35 year-old Fort Lauderdale medical assistant loses toenail at popular grocery chain
Author: Attorney Jason Macri
A 35 year-old medical assistant from Fort Lauderdale had her toenail ripped off while utilizing a shopping cart escalator at a downtown Fort Lauderdale grocery store. She was shopping with her mother-in-law and had already made her purchases when she began to take her groceries to the parking lot on a shopping cart escalator. She placed her cart properly on the escalator and began to ride the escalator toward the parking area. Several seconds later, she felt an extreme, sharp pain to the right foot. She had no idea what could’ve caused the pain but looked down at her foot, which was exposed through her open-toed shoes, and noticed that the pinkie toe on her right foot was bloody. She looked behind her on the escalator and noticed that a piece of metal was protruding from the side of the lower portion of the escalator. She immediately knew what caused her pain. Her toe had become trapped in the piece of metal, snapping her toe backward and damaging her toenail in the process.
Fort Lauderdale medical assistant goes to hospital in extreme pain
Unsure of what to do, she hobbled over to the car with the help of her mother-in-law. Luckily they had a first aid kit in the trunk. Her mother-in-law began to help treat her wound by cleaning off the blood. It was at that point that she noticed the toenail had been completely ripped off. Worried about getting an infection, the two went to the nearest hospital for medical attention. The attending physician at the hospital ordered an x-ray of the right foot. The x-ray came back negative for any fractures. The ER physician cleaned off the wound and applied bandages to the toe. Our client was then discharged from the hospital with crutches. She was told not to walk on the foot for several days and to keep the wound clean and apply bandages.
Injured medical assistant returns to the scene of the injury for help
Worried about the cost of her medical care, our client returned to the grocery store to complete an incident report and to find out if the store would cover her medical bills. She passed by the area where she became injured and was able to snap a photograph of the dangerous condition. She then spoke with the manager of the store. The manager completed an incident report and notified our client that he would contact her regarding her bills. Our client waited a couple of days but received no calls. She then called the store to speak with the manager but was unable to get the manager on the phone. Upset and confused, our client decided to contact the Law Office of Dell and Schaefer. Our lawyers immediately placed the grocery store on notice of the claim and conducted an investigation surrounding the shopping cart escalator.
Dell and Schaefer demands compensation for injured medical assistant
Due to the simple nature of the claim, our lawyers were able to make a quick demand on behalf of our client. It was clear that the negligently protruding metal was the cause of our client’s toe injury. We are able to show that the grocery store negligently maintained the escalator, causing injury to our client. Initially, the insurance company for the store denied the claim arguing that our client’s injury was not that bad. They said the nail will grow back and that there was no reason to offer any compensation. Our lawyers were committed to seeking compensation for our client and were prepared to file a lawsuit no matter how minimal the injury. Eventually, the insurance company decided it was not worth it for them to deny this claim and battle it out in court. Our lawyers were able to negotiate a settlement for our client which insured payment of all of her medical bills and compensated her for pain and suffering and inconvenience.
If you become injured in any way because of the fault of another, call Dell & Schaefer. We will fight to protect your rights no matter how big or small the claim may be.
