Mother (80) Falls & Breaks FInger in Theater

[HelpfulSon]

My mother (80 years old) went to a move theater (in Missouri) and fell on the inside steps while carrying her soda to her seat . No one assisted her , but another patron went and got her a new soda. My mother broke her finger, but didn\'t realize it was broekn immediately. Several days letaer, she went to the Dr, who said it was broken, and would need surgery and pins to fix. She then reported it to the theater, and their insurance rep has called and offered to pay her co-pays. Her co-pays are < $50, while her surgery and subsequent visits are now over $700. I have Power-Of-Attorney (and am in SC).

Advice? Should I go for all medical bills present and future - or ask for a fixed $ amount?

[enjay]

The theater is being very generous as it is. Unless you can prove that your mother fell due to some negligence of the theater, they are not liable. People are responsible for keeping their own footing.

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by HelpfulSon

Advice? Should I go for all medical bills present and future - or ask for a fixed $ amount?

If you can provide the basis of the theater's negligence, then perhaps we can wager a more educated guess as to the answer to your question.

[HelpfulSon]

Carpeted steps, without handrails in a darkened hallway are a hazard ... and no assistance fromthe staff after another patron told them and returned with a soda?

A jury wuld eat this up. But we're not here to make money, just cover the med. bills. Paying $30-50 in co-pays is nice, but only shows the insurance company's desire to close this thing.

Enjay - you've neevr owned a swimming pool or designed/manufactured anything, have you?

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by HelpfulSon

Carpeted steps, without handrails in a darkened hallway are a hazard ... and no assistance fromthe staff after another patron told them and returned with a soda?

A jury wuld eat this up. But we're not here to make money, just cover the med. bills. Paying $30-50 in co-pays is nice, but only shows the insurance company's desire to close this thing.

Enjay - you've neevr owned a swimming pool or designed/manufactured anything, have you?

Enjay was being serious. Just because the movie theatre is a company, doesn't mean that they were responsible for causing the accident. A movie theatre does not have bright lighting. If your mother didn't think that she could handle the dim lights alone, then she shouldn't have gone to the theatre alone. The stairs in the theatre are carpeted to keep the noise down.

The stairs are not a hazard. No insurance company would consider them a hazard. By making that statement you are saying that you cannot, at home, go up or down a SET of stairs, in a darkened area, without falling. The hazard is that your mother's age, combined with her eyesight, contributed to her accident. Maybe she just became unbalanced. Can you prove that there was some sort of defect that caused her to fall? That other patrons under the same conditions would have also fallen? I've carried pop through a theatre, in a darkened hallway, on carpeted stairs, and have seen others do it also, without falling.

No, it may have been rude of them not to assist her up, but that doesn't make it illegal.

[You Are Guilty]

The lack of a handrail may violate local building codes though, so that is something worth looking into (usually, it depends on the number of total steps - not every staircase requires one).

However, even if one was supposed to be there, the counter-issue is whether it would have made any difference in your mother's accident. That is, if she still would have fallen even in the presence of a handrail, then the fact that it was missing is irrelevant.

You can try speaking to a local PI lawyer, but given the amount of damages, there might not be much interest. Don't have much to lose by talking to one though.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by You Are Guilty

The lack of a handrail may violate local building codes though, so that is something worth looking into (usually, it depends on the number of total steps - not every staircase requires one).

.

I started to bring that up, but movie theatre steps are usually very "wide" and don't really count.

[Blue Meanie]

Originally Posted by moburkes

I started to bring that up, but movie theatre steps are usually very "wide" and don't really count.

The whole way down in a theater is stairs, the room is at a slant for better viewing...They couldn't have a rail or people couldn't get into their seats.

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by moburkes

I started to bring that up, but movie theatre steps are usually very "wide" and don't really count.

Not to mention that proving that a handrail was required would entail retaining an expert engineer to survey the stairs, prepare a report and eventually testify in court. I don't know how much that runs in other markets, but that would be at least $5-6k here in expert fees.

[racer72]

Originally Posted by HelpfulSon

A jury wuld eat this up.

You obviously know nothing about law. A competent attorney would make your mother looking like a fool, a good attorney would make your mother look like a clumsy fool and a great attorney would make your mother look like a drunken clumsy fool. Plus the fact she waited days to even notify the theater, could she prove she did not injure herself somewhere else? Unless she has some eyewitnesses from the theater, the basis of her injury would be easy to disprove. A jury would likely find the offer of paying her deductables to be fair and equitable.