Bad Fall After Back Surgery at Car Wash

[SCARED_and_SICK]

My husband had lower back surgery (L2,L3) in June 2009 and recovered very well. We where at a car wash and he went in to the office and fell very hard. The very young man said he was sorry to my husband (he was very nice--at first) and said the floor is usually dry. My husband had extreme difficulty getting up and his legs went numb. We inquired about filling out an accident form to be on the safe side and the kid called his boss who came in and told us they don't fill out accident forms, they fall all the time and told my husband to take some tylenol and he would be alright. We insisted on filling out a form and they still refused. He then called the manager and told the other two employee's to "just shut up". When he got there (he came from home) we told him we wanted to fill out a form for the fall he told us that they don't fill out forms-It was our responsibility for the fall if he needed medical attention go to the hospital. They where not responsible for his fall. We then called the police who told us it was a civil matter because the car wash was privately owned. There where no "Wet floor signs posted inside the office" The only signs I saw afterwards was Outside by the vacuum cleaners. These 3 men where about as rude and mean as it gets-Refused to give us there names, and would not give us our reciept back. There was a camera in the office hopefully recording the event. My husband went to the ER had x-rays done. The Dr. at the time said he badly bruised his back-but the x-ray was not a true answer, only that nothing was broken he could tell it was a very bad fall and if he was still hurting or numb to come back or call his spine Dr.. Well his pain and numbness have only gotten worse he can hardly walk and has an appt. for his spine Dr. tommorrow. What if any is our recourse. This is a fairly large and nice car wash. Possibly a chain. My husband is REALLY HONESTLY HURTING. And these employee's attitude and extreme rudeness was astounding. (You'll be alright you just fell,-We fall all the time where not babies we just take tylenol-If we hurt ourselves where just *#*! out of luck) and so on. Thank you for time

 

[mightymoose]

I think it might be hard to argue that you were unaware of wet surfaces around a car wash. On top of that, your husband has a pre-existing condition.
You will have to show some kind of negligence on the part of the company. The fact that an accident occurred is not really enough... you have to show that it happened because they did something, or failed to do something. And then, how do you sort out the damage caused by the fall against the pre-existing condition?
Is your insurance not covering the medical bill?

Also- not every business keeps accident report forms. You were probably asking for something that they didn't even have, and by asking for it you made it very clear that you were looking to sue them, so no surprise that you lost their cooperation. They weren't required to do anything at all. If you insist and feel you have a claim and they are responsible then your option is to go to court over it.

What kind of damages do you think they should pay?

 

[SCARED_and_SICK]

When I was asking for the form I was wanting to be on the safe side in regards to my husbands back, I just simply wanted it recorded. My intentions where not to sue. My husband does have medical insurance which will pay. However if it turns out he is truely badly hurt then I would like to know my recourse. We where in the front office on the other side of the car wash where it was dry. The kid said normally the floor was dry and apologised profusely for my husbands fall. However when the manager came he and the other employee was told to shut up and started making fun of my husband. This is what has made me very angry. He was very well healed. And I am afraid damage has been done. (I work in a hospital-pre surgery). I am very worrried that he has damaged the hardware or undone his fusion this is very, very, serious. He cannot have anymore back surgery. He had triple bypass last yr. If necessary then yes I would like for his medical bills to be paid. Please believe me I'm praying this is nothing. No amount of money is worth the pain and suffering of a bad back. Thank you.

 

[jharris352]

Depending on what part of Georgia you are in I could recommend a good attorney. The car wash is likely responsible for their negligence. As I read your post, the water was inside near the office not outside where one might expect it to be wet at a car wash. This is likely their negligence. Your husband's pre-existing back problem is actually a negative not a positive to his recovery from them but none-the-less it is actionable.

Let me know if you want further help. A good personal injury lawyer will be able to collect from their liability insurance.

 

[SCARED_and_SICK]

My husbands legs at this point are numb and his walking is very unstable. He goes to the Dr. today at 1:00. I will follow up. Thank you, Sincerely

 

[mightymoose]

Hmm... if the car wash is laid out as you describe then the slippery floors could be a problem for them.
You can consult an injury attorney and see where it leads.
Luckily, your own insurance has you covered for the treatment.

 

[downinalaska]

Very Similar Problem

I had back surgery L4-L5 --laminectomy, disectomy, and fusion. I had recovered well and while navigating the snow and ice in my government hospital job parking lot, I fell injuring myself. I have low back pain, numbing of the left leg and numbing in my foot at the arch. I too am truly injured, but MRI and xrays show there is no displacement of the hardware. I am very frustrated because mine is a federal workman's comp claim and they are putting me and my doctors through the mill with paperwork. Their positition is to deny, deny,deny and I have to prove my injury is from the fall and not a complication of the surgery. I know better, I was great after my surgery. I was healing well and had went back to work. I am frustrated from them not paying me and my claim is still open, they keep requesting more documentation from the doctors. I feel they want me to just give up or my doctors get tired of their constant requests for them to modify their statements etc. I called a couple of personal injury/workman's comp attorneys and they said they couldn't help me because my claim had not been denied yet. The personal injury attorneys in my small town that I called just seemed to be reluctant to take on a case that involves a government facility and no other employee, etc. causing my injury. They referred me to the bar association. My job maintained it walkways, but for the employee parking lot they plow sometimes, but that is all. On the patients parking lot, I believe they had put gravel down for them, but left it up to us to get to the walkways. Several soldiers have fallen in the past, and nothing was done. Please keep posting, so I can see how your case is progressing. Meanwhile, I'll get back to this stack of paperwork I was just sent to fill out. If there are any attorneys that can give me advice I would APPRECIATE it. THX

 

[wisemans_voyage]

Depending on what part of Georgia you are in I could recommend a good attorney. The car wash is likely responsible for their negligence. As I read your post, the water was inside near the office not outside where one might expect it to be wet at a car wash. This is likely their negligence. Your husband's pre-existing back problem is actually a negative not a positive to his recovery from them but none-the-less it is actionable.

Let me know if you want further help. A good personal injury lawyer will be able to collect from their liability insurance.

Excellent advice Jharris! Op...as Jharris says, you just might have a case based on the fact the Car Wash at the very least, should have had a "Wet Floor Sign" in the office area where normally it isn't wet. If previous documentation with doctors show your husband was doing very well and able to get around really well after his previous surgery, then there may very well be damages you can recover beyond that which is pre-existing. A good lawyer and good medical attention could probably sort that all out for you. Sorry about your husband's fall. Hope he is feeling better.