Slipped In Parking Lot

[WannaB]

Jurisdiction

Colorado

I was walking back to my car, from a McDonalds, on a frigid winter day, and next thing I knew, my feet had slipped out from under me, I fell, hard, on my right elbow, and my shoulder felt like it was on fire. Shoulder still causing me so much pain. Can I sue McDonalds for medical costs?

 

[cbg]

You can, in the sense that no law prohibits it. But for you to win such a suit, you're going to need a lot more than you've posted.

 

[adjusterjack]

I was walking back to my car, from a McDonalds, on a frigid winter day, and next thing I knew, my feet had slipped out from under me, I fell, hard, on my right elbow, and my shoulder felt like it was on fire. Shoulder still causing me so much pain. Can I sue McDonalds for medical costs?

Exactly why do you think this is McDonalds' fault?

 

[Highwayman]

You have provided NO details.

For instance, what caused you to fall? You don't seem to stand a chance if you don't even know what happened to you.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Why should you be able to sue McDonald's? This is a key question. What did they do wrong, if anything?

You are probably questioning tort law or "negligence law." Negligence under the law can be defined as "The failure to exercise reasonable or prudent care that an ordinary person would make under the same circumstances."

The fact that you've slipped and have fallen on what may be McDonalds' property also falls under premises liability law. The same negligence standard would probably apply and I haven't heard anything in your story that implies that McDonalds did anything wrong. You just happened to be walking on a winter day, weather is bad, there may be small icy patches that are unavoidable and you may have had an accident. Most people would usually mention something a property owner did wrong - so I'll assume there wasn't anything McDonalds did wrong. If you believe there was, feel free to let us know. But here is the negligence standard in order to win a lawsuit for damages:

To prove negligence, the following elements are required:

1. the defendant owed a duty to the injured party or to the general public (such as driving a car),
2. the actions or failure to act by the defendant was not representative of reasonable or prudent conduct that an ordinary person would make under similar circumstances, and
3. that the defendant's negligent act or inaction was the proximate cause of the injury suffered by the plaintiff.