Hurt in a bad fall!

What is the name of your state? oklahoma
I have had 2 back surgeries in the past and can't work..my problem is, I went to a friends house two weeks ago and stepped through the front door, but there was no floor there. I stepped off into a 3 1/2 -4ft hole right inside their door. They were replacing the floor I suppose, any way, I re-injuried my back but I have no insurance & can't go to the Dr. They have no insurance on their house. What do I do now? I can't find any free clinics where I could get treated near here. Where do I go from here?

Did you just open the door and enter on your own? how is it you didn't see that the floor was gone?

My nephew was standing outside with a few others & told me to go on in, there were several people that were inside also, none of them warned me that the inside floor was gone. I just stepped inside and that was it! I didn't for 1 second think, there may not be a floor there.

stephenk said:

Did you just open the door and enter on your own? how is it you didn't see that the floor was gone?

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How big was the hole? Where was it in location to the door? Why didn't you look where you were stepping?

Well, the hole was probably 3'X3'...it was right past the threshhold..as far as seeing the hole, I had my hands full and to put it really simply...I was looking inside, not down. That is 1 mistake I'll never make again. I'm not blaming anyone, it just happened. My question is, if there's no insurance & I don't have any, how can I get treated by a DR. My injury is serious, it's been over 2 weeks now & it's just getting worse. We have no free clinics in my area, or I would have already been seen. I didn't know if this may fall into some catagory that I'm not aware of, that's why I submitted the question. Thanks for the responses.

teflon_jones said:

How big was the hole? Where was it in location to the door? Why didn't you look where you were stepping?

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if no free clinics in your area, there is nothing anyone on this board can do to get you treatment. you will have to pay for the treatment. you can ask your friend to contribute. if they won't contribute you are on your own.

sorry.

Just as I suspected, *sighs* Thanks so much for the input. I appreciate the responses...have a great day!
Syndie!

stephenk said:

if no free clinics in your area, there is nothing anyone on this board can do to get you treatment. you will have to pay for the treatment. you can ask your friend to contribute. if they won't contribute you are on your own.

sorry.

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You MAY have a claim!

I disagree with the other posts, I actually think that you may have a claim against your friend.

As a social guests, you are considered a "licensee" on the premises of the land owner/possesor. The landowner or land occupier has a duty to warn the licensee of any KNOWN dangers that may create an unreasonable risk of harm. These include any dangers that the owner should have known about as well.

In your situation, your friend had an affirmative duty to warn you about the gaping hole in his floor. However, if your state follows common law contributory negligence standards, you may be completely barred from recovery if you were negligent in ANY way (e.g., not looking where you were going). States that follow comparitive faults standards will allow you to recover, offset by the percentage of your negligence.

If you're willing to risk your friendship, I think it may be worth it for you to find an attorney in your area specializing in personal injury, who will work on a contingency basis, meaning they take a chunk (usually 33%) of your recovered damages. Again, you'd probably have to give up your friendship. ]

If you don't want to deal with an attorney, you can sue in small claims (usually under $5,000 depending on your jurisdiction) to recover your hospital bills. Either way, I think you have a pretty classic landowner negligence case, and I think it would be in your best interest to at least consult with an attorney. Hope that helps!

Get real

Even if you were really willing to go after them gangbusters, no attorney is going to take that case without an insurance company to recover from. No frikken way. For what? A judgment amounting to a piece of a lien against the uninsured property? And a good chance that you back out at some point because these are your pals, after all?

You're screwed, sister. Ahhh, America. You might want to go screaming into an ER to get your back looked at. But dress well and speak good English, and don't mention that you're uninsured. You might get some appropriate short-term care that you can't afford, but you could always go bankrupt later.