❯ injured at Home Depot (need legal advice)
| 10-26-2006, 01:50 PM | #1 |
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injured at Home Depot (need legal advice)
I was shopping at Home Depot last Friday night and had a little misfortune... I was next to the shopping cart when a 1/2 in. 2ft x 4ft piece of plywood which was loaded vertically on the orange cart slipped off the cart and fell down vertically onto my big toe on my left foot. If the cart had some metal extrusions running along each edge, there would have been no way that the wood could have slipped off... The wood was loaded on the cart correctly - there wasn't any user error there...
Anyway, the damage done was that the toe nail was completely pulled out, ended up having to get stiches in the toe bed (part under toe nail), and also broke the tip of the toe in several places. I spent 5 hrs in the ER Friday night, and am just having to deal with the slow healing process now...  Do I have any legal case against Home Depot for a safety issue with the carts (when they could be improved upon to ensure greater safety)? Or, am I blowing the whole thing out of proportion and should just suck it up and wait for my toe to heal... I did get a call from a Home Depot claims adjustor - informing that they would by no means at all assume any form of liability. They did hint that they "may" pursue the company who actually rents the carts to Home Depot for some type of settlement money... I do a lot of home projects and by no means hate Home Depot - I just would like to see them implement a simple precautionary measure to ensure safety to its customers. BTW - I don't have a lot of cash hanging around for court battles, so am I barking up the wrong tree here? Thanks in advance for reading and for any constructive advice.
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| 10-26-2006, 01:56 PM | #2 |
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| 10-26-2006, 02:00 PM | #3 |
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well i think u can sue for your medical costs at best. unless you suffered some sort of mental duress or if you lost or job or something, i doubt u could get any more compensation.
your best bet, get a lawyer and try to get HD to settle with you for your medical costs + lost wages for not being able to work for ____ ( insert your recovery time here). |
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| 10-26-2006, 02:21 PM | #4 |
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Everything comes down to a lawsuit nowadays in the US...you hurt your bloody toe because you did something stupid like dropping a piece of plywood on your foot...please, call an ambulance chaser...I have used those carts without any problems...
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| 10-26-2006, 02:25 PM | #5 |
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^^ Easy I didn't necessarily say I was going to sue them - I just posted this to get constructive feedback. Opinion noted though - thanks.
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| 10-26-2006, 03:21 PM | #6 | |
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Back to your issue. If the cart had some sort of metal extrusions running along each edge, then it would not be practical for ppl to push heavy item onto the cart with the metal extrusions in the way. If the item is heavy enough to cause injury to your big toe, it should not have slide off easily if placed correctly and firmly center on the cart. I was not there and I don't know you so I cannot really tell. You can built the safest cart for HD and there will still be accidents. It is unavoidable. Also, there are signs in HD that remind everyone to ask for help for heavy items or items on high shelf. I feel HD is not at fault here. I do not work for HD. GL with recovery and whatever you decide to do with the case. Last edited by txusa03; 10-26-2006 at 04:14 PM.. |
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| 10-26-2006, 04:07 PM | #8 |
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Home Depot's Quality Assurance/Claims Department should work with you to cover your medical bills. As far as suing, it's probably not worth it. Also, I'm sure they will look into your concern over the carts. Retailers take these things very seriously, don't think they are taking light of your situation.
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| 10-26-2006, 06:00 PM | #9 |
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Forget about trying to assess how home depots carts should be... Bottom line, you got hurt on their premises by their stuff- there is a good chance they have liability (unless you contributed to the accident).
Claims adjuster= negotiator. He has X amount of money he can spend to make you go away. You can either negotiate directly with them, or get a lawyer. The difference with having the lawyer is they will do a better job at it than you. It all depends on how much you really think you should get over and above medical costs...
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| 10-26-2006, 06:33 PM | #10 |
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Dont waste our legal systems time... Werent you in control of the plywood at the time???
Then whose damn fault was it that it fell off??? Not the cart, not Home Depot... YOU.... |
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| 10-26-2006, 06:46 PM | #12 |
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Show me the money!!!!
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| 10-26-2006, 06:53 PM | #13 | |
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Old lady buys a hot cup of coffee & spills it on herself causing burns= $480,000. to Ms. Liebeck. Oh, and yeah she was in control of the coffee... 
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| 10-26-2006, 08:32 PM | #14 | |
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| 10-26-2006, 08:44 PM | #15 |
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~ if they pay your medical bills... you should be happy & satisfied... as an end result.
good luck with the toe... its the smallest body parts that create the most pain.
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| 10-27-2006, 01:25 AM | #16 | |
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| 10-27-2006, 09:27 AM | #19 |
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^^ Thanks for your comments - I was just looking for opinions... Never been hurt before at a store...
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| 10-27-2006, 09:32 AM | #20 |
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we all pay for the price at the end. Everytime you sue, the end result is we consumer will eventually pay for it. Insurance premium goes up, ppl cannot afford to buy insurance. I am just thankfull I can still walk, breath, chat on e90post, and drive a very nicel e90.
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