teeth injury in a fall by slipping in milk that had just been spilled only seconds before, then it is unlikely you could claim as there is no way the grocery store could have addressed the spill in such a short amount of time. If the spill had warning signs surrounding it and you had not noticed due to your own lack of care, then you could be considered as having contributed to the cause of sustaining your injury. In this case you could possibly still claim. However you may be accused of contributory negligence and your final settlement will be reduced by a certain percentage to reflect your carelessness.
If none of these scenarios are the case and your teeth injury in a fall was caused solely by a lack of care demonstrated by a staff member then you should be eligible to make a claim for breaking teeth in a fall. You will have to establish that the grocery store was in fact negligence. You should do this by retaining any documents that could serve as evidence in your breaking teeth injury claim.
For instance, if you have not yet you should make a report in the grocery store’s “Accident Report Book” making sure to retain a copy afterwards. You should be as detailed as possible. Include everything you can remember, even the names of any staff members and the details and testimonies of anybody who was around when the incident occurred. Keep any receipts for medical and dental expenses you have incurred. If your broken teeth have caused you any emotional trauma due to the potential cosmetic damage it may have done, you should also keep note of this as this can also be taken into consideration when making a claim. Maintain a diary and record any times when your injury has prevented you from taking part in the same kind of activities and past times that you used to prior to the accident occurring.
It is in your best interest to contact a personal injury claims lawyer with experience in dealing with breaking teeth injury claims. They will be able to evaluate your claim based on the circumstances of your accident, the extent of your broken teeth and any evidence you have been able to gather. If they think that your claim has a considerable chance of success they may offer you legal representation in your claim for breaking teeth in a fall.