Do I have a case?

[fellontheice]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

I recently fell on ice in the drive thru lane at a McDonald's which resulted in a severe trimalleolar fracture of my left ankle/leg with gross dislocation of the ankle. The injury included a break in my tibia, fibula and ankle bones; the fall also ripped the ligaments of my ankle and included a gross dislocation. I have had to have surgery which has left me with 2 plates, 15 screws and wire to reattach my foot to my leg. I have had unspeakable pain and have been out of work for a month now and have no estimate on when I may be able to return, I am a hair stylist and that requires me to stand for 8 hours per day.
I am interested in finding out if I may potentially have a case to cover medical expenses and lost wages.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[lealea1005]

Didn't you immediately report the injury to McDonalds?

[fellontheice]

Yes, I did. The manager of the McDonald's actually helped my fiance get me into the car to go to the nearest emergency room. My fiance then followed up while I was being seen by the e.r. staff to make sure that a report was being written up. We have yet to hear anything from them and I am just starting to look for information on what, if any, steps I should be taking.
Thank you for your response.

[ecmst12]

That depends on whether you can show McDonalds to be negligent in causing your injury. They can't control the weather and didn't make it icy. So long as they took reasonable precautions to salt the parking lot and sidewalks, they have done their duty. And since you fell in the parking lot, not on the sidewalk, their duty there is even less. YOU had a duty to exercise due care when walking in adverse conditions - go slower and watch where you are going. To prevail in a lawsuit, you would have to PROVE that you met your duty and McDs did not. Sounds like an almost impossible task to me.

Now they may be willing to cover some of your medical bills. Maybe even all of them. If they are, thank your lucky stars. Don't get hostile with them thinking you have a great case to sue them - more then likely, you don't.

[fellontheice]

Thank you for your response. I have never encountered this type of situation before and am not a person "trying to make a buck" off of this situation. I can say that I had heavy duty winter boots on, was walking insanely slow and still managed to fall. The reason I was walking so slowly was because an ice storm had come thru the day before and the parking lot was literally like an ice skating rink. There was no obvious signs of salting, but I cannot be 100% sure because the accident took place in the evening in an area that didn't have a ton of lighting.
I truly appreciate your reply and will obviously have to do more investigating before I decide to contact an attorney or to just accept the losses.
Thank you for your time.

[ecmst12]

It seems to me that you assumed a degree of risk just by choosing to get out of the car if conditions were really that bad. Why didn't you just go through the drive through?

[fellontheice]

Believe me, if it weren't for the fact that we were traveling and needed food and a restroom break I wouldn't have gotten out of the car. I wish nature had called later in the drive...